Georgia alert; a look at education's role today, 1984 January - 1989 Spring

Curtain Call
Brookwood High School's advanced choral ensemble ended its fall production of "Celebrate Georgia" with a full-blown grand finale that brought 40 singing, dancing students right up to the foot-lights. These students are part of the 250 ninth through 12th graders in the Gwinnett school's performing arts program, which began with 28 youngsters and one instructor three years ago when Brookwood first opened its doors in Snellville. Today three instructors provide training in chorus, dance, drama and technical theater. The advanced group, for which students must audition, produces one major musical each quarter in the school's 300-seat theater.

Contents

Letters to the Editor

Get Set ... GOAL!

Features Commodities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 School Food Service's Ace in the Hole Georgia's 1984 Teacher of the Year ...... 6 She's No Quitter Cooperative Vo-ed Training ............. 10 All the Right Stuff Came Together Aides ......... .... . .......... . .. ..... ... 13 A Look at Georgia's Teacher Helpers
Departments Letters .................................. 2 Education's Future Today .. .... .. ... . . . . 18 People in Education . . ...... ... ... . ..... 19 New Graduation Requirements ......... 20
Cover: Penny Pope plays math bingo in teacher aide Susan Morris' math lab at Epworth Elementary School in Fannin County. Penny is one of 25 students Morris works with each day. (Photo by Glenn Oliver.)

Thanks for your excellent treatment of school social work in the recent issue of Georgia ALERT. Your writing and photography captured the essence of the practice in the Thomasville City Schools while appropriately generalizing to the state at large.
I am certain each school social worker in Georgia shares my gratitude for such fine journalism in their behalf.
Wesley 0 . Boyd, Coordinator Visiting Teachers Services, Georgia Department of Education

The article "Getting to the Root of the Problem" printed in Georgia ALERT is the best thumb nail sketch of the school social worker I have ever read. The article is concise and accurate, yet written in an entertaining style that promotes understanding. The pictures were excellent and added to the readability of the article. Ms. Martin and Mr. Edge have done an outstanding job, and I compliment them both.
Dorothy W. Marotte, Coordinator School Social Work, DeKalb County Schools

This note is to express my appreciation for your excellent article and photographs about me as representative of the school social workers in the state. I appreciate the care you obviously took to portray our functions in the total school operation. Many educators in the Thomasville system and some in the Thomasville community have reacted very positively to the story, and I hope the article will help further the understanding of school social work.
Samuel L. Boykins, Director of Social Services Thomasville City Schools

I appreciate so much the excellent story and photos in Georgia ALERT regarding Quick Start. You are to be commended for your efforts to provide such a positive report.
William P. Johnson, Associate Superintendent Georgia Department of Education

2 Georgia ALERT, January 1984

"GOAL Country U.S.A." is the theme for the 13th annual Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) program which recognizes excellent postsecondary vocational students in Georgia . GOAL is also designed to promote the image of vocational education and the dignity of work. It is the only program of its kind in the nation.
During the next few months the 30 participating vocational schools will be evaluating students who demonstrate strong leadership and scholarship qualities . School winners will be chosen in April, and in May they will come to Atlanta for the state competition. The state winner will receive a new automobile and will serve as an ambassador for Georgia's vocational education system.
In 1980 the Performance Recognition Indicating Demonstrated Excellence (PRIDE) judging was added to the GOAL activities. Each GOAL candidate must submit an exhibit which indicates the student's level of expertise and competence in his or her area of study. The PRIDE winner will receive an award of $1,000. All GOAL and PRIDE prizes are donated by Georgia's business and community leaders.
Governor Joe Frank Harris, a longtime supporter of the program, spoke at last year's awards banquet. He emphasized the important role vocational education plays in the economic development of the state. Congratulating the winners and the other nominees Harris said, "You are, in fact, the foundation on which the fut ure of our state will be built. Georgia means business , and you are living proof of that."
GOAL and PRIDE are sponsored by the Georgia Department of Education and the Business Council of Georgia.

)
Creative at
Commo PPice

Story by Gilda Lamar Watters Photos by Glenn Oliver
What do you think of when you recall school lunches from your past? Fried chicken, soup, fish sticks, cinnamon rolls, jello, green beans, corn? If you have eaten a school lunch lately, you know things have changed . School lunch 1980s style includes such delicacies as lemon chiffon pie, freshly baked whole wheat rolls with honey butter, Waldorf salad and English peas in a cream sauce with new potatoes as well as popular ethnic specialities such as lasagna , burritos, sweet-andsour pork, enchiladas and pizza . And , in a ge neration which thinks an apple is a computer, it's not unusual to find cafeterias sprouting potato bars and soup and salad stations and offering choices to keep up with students' tastes.
How can schools afford such costly cuisine? The answer is simple - Georgia's School Food and Nutrition Program is making full use of many U.S . Department of Agriculture (USDA) commodities which are free to school lunch programs. The donated foods serve two purposes - improving the nutritional quality of students' diets and strengthening agricultural markets by purchasing surplus American farm products.
The Department of Agriculture has been authorized by Congress to purchase farm commodities and allocate them to school lunch programs since 1935. Fruits, nuts, vegetables, meats, dairy and grain products are acquired and made available to schools, but availability of some items varies. Last year Georgia received $26 million worth of USDA commodities, and the same amount is expected this year. The Georgia Department of Education's Food Distribution Unit coordinates storing, transporting and distributing USDA foods to all eligible recipients.

How Sweet They Are! JoAnn Whitley from Fulton County's Palmetto High School carefully readies a favorite for her students. School Food and Nutrition Programs receive a wide variety of items from the USDA Donated Foods Program, including most of the ingredients needed to make cinnamon rolls.

Georgia ALERT, January 1984 3

It may sound as if school lunch programs have it made with an outlet such as USDA continually supplying them with free foods . Yet it's one thing to receive these foods ; incorporating them into menus that meet meal pattern requirements for the school food program is quite another.
Innovative managers and directors combine menu planning skills and imaginations to create tempting entrees, salads and desserts that include donated foods . With the aid of donated foods they can keep within their budget and create appealing, nutritious dishes to help compete with Mom's cooking and with fast food establishments.
Creativity runs the gamut in Georgia school cafeterias. The list of palate- and budget-pleasing school lunch recipes using USDA commodities reads like a gourmet, international and practical foods cookbook. In such a book, Ware County would appear in the homemade breads section; students there enjoy freshly baked breads daily, including whole wheat rolls made with USDA flour , nonfat dry milk, shortening and butter. More than half the ingredients are USDA donated foods . Julia Johnson, Ware County's school food service director, confesses that commodities really make a difference in the types of items she is able to serve. For example, two or three times a month cafeteria employees make a favorite dessert called Hollywood Squares, a peanut butter cake similar to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Another special dessert is lemon chiffon pie. Both are affordable thanks to USDA commodities, and both help keep Ware County's school lunch program participation up to 99 percent in some elementary schools and 97 percent in junior high schools. Johnson says, "There would be much less variety in our dessert offerings without the flour , butter and other baking goods from USDA. Also, we certainly wouldn't be able to use cheese in the quantities we are using if we had to purchase it."
Few commodities are as versatile as cheese; schools use it in breakfast and lunch menus to make old reliables such as macaroni and cheese and toasted cheese sandwiches. And it's used to

Honey Happening - Toni McCluer, president of the Cobb County School Food Service Association, and Marguerite Pritchart, president-elect, make sure all sample honey dishes are in place. The theme for this honey happening was "Bee Creative, Bee Original, Bee Practical."
Sweet Line-up- Cobb County managers made the search for tasty new honey recipes a schoolwide effort by encouraging suggestions from the PTA, teachers and cafeteria staff. Sweet potato muffins, sweet-and-sour pork, barbecue sauce, and honey laced cookies were sampled

4 Georgia ALERT, January 1984

Sweei '"Po.f-.1-o ~reo.4,
C.ctmt'1 ofhce

add something extra to many potato and salad bars. In the practical recipe section of the hypothetical cookbook , managers would include many novel recipes using cheese. In Lowndes County all three cheeses offered by USDA cheddar, mozzarella and process cheese - are used on the potato bar, served with chili, in salads and even combined with USDA turkey, macaroni, powdered milk, butter and bread crumbs to make a prize-winning turkey casserole.
P rize-winning recipes are in Georgia schools just as in the Sou thern Living Cookbook. They are shared across the state after being declared winners in old fashioned cooking competitions. Prizes are give n for the best dishes using specific commodities or combinations of commodities. The Lowndes County and Valdosta City School Food Service Association has sponsored several such events, including bread bake-offs a nd peanut, cheese and main dish cook-offs to stimulate employees to create nutritious, tasty dishes using as many commodities as possible.
Georgia's school food and nutrition program managers take the challenge of using their commodities seriously, but they a lso have fun. As in many cookbooks, schools have a "q uick , easy and nutritious" section in their menu planning books . Many new recipes have been developed using honey, another USDA commodity.School systems found they had few recipes that included honey when they first received the commodity, but the lack of recipes did not discourage managers.
To solve this particular problem Cobb County managers sponsored a honey recipe sampling called "Cobb's Honey Happening." Managers came up with all sorts of innovative recipes using honey. Applesauce cake - using not only USDA honey but other commodities such as flour , nonfat dry milk, raisins, chopped nuts and shortening was among the recipes they received. Others included sweet potato souffle, sweet-and-sour pork, honey cream cheese dressing and honey peanut butter cookies. A special Honey Week was proclaimed in all Cobb schools to feature fun cafeteria activities and to premiere winning honey recipes. Activities such as Cobb's involving the entire school keep customers happy and increase participation .
Browsing through Georgia's school cookbooks would not be complete without a peep at the inte rnational section. School menus naturally have an inte rnational twist since some of the students' most highly rated dishes are Mexican and Italian. Fulton County employees have become experts in making burritos and enchiladas - both dishes big hits among students.
These dishes are not expensive to make , thanks to USDA commodities. Most ingredients for both are donated food items - the ground beef, tomato sauce, cheese, butter, oil and flour. Delores McCabe, director of school food service for Fulton County, says her schools are making burritos and enchiladas once a month, and students are

requesting more. "Mexican food is very popular among kids today , so they have really responded well to our Mexican dishes ," says McCabe . A cost analysis of burritos and enchiladas made with commodities and the same dishes without commodities shows a clear savings by using donated foods . McCabe figures either dish would cost an additional 20 cents per serving without USDA commodites - quite a savings to a system that serves more than 24,000 lunches daily.
The list of creative recipes is far too long to include all, but one thing is certain, school lunches aren't

what they used to be. Today's include varieties of foods , and managers encourage students to try the foods they might otherwise never eat. School lunches in 1983 have progressed from cole slaw to Waldorf salad, from sugar cookies to raisin honey drops, from cornbread muffins to sweet potato bran muffins and from meat loaf to lasagna. And all these changes have taken place despite inflation and as a direct result of the USDA donated foods program. With imaginative use, the commodities USDA provides make the cost of teaching good nutrition affordable.

Sure-Fire Student Pleasers - More than 50 percent of the ingredients used by Palmetto High School cafeteria workers to make burritos are USDA donated commodities. The decision to make a popular entree such as burritos shows Fulton County's commitment to student satisfaction. Above, from left, are Errostine Graham, Ann Williams and Gertrude Rainwater.

Georgia ALERT, January 1984 5

Georgia TOTY Says...
'' uitl ''
by Julia Martin 6 Georgia ALERT, January 1984

Kay Harvey hopes a little shock therapy will jolt the Georgia public school system into some changes.
Mrs. Harvey, a 33-year-old Norcross High School math teacher, was named Georgia's Teacher of the Year and immediately startled school officials at the awards ceremony by announcing that she was "quitting" her job.
"Although I love teaching and have dedicated 13 years of my life to it, I am no longer able to make the financial sacrifices which the current system demands," she said.
After a moment of quiet, followed by a few nervous giggles, Mrs. Harvey ripped up her bogus resignation letter and declared that she would never quit teaching.
Mrs. Harvey said she made the gesture because something radical needed to be done to emphasize the problems facing Georgia's public schools. Quality teachers are quitting for better paying hightechnology jobs, she said. The teachers who remain are underpaid, unappreciated and overworked.
Atlanta Constitution 11 /18/83

Kay Harvey is a person who speaks her mind. The 1984 Georgia Teacher of the Year is speaking out for public education- the positive aspects and the changes needed, the pride and power of teachers, the use of computers in the classroom, merit pay for teachers, discipline in the schools and the need for more parental and community involvement.
"This is a thrilling time to be involved in the field of education," she says. "The national sense of urgency to improve our schools is forcing public officials to view education as an investment rather than an expenditure. We need national leadership of those holding public office to carry out the wishes of the American people to provide the fiscal support to achieve the necessary educational reforms for our nation."
And a good place for reform to begin, Harvey believes, is with public school teachers. "Public education is emphasizing the development of the total person. More dialogue about goals beyond the acquisition of knowledge and subject area skills is occurring. Teachers are teaching students, not just subjects," Harvey says. "And teachers are no longer teaching to the average student only. Through mainstreaming and other individually tailored programs, teachers are demonstrating proficiency in challenging each student to work to the limits of his or her capabilities. Special attention is being given to different learning styles, rates of learning and ability levels. With the assistance of strong instructional leaders and more relevant staff development programs, classroom teachers are improving their instruction through the skillful use of effective teaching strategies.
"Therefore, we must draw the finest minds this country has to offer into our classrooms, and we must be able to keep them there," she emphasizes . "When I was selected Gwinnett County's teacher of the year, I felt very strongly that some type of performance-based criteria should be used to keep our best teachers in the classroom. When I see what many of the states in our country have done to the issue of merit pay, it disappoints me greatly. When I see a school system taking all the wages that should go to every teacher and awarding it to 10 or 15 percent, it makes me unhappy. When Isee things that are taking away from the profession as a whole a nd being called merit pay, it disappoints me greatly. I'm all for some type of career structure. That is needed so that a year from now I won't reach my 14th step and never receive another pay increase. I want teaching to be my career. I don't understand the inequities between working in a teaching career and working in another career where I would be rewarded for excellence. I want the issue of merit pay addressed, but I don't want it to be abused. I really feel that a lot of the programs that have been developed and are being developed are missing the point. But I feel very strongly that something has to be done ."
A positive aspect of public education that Harvey notes is that "many schools are experiencing more support from parents who are sharing with the

classroom teacher the responsibility of educating their children. State and local high school graduation requirements are being strengthened. But here again, parents must be involved. They must support the more demanding high school offerings by sharing responsibility for the courses their children take. Education must be considered an essential commodity in the home, with time and encouragement provided for quality work in completing out of class assignments."
Harvey also believes that school-industry partnerships and other community involvement are establishing the role of the American people as stockholders in public education. "In guiding students to make wise career choices and to manage their lives as happy, contributing members of society, many educators have been reaching out to other community agencies for assistance . This partnership has been beneficial in providing additional support for students during troubled times," she says.
During her 13 years of teaching, Harvey has seen some severe discipline problems among students. "We're dealing with a different base of young people these days," she says. "We're dealing with young people who have been abused at home before they come to school, who have little background in religious training and morality, and we're dealing with some really hard-core kids. The

only way you can expect them to respond to you is from the heart. And if teachers are not able to reach that level, they're going to have some very unmanageable students."
Several years ago, Harvey served on a systemwide disciplinary panel dealing with students who had committed serious offenses such as using drugs or physical violence . She says, "I was reluctant to accept the position at first . I thought it would be a heartbreaker. I didn 't want to be the one to say 'Suspend him. Expel her.' I thought it would be difficult on me. But Ifound out how many educators in this county are really attuned to all the services that are available in our community to students having problems. I was thrilled to find all of the contacts that were made for those people to obtain services available throughout the county counseling, psychiatric help, drug rehabilitation programs. I felt I really was a benefit to young people instead of just a judge."
Many of Harvey's education ideas are national in scope, but her starting point for improving public education is in her mathematics classes at Norcross High School in Gwinnett County. She says, "As problems in American education are defined and solutions to these problems outlined, we must act on the recommendations in our individual classrooms immediately. As the public sees that the efforts of individual classroom

Kay Harvey believes the starting point for improvement in public education is in the classroom. She told the Georgia Board ofEducation in November, "As I renew my commitment to the teaching profession in Georgia today, I will continue to dedicate my efforts to improving the quality of our educational system at the grass roots level."

Georgia ALERT, January 1984 7

teachers are making a difference in the quality of education received by their children, the tide of public support will continue to swell through the strengthened partnership of home and the school. "
Kay Harvey is making a difference in her classroom. From teaching ninth grade Algebra I to 12th grade calculus, her smile and sense of humor pervade her teaching methods . She feels that a sense of humor keeps the students listening to class lectures, eases their fears about learning math and helps them all enjoy their class time together. They use "Barney Binomial" to square binomials, avoid the "Cancel Crazies" when working algebraic functions and always "Do unto one side as you do unto another" when solving equations.
"My Algebra I students are so enthusiastic, and they enjoy a sense of humor," Harvey says . "It's a wonderful thing to see them light up. The lights are already on in my calculus students . But when you light up a ninth grader and you know you have that person set for math for the next four years, it's a wonderful feeling."
Harvey's teaching is not limited to numbers, however. Grammar in her math class is also important. "I think you do a great disservice to students if you tell them that grammar and spelling are important for only 50 minutes a day in English class. So, when I grade their math notebooks, if there's a word misspelled, I circle it and put the correct spelling by it. If they write an incorrect sentence, I hand them a dictionary. I tell them I'm an educator- a member of the National Education Association. Not just the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. You're not educated if you leave my classroom thinking that you can spell well in English and not spell well in math."
Harvey is excited about the use of computers in math class, but she also realizes the dangers . "In my classroom," she says, "we use the computer as a tool just as we use the filmstrip projector and the overhead projector. Computers have their advantages, but they will not replace teachers.
"When I read articles that say computers teach students as well as teachers do, it concerns me greatly. I've never seen students respond to a computer monitor the way they respond to a person . A student is not motivated sufficief!tly to sit down and learn material off a CRT.
"I'm also concerned about the emphasis on technology literacy as a replacement for written and oral literacy. Students should be able to communicate their thoughts to people and on paper. If you put them in front of a CRT and tell them to learn calculus, they're not communicating to other people what they're learning. That interaction is so important. So I'm concerned about the communication skills and the socialization skills of students who are put into a computer room to work with a machine rather than with people.
"In my computer literacy courses we spend a lot more time on the implications of computer

technology than we do on actually writing programs. We have lessons on the new computer morality - being able to log into someone else's computer base, erase their information or use it to your own benefit. We need to address those concerns. I try to stress to my students that computers are not going to solve all their problems and make life different - it's just a tool. "
Harvey extends her computer courses from her math classes during the day to teach classes in two community schools in the afternoons and evenings . She's encouraged by the community school concept and believes in it. She says, "To teach in such an atmosphere is really rewarding because these are people who, for the most part, have been through their formal schooling, yet are back to learn new things. They know that education is a never-ending process. They want to learn. "

Kay Harvey's superintendent, Alton Crews , has suggested that Georgia's 1984 Teacher of the Year is a national hero . "She is one of those truly dedicated teachers who shapes not only the matematical skills of our sons and daughters, but at the same time , by precept and example, exhibits to her students values, attitudes and behavior that will sustain them in the trying times that confront them beyond the doors of Norcross High School," he says.
Harvey replies, "Teaching is the most dynamic profession in which an individual can currently engage! I'm proud to be a Georgia teacher. Ibelieve we can and will improve public education , and I am proud to join the many others who are committed to begin now to do so! "

Harvey knows that effective classroom teaching goes far beyond mere skill training. She says, "A master teacher is keenly aware of the major influences and forces affecting young people today. The teacher should be actively involved in the socialization process, providing a loving, intellectually stimulating environment.

8 Georgia ALERT, January 1984

State Semifinalists and Local System TOTYs

Jackie Winchester Is TOTY Runner-up

Jackie Winchester, a sixth grade math and science teacher at Magnolia/ Chappelle School in Thomas County, is the 1984 Georgia Teacher of the Year runner-up .
A teacher for 18 years, Winchester believes in adding "mystery, a bit of magic and a dash of grandeur" in her classroom. She says, "I know that learning is hard work that can be fun. I believe in making every day as unique as possible to keep my

students' appetites for learning."
Through the years, Winchester's students have undertaken many school and community projects "because we believe in getting involved and actively working to meet our needs and to give purpose to our educational endeavors. A teacher who works in the community can expect the community to work to support our schools."

Sandra Brooks Butts County
Sarah Heindel Habersham County

State Finalists
Two other teachers were finalists in the 1984 TOTY program - Sandra Brooks, a business education teacher at Jackson High School in Butts County, and Sarah Heindel, a sixth grade language arts teacher at Cornelia Elementary in Habersham County.
Brooks has taught business education at Jackson High since 1970. She believes that "teaching is the most important profession in America. Despite recent reports that might lead an outsider to believe otherwise, I do believe we offer quality education," she says. "Public education employs well-trained, innovative and dynamic personnel. "
Heindel has taught in public schools since 1947. She says, "I am grateful for the privilege and ability to perform the role of a classroom teacher, and I welcome the challenge it presents every day." She believes that communication with parents is an important role of a teacher as well as sharing ideas with and giving support to her colleagues.

Twelve system teachers were state semifinalists. In addition to the four finalists, they were Cherry Cooper Brewton, Bulloch County; Robert Linn, Calhoun City; Cathy Gambrell, Carroll County; Jean Lovell, Clarke County; Kay Burke, DeKalb County; Peggy Crew, Grady County; Janeen Josey, Valdosta; and Betsy Hoole McArthur, Whitfield County.
Other teachers entered into the Georgia Teacher of the Year Program were Kerry Eugene Grimes, Americus; Frances Johnson, Appling County; Lela Blackburn, Atlanta; Gretchen Campbell, Baldwin County; Jackie McBrayer, Barrow County; Rosemary Lisby, Bartow County; James Hinson Jr., Bibb County; Willie Mae Brookins, Buford; Juanita Williams, Burke County; Karen Johnson, Camden County; Martha Dye Smith, Carrollton; Barbara Holland, Catoosa County; Estella German, Charlton County; Julia Clary, Chatham County; Sarah Emanuel, Chattahoochee County; Kimberly Ross, Cherokee County; Johnnie Hayes, Clayton County; Marilyn Allen, Cobb County; Martha Lou Royer, Coffee County; Susan Rozier, Colquitt County; Marion Marshall, Columbia County; Linda Ward Meadows, Cook County; John Dunn, Coweta County; Delores Stephens, Crawford County; Patsy Grimsley, Crisp County; Debra Jean Bunch, Dade County; Hayden Wagers, Dalton; Elaine Wilson, Dawson County; Barbara Grayson, Decatur City; Bruce Little, Douglas County; Janet Ramelle Edelen, Echols County; William Scott, Elbert County; Grady Yancey Jr., Emanuel County; Linda Wiley, Fayette County; Edwina Jordan, Fitzgerald; Miriam Bennett, Floyd County; Mary Jill Jackson, Forsyth County; Peggy McMahan, Franklin County; Kathleen Vande Berg, Fulton County; Ruth Hilson, Glascock County; Rose McDonald Darby, Glynn County; Laura Hite Holland, Gordon County; Marsha Clark, Spalding County; Karen Greenway, Hall County; Laura Mae Jackson, Harris County; Donna Elaine McKie, Henry County; Elisabeth Anne Bishop, Hogansville; Mary Ann Steele, Houston County; Betty Parr Gorham, Jackson County; Audrey Ezell, Jasper County; Edward Bristow, Lamar County; Charles Pope, Lanier County; Susan Strauss Maca, Lee County; Felecia Butler, Long County; James Goolsby, Lowndes County; Sabrina Webb Bennett, Madison County; Betty Carithers, Marietta; Alice Brown, Marion County; Jeanette McTier, McDuffie County; Brenda Hudson, Meriwether County; Barbara Bell Tyson, Morgan County; Louise Tolbert, Muscogee County; Charolotte Wildman, Newton County; Shirley Daniels, Oglethorpe County; Julianne Cofer, Paulding County; Geneva Woods, Pike County; Mary Mann, Pulaski County; John Yearwood, Rockdale County; Ann Everett Sumners, Rome; Eugene Duck, Social Circle; Rebecca Morgan, Stephens County; Emma Jean Huff, Talbot County; Ella Young, Terrell County ; Catherine Anderson, Thomasville; Shirley Cutts, Tift County; Carol Sue Faircloth, Toombs County; Thomas Whatley, Troup County; Sandra Scoggins, Walker County; Wynelle Ruark, Walton County; Leon Thigpen Jr. , Ware County; Loyce Moss Anderson, Washington County; Ramona Anita Battle, Waycross; Sarah Hawkins Paul, Wayne County; Runette Bishop, West Point; and Ruth McCrary Lumpkin, Worth County.
Georgia ALERT, January 1984 9

Story and Photographs by Stephen Edge

Standing beside an F-15 supersonic fighter plane, dressed in immaculate white coveralls, aircraft mechanic James Turner speaks loudly to be heard over the din of several hundred mechanics, air compressors and steel tools seemingly all ringing at once. Even the roar of Warner Robins Air Force Base jets from the nearby flightline cannot be heard in the cavernous hangar where the Air Force's premier fighter is repaired and maintained.
James Turner is excited to be a part of it all. Just a year before he was studying aircraft mechanics at the Georgia Department of Education's South Georgia Technical and Vocational School in Americus. Nearby, Tabitha Turner peers into the miles of electrical wire and systems of anothe r F-15. She is working on the first of three six-month, onthe-job stints as part of her cooperative training from the Houston Vocational Center in Warner Robins.
These Georgians and others like them have landed the jobs of their dreams because of a little-known training program sponsored by the U.S . Air Force through five of the state's area vocational schools and the residential state technical and vocational school in Americus.
Called the Cooperative Employment Training -Program, it replaces Warner Robins ' apprentice training program. Instead of hiring trainees cold for a three-year apprenticeship, the installation can now work with vo-tech school job placement coordinators to identify prospective employees who show aptitude for the highly specialized skills required for maintaining and repairing the sophisticated fighters and transport aircraft of the armed forces.
How do students feel about being tapped for a career as one of 17,000 civilian employees of Georgia's largest employer? The job starts at WG-

5, more than $20,000 a year, and Don Bradshaw, staffing specialist supervisor in Robins' civilian personnel office, says, "No one has turned us down yet." Bradshaw and his staff are closely involved in the everyday operation of the co-op program, which hires students from six different training areas of the vo-tech schools- electronics, tool and die making, aircraft sheet metal, aircraft mechanics, aircraft instrumentation and aircraft electrical repair.
James Turner studied aircraft mechanics at South Georgia Tech and was one of the first students to complete training in the co-op program and gain permanent employee status.
According to Ben Vann, chief of Robins' Employment Office , when the program first started some of the vo-tech programs were not up to par with standards of the Air Force. "The schools needed a new source of jobs requiring premium

skills . Robins needed employees who were systems oriented," he says. "Working with sophisticated metals of (supersonic) aircraft such as titanium and other new metals required a higher degree of proficiency than the schools had been turning out." According to Vann, the schools were motivated by the potential of the Robins program to upgrade their courses and hire more competent instructors. Macon Tech became the first with an all new sheet metal fabricating program. Not only would students learn the basics of sheet metal fabricating, they would learn it in depth, along with such things as precision soldering techniques, zero tolerance drilling and flush fitting rivets. Students accepted for the programs would also learn theory of flight, more math than other students and would be qualified for a much wider range of jobs, even demanding high technology jobs. The original sheet metal fabricating co-op program was funded through the Georgia Department of Education's Quick Start Program, which helps new or expanding industry train employees for specific jobs in specific fields . The first co-op sheet metal class was opened in a renovated industrial arts lab at the Houston Vocational Center in Warner Robins. Quick Start still provides funds for one sheet metal instructor, with the rest of the program being assumed through the school's regular operation. Ray Stewart, then industrialcoordinator at Macon Tech and now director of the new Heart of Georgia Vo-Tech School in Laurens County, says the new school will probably be interested in the cooperative training program as well.
According to Vann, Major General John Paulk, then commander of Robins and a native of Willacoochee , Georgia, saw a need for developing co-op programs in postsecondary schools in 1981. The first students hired under the program began work this July, and currently 20 are employed and

10 Georgia ALERT, January 1984

Tabitha Turner also works on the F-15 but as an aircraft systems electrician trainee. She is working on the first of three on-the-job training stints at Wa rner Robins and will return to Houston Vocational Center after six months for further co-op training.

Turner feels that his co-op training has made him a consummate professional and given him the confidence to work on the 2,000mph F-15 fighter plane.

Greg Keever is also undergoing his first OJT period. He works in the radar section of the Avionics Center of the Air Force and will return to Macon Area Tech in January for further training in electronir;s. Keever was the 1983 GOAL student from Macon.

, Georgia ALERT, January 1984 11

another 172 are studying in some phase of the program. All students must either study or work on the job for 30 months before converting to full-time employment. According to Bradshaw, students enrolled in school for six months in one of the target programs may take a proficiency examination and - if they score high enough- be invited to enroll in the co-op program. The first six months of the training are no picnic - the hardest subjects the students must take are intentionally placed at the beginning to weed out unmotivated people. After completing that phase students go to Warner Robins for six months OJT (on-the-job-training) to familiarize themselves with the base and the working situation. Then it's back to school for another six months study, and eventually back to Robins for another six months OJT. Finally, students study for an additional six months at the vo-tech school and become full-time employees when they graduate. At Robins they will work with more advanced employees called journeymen workers until their proficiency improves.
Ben Vann says the program is a definite improvement over the old apprentice training. Under it the Air Force had to pay apprentices and instructors full time for three years. The program is of vital importance, he says, when considering the money the electronics mechanics alone save the government. It now costs the Air Force $150 million to employ 1,200-1,500 people in electronics maintenance and repair , a savings of more than $1 billion over the open market price.
Five area schools and South Georgia Tech currently operate six different programs for co-op students. The school and the programs they carry are listed below.

Warner Robins Deputy Director of Maintenance Earvin Joyner (dark suit) tours training facilities at South Georgia Tech with Robins staffing specialists Kim Schubert, left, and Virginia Lingelbach. Ralph Thomas, SGT instructional supervisor, explains part of the training.

South Georgia Tech ...... Aircraft mechanics, machining and electronics
Houston Vocational Center ... .. Electronics, aircraft sheet metal, aircraft instrumentation, aircraft electrical systems
Spalding Area Tech .... Machining, electronics Macon Tech . . . . . . . . . . Machining, electronics,
aircraft sheet metal Ben Hill-Irwin Tech ........ .... ... Machining Upson Tech .... . ....... . ... . .... Electronics
When Robins Deputy Maintenance Director Earvin L. Joyner toured South Georgia Tech recently to see the co-op students and programs in operation, he kept repeating that the postsecondary schools could really become the training centers of a new highly technical society, but the message seems to be that they cannot always wait for initiative from outside sources. Georgia's vo-tech schools offer the rarest of things, tailored training programs for specific jobs and careers in no nonsense settings.

Below, two South Georgia Tech students in the aircraft mechanics program work on an independent study project. South Georgia Tech is one of only two schools in Georgia to offer aircraft mechanics.
Persons attending these schools have goals to reach, and they are hampered only by their own limitations. Programs which offer the highly technical training for specific jobs in specific settings, such as the Cooperative Employment Training Program, may well be the wave of the future . At least one other government agency has jumped on the bandwagon; the Marine installation at Albany has already contracted with South Georgia Tech to train its electronics technology students.
Vann and Bradshaw both believe that programs such as the co-op program will be highly beneficial to postsecondary schools in Georgia, especially when all the programs at the schools reach the caliber of those in the co-op program. According to Bradshaw, it is one of the basic things needed to attract high tech industry, to give more high paying employment to Georgians and - through both to significantly increase Georgia's tax base. In this respect the cooperative program truly is the right stuff for the Georgia education system.

12 Georgia ALERT, January 1984

Story by Barbara Perkins Photos by Glenn Oliver

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Betty Stancil taught fourth grade a long time ago before certification requirements changed. Now she is a teacher aide at Tate Elementary and has been one for nearly 20 years.

Lucille Craig and Angela Davis huddle for a minute at the beginning of math period . Then Davis shepherds about 20 youngsters to the back half of the room to work a math game . Craig leads nine children to seats at the front. She whips out a stack of flash cards, holds high one which reads "3 x 8 =" and shouts of "24!" zing toward her like shots from a .22 caliber pistol.
Craig holds up another multiplication card, then another and another. About midway through her

stack the shouts lose a little velocity and a lot of mathematical accuracy. Before she finishes the deck, fingers, toes, pencils and paper help most students figure the problems. A few take pot shots at the answers.
Meanwhile, at the back of the room, Davis and the math game workers are still going strong.
What's happening in this third grade classroom at Morganton Elementary School in Fannin County is an everyday thing for the teacher and teacher aide

hard at work with the roomful of students. Davis is the teacher. Craig is the 20-year-veteran aide .
"I've been working as a teacher aide in the county for 20 years, and I plan to retire from it," said Craig. There is no reason to suppose she will not. She has a two-decade success record. Of the 12 students she regularly worked with from Davis' class last year who had fallen far behind in math skills, only three were not at or above grade level by the end of the term.

Georgia ALERT, January 1984 13

Geraldine Pope spends close to five hours a day tutoring youngsters in math at McCaysville Elementary, just a stone's throw this side of the Tennessee line . If she had had a son the same year she became a teacher aide, he now would be old enough to register for the draft , for Pope has seen her 18th year on the job. She, like her sister, Craig, would like to think she has taken on a lifetime career.
Teacher aides - you can find them in just about every public school in Georgia, from Tate Elementary near the marble quarries to Montgomery County Elementary near the onion fields . In Claxton they work in schools within the aroma of the fruitcake factory . In Athens they work in schools surrounding the University of Georgia. No matter in which part of the state they work or whatever school program they serve, teacher aides exist for one important reason - to help teachers teach kids.
The help aides give takes a variety of forms. They tutor students who are behind in basic skills. They keep groups of students on task while the teacher works with others. They grade tests, file papers and do other classroom related tasks. They supervise students at routine activities . In short, they do what needs to be done to help the teacher spend more time doing what he or she was hired to do - teach.
State regulations require all auxiliary personnel to be licensed. Aides fall into this category. There are two classes of aides in Georgia - Rank I (aide)

must have at least a ninth grade education or GED equivalent; Rank II (paraprofessional) must have at least 45 quarter hours of college credit. Both classes must complete 50 clock hours of orientation training before being issued a regular license. However, either 90 quarter hours of college credit, or 1,000 clock hours of vocational-technical or CESA training, or the possession of a valid teaching certificate can substitute for orientation.
In addition, every three years the aide must complete 50 clock hours of in-service to have a license renewed.
"Good aides aren't just born that way. They must be trained. We have some of the best aides in the state because we do some of the best training," said M.C. McDaniel, curriculum director for Pickens County Schools.
Pickens County offers courses for aides in first aid, fire safety, child abuse and neglect and physical education for children. Workshops carried out through the year include make-and-take materials for classroom use, professionalism in working with parents and teachers, legal hints for education personnel, proper use of audiovisual equipment, ages and stages of children, storytelling and affective education.
"We have an arrangement with North Georgia College whereby they come and offer courses to our people here. A lot of our aides take advantage of this," McDaniel said .

Seven of Pickens County's aides realized a bargain from their training. They took so many courses while they were aides that they were able to apply for certification by the Georgia Department of Education and returned to their classrooms not as aides but as teachers.
"Aides are teachers ." according to Barbara Stevens, coordinator of early childhood education of the Georgia Department of Education. "Most are not teachers in the technical sense of being certified or having major responsibility for instruction, but they are teachers because they are models for children. They teach by example . This is especially true in kindergarten."
Kindergarten units by law are defined as one teacher, one aide and 40 students for regular classes or 24 students for special education classes. "Aides were written into the program because we believe they are essential. Whether you have 15 or 25 kindergarten student's in a room, you need two adults there. Little ones need help with their belongings. They need help with their clothes. They need help with socialization skills. One adult cannot provide that attention and instruct too," Stevens said.
Psychoeducational Centers for Severely Emotionally Disturbed Children (SED) also use aides extensively, but they are not called aides.
"They are called support teachers because that better describes what they do," said Joan Jordan,

These Morganton fifth graders strengthen their mathematics skills by practicing expanded notation at the chalkboard. A test they took in the first two weeks of school indicated the skills in which they were

behind. The help Craig gives them both individually and in small groups helps them to master those skills. She hopes to have them working on grade level before the end of the school term.

14 Georgia ALERT, January 1984

coordinator for Georgia's SED network. "If you understand the population of children SED centers serve , if you understand the nature of what goes on in SED classrooms, then you already know that support teachers must undergo a lot of training."
SED support teachers are Rank II aides. They help with parent training and educational assessment. They chart student behavior. They must be familiar with each student's Individual Education Plan. According to Jordan, the 379 support teachers along with their lead teachers must make effective classroom teams. They were written into the original staffing plan for the centers because SED students need individual attention .
In many cases the support teacher has to know just about as much as the lead teacher, Jordan says. Support teachers go to in-service training; they attend staff meetings; they are included with the teachers in training sessions because of the team approach.
"If for some reason a lead teacher has to leave the room, the support teacher has to know how to effectively handle that class of severely emotionally disturbed children," Jordan said.
"I was a teacher aide in the special education program here in Fannin County for six years, and it was an intense experience . Three years ago I was transferred to the compensatory education program, and it's quite a different experience altogether," said Joan Kitchens, who works at Mineral Bluff Elementary.

Craig drills third graders on multiplication. Fannin County uses all of its compensatory education aides for mathematics remediation.

"Readers are Leaders" the sign above Helen Stewart's work area says. Stewart is an aide for sixth and seventh grade teachers at Jasper Elementary. Here she works with slow readers in a social studies class.

"33," was second grader Randy Allen's first answer to Morris' question, "What's 2 times 3?" After Morris briefly explains the times sign again, Randy uses a tried and true finger count to get the right answer.

Georgia ALERT, January 1984 15

Geraldine Pope helps a youngster with directions on taking a math exam. Teacher Sherry Welch says one of the greatest benefits of

having Pope's aid is that, "Gerri is an excellent math scholar. And she knows how to communicate her knowledge to students."

Compensatory education students do not have special problems. They simply have fallen behind in either one or both of the basic skills subjects reading and math. Kitchens' job is to help them catch up with the rest of their class.
Compensatory Education (CEP) is one of the oldest remaining state funded programs which uses aides extensively. CEP aides are 900 strong today. At one time they were almost twice that numerous. Decreased education funding is one reason for the decline in numbers.
"We can't afford to buy teachers with the money we get," said Tom Foster, curriculum director for Fannin County Schools. "But we can buy aides. We are learning to be creative with our existing personnel. Of course, when you have aides the caliber of the ones we have here, I don't think there is any cause for worry about the quality of services students are getting."

According to Bert Griffin, compensatory education consultant for the Georgia Department of Education, many aides are as good as teachers. Some who have been on the job for many years are exceptional. Some aides are teachers who have not been able to get a teaching position in the school system of their choice, so they work as aides until the right position opens. Some hold education degrees but lack some qualification to be certified, so they work as aides until the qualification is met.
Jordan said one of the best support teachers she ever had while she was director of an SED center was a young man with a four-year degree in psychology from West Georgia College. The center lost him as a support teacher but gained him as a teacher when he became certified.
Just about every educational program has teacher aides or their equivalent to serve it - Chapter I, migrant education, bilingual education, special

education to name a few. Aides are an education bargain hunter's special.
"Teacher aides yield a high return on the education dollar. For the amount of money the state puts into aides for schools, their contribution to Georgia children insofar as helping them to learn is outstanding," said Scott Bradshaw, director of the Division of Curriculum Services for the Georgia Department of Education.
Teacher aid is a female-dominated occupation. The pay is low. Aides do not choose this field to get rich . Most of them make barely above minimum wage. Rank II aides make a little more than Rank I. Sometimes, but not often, local funds supplement state or federally funded salaries. The rewards you get being a teacher aide are not related to money, many aides say.
"Working with the children and giving them the individual help they need to keep up with the rest of

16 Georgia ALERT, January 1984

Aides Could Be Cut
Compensatory and psychoeducation dollars were among the education programs hard hit in last fall's budget cuts. Compensatory education is missing more than $542,000 from its initial FY 1984 allocation. Almost $436,000 in psychoed money was cut.
These cuts were equitably divided among school systems- 3.15 percent of each local education agency's original allotment was lost. While no one school system's programs will be devastated by the decrease in funds, the state's overall program will suffer. State education officials say that if school systems cannot replace the state funds with local money, supplies and materials, personnel and services to students will have to be cut.
Teacher aides might be affected. A few might lose their jobs. But more likely, as has happened in the past, some fulltimers might become part-timers. Another likelihood as education dollars become scarce and the effect of inflation diminishes their worth is that the ratio of compensatory teacher aides to certified teachers might increase.

Pam Garrett helps a kindergartener with his art. She is one ofPickens County's 39 teacher aides.

the class is my reward ," one aide said. "Giving children the help they need, help no one else has the time to give them, makes you feel good," said another. "My biggest reward probably has been learning so much about how to deal with children the right way. I'll tell you, when you have a house full of your own, every little bit of good information you can get helps a lot," said an elementary school aide. "Having one of the little ones put his arms around you and say, 'I love you . You're always so nice to me .' is my pay, " said a kindergarten aide.
Morris pulls students from their classrooms to work with them in a lab. She takes only three or four at a time.

Georgia ALERT, January 1984 17

A Look at Education's Future Today

For the first time in 20 years, Georgia public education is getting a comprehensive , in-depth, cross-section study, according to Ed Harris, vice chairman of the Education Review Commission appointed this summer by Governor Joe Frank Harris.
The 40-member commission, which includes Georgia Board of Education members, legislators, parents, business people, professionals and educators, has been asked by the Governor to define a basic, quality education and to determine an equitable method of funding public schools. The Governor chairs the commission, and Ed Harris, a certified public accountant with Price Waterhouse of Atlanta, is vice chairman.
Ed Harris told Georgia school superintendents that the commission plans public hearings in each congressional district and expects to make its recommendations in June. The first hearing was held November 14 in Dalton ; others are scheduled through January.
The commission has five working subcommittees - comparative analysis, definition, teacher education, funding and service delivery.
Issues being considered include- What is a basic , quality education? How much preparation do students need? What should be the core curriculum? Why do we have a teacher shortage? Could Georgia implement a career ladder? What should be done about teachers who can't progress? Who evaluates administrators? Should the state take over all education funding? Do we need statewide tests? Is there any significance to the fact that the average millage is 11.2 mills in systems where the superintendent is elected and 13.7 where the superintendent is appointed? Who controls education in Georgia? Should the state superintendent be appointed?
Harris said the Governor told commission members that he would not support any new taxes for education but would consider reallocating existing resources.
Members of the commission are Kathryn P . Jasper of Macon and Richard Owens of Ocilla , members of the Georgia Board of Education; Senators Tom Allgood of Augusta, Roy Barnes of Marietta, John Foster of Cornelia, AI Scott of Savannah and Terrell Starr of Forest Park; Representatives Jimmy Benefield of Jonesboro, AI Burrus of Marietta, Bubba McDonald of Commerce , Ben Ross of Lincolnton and Georganna Sinkfield of Atlanta.
Other commission members are Atlanta businessman Bernard Abrams; John Arndt of Cousins Properties, Doraville ; Judith Arrington of Georgia Power, Atlanta; Dalton businessman

James Brown; funeral director William Carroll of Camilla; Ellen Claiborne, former state PTA president, Dalton; Dougherty County campaign coordinator Lisa Collins; Gwinnett County School Superintendent Alton Crews; Atlanta City School Superintendent Alonzo Crim; Patricia Edwards, a homemaker from Barnesville; Chatham County School Superintendent Ronald Etheridge; Dot Fletcher, a homemaker from LaFayette; attorney Billy Fallin of Moultrie; Joseph Greene , McDuffie County Board of Education member, Thomson; Robert Guyton , Bank of the South, Atlanta; banker Eugene Hunt, Augusta; Atlanta businessman

Arthur Johnston; Carolyn Lee , Georgia Association of Educators president, Carrollton; Carol Murphy, a teacher from Bremen; Naia Newton , a homemaker from Waycross ; businessman Herman Russell , Atlanta; Elizabeth Brown Sloop, a business education consultant from Decatur; Nancy Stanton, a homemaker from Lilburn; Anne Tolleson, a homemaker from Atlanta; Janet Wiley , Professional Association of Georgia Educators president, Elberton; minister Larry Williams of Atlanta; and Bibb County School Deputy Superintendent Robert Williams.
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What is a basic, quality education? That is one question to be answered by the Education Review Commission. Dr. Alonzo Crim, right, vice chairman of the definition committee and superintendent of Atlanta City Schools, explains his ideas to other members, from left, Nancy Stanton, Gene Hunt, Anne Tolleson and Dot Fletcher.
Funding the Future 1985

The Georgia Board of Education will seek $1.8 billion for public schools for school year 1984-85.
Most of the budget request to the 1984 General Assembly will continue programs in the current budget. Approximately $200 million will be sought for improvements, not including $135 million for school building construction and renovation .
A large part of the new funds - about $92 million would go for a $1,500 across-the-board salary increase for teachers and public librarians and a 10 percent increase for bus drivers . This would raise the salary for beginning teachers to $14,526 .
Other major items included in the request are
$5 .9 million to provide a full -day kindergarten program,
$5 .2 million to add the 18th year to the teacher salary schedule,

$19 million to increase maintenance and operation funds from $2,100 to $2,500 per teacher,
$2.4 million to increase sick and personal leave for teachers and bus drivers ,
$2.1 million to increase instructional materials and media from $450 to $500 per teacher,
$23 million to implement a health insurance plan for noncertified personnel,
$22 million for vocational and technical education improvements,
$1.2 million for 48 additional school psychologists,
$2 million for high technology instructional equipment.
All but about $20 million of the $1.8 billion budget request would go directly to local school systems and state-operated schools. The other $20 million is for operation of the Georgia Department of Edu catio n .

18 Georgia ALERT, January 1984

People 1 n Education

Curtis Kingsley
In a recent reorganization of the Georgia Department of Education's Office of Vocational Education, Curtis Kingsley was promoted to director of the Division of Secondary Vocational Programs. He previously coordinated the development of comprehensive high schools and the expansion of the postsecondary vocationaltechnical schools. A native of Mississippi, he joined the Georgia Department of Education staff in 1973. He has been a teacher, vocational supervisor and high school principal. He received a B.S. degree in industrial education from Mississippi State University and a master's from the University of Georgia. The Office of Vocational Education now has three divisions - Kingsley's Division of Secondary Vocational Programs, the Postsecondary Vocational Programs Division headed by John Lloyd and the Division of Program Development and Support Services headed by Jim Conkwright.

H. F. Johnson Jr.

H. F. Johnson Jr. is associate state school superintendent for administrative services. He joined the Georgia Department of Education staff in 1980 as a regional director in Statesboro for 17 systems. A native of Baxley, Johnson was superintendent of Appling County Schools for seven years . He also has been a high school counselor and teacher. He holds a bachelor's and

master's degree in education and an Ed.S. in administration and supervision from Georgia Southern . As associate state school superintendent, Johnson administers five divisions in the Georgia Department of Education facilities and transportation, fiscal services, local systems support, regional education services and public information and publications.

Michael Tenoschok
Michael Tenoschok is staff assistant to State School Superintendent Charles McDaniel. A native of Frackville, Pennsylvania, Tenoschok joined the staff of the Georgia Department of Education in January 1983 as a health and physical education consultant in the Curriculum Division. He previously served as an intramural director and physical education teacher in Cobb County's Pine Mountain and Dodgen middle schools. Tenoschok has bachelor's and master's degrees from Temple University in Philadelphia. In his new position Tenoschok works closely with the Georgia Board of Education and travels with and handles special projects for the superintendent .

Georgia ALERT, January 1984 19

-

Governor Names New Board Members
The Georgia Board of Education has three new members- Kathryn P. Jasper representing the eighth congressional district, Bernadine Cantrell representing the fifth a nd John M. Taylor representing the third. J asper is a retired elementary school principal from Macon. She has been a classroom teacher and a consultant in the program for exceptional children and early childhood education for Bibb County Schools. Cantrell lives in Atlanta and attended school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She is active in church and civic organizations and serves on the board of directors of Challenger Films. Taylor is an attorney in the LaGrange firm of Lewis and Taylor. He has served as an instructor in business law for the University of Kentucky Extension in Fort Knox and is a member of the City of LaGrange Democratic Executive Committee.

Kathryn P. Jasper

Bernadine Cantrell

John M. Taylor

Students Must Study More Math, Science
Students entering the ninth grade next fall will face stiffer high school graduation requirements. At its November meeting the G eorgia Board of Education adopted a new policy which increases the number of Carnegie units required for graduation from 20 to 21. Of those , 13 will be specified areas of study and eight will be electives. Currently, 10 units are specified, and 10 are electives.
The new requirements call for four _units in English language arts, two in mathematics, two in science, three in social studies, one in health, safety and physical education and one in computer technology, fine arts or vocational education.
According to the policy, remedial credits must be classified as electives. State required unit credit must be awarded for courses which include skills and concepts generally considered to be secondary school levels of performance . Developmental special education courses are not considered remedial.
In the new policy the state board also endorses a course of study for college-bound students which includes four units of English language arts , three of science , three of mathematics , three of social science , two of foreign language, one of health, safety and physical education and one of computer technology, fine arts or vocational education. The board recommends that 17 of these units be required and only four elective .
Other requirements previously adopted by the board have not changed. The students still must demonstrate competence in the areas of reading, writing, mathematics and problem solving.
These skills, with the exception of writing, are measured through the Georgia Basic Skills Tests, which students must pass in order to graduate. They must also meet attendance requirements established by local boards of education .

January 1984 Vol. 15 No. 1

ALERT Staff Managing Editor Nancy Hall-Shelton News Feature Editor Stephen Edge Photo Editor Glenn Oliver Graphics Elaine Pierce Typesetting Carla Dean Contributing Reporters Wagers Chenault, Eleanor Gilmer, Julia Martin, Lou Peneguy , Barbara Perkins, Ann e Raymond and Gilda Lamar Watters.

The Georgia Department of Education does not discriminate in employment or educational activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex or handicap.

Published by the Public Information and Publications Division

Office of Administrative Services
Georgia Department of Education 2052 Twin Towers East Atlanta, Georgia 30334 Telephone (404) 656-2476

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20 Georgia ALERT, January 1984

Georgia Department of Education Atlanta, Georgia 30334

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1985 Search Begins For Teaching Excellence

The search for Georgia's 1985 Teacher of the Year began in several local systems this spring; other local TOTYs are selected in the fall. State nominations will be due in the Georgia Department of Education's Public Information and Publications Division in late September. State entry forms were mailed to local systems in May.
Last year, 98 local teachers of the year were nominated for the state title, the highest number ever to participate. Kay Harvey, a mathematics teacher at Norcross High School in Gwinnett County, was chosen to represent all of Georgia's excellent teachers. Since then she has been named assistant principal at Gwinnett's Duluth High School.
"The state teacher of the year program is one of the best ways we have to recognize our many

outstanding classroom teachers," said State School Superintendent Charles McDaniel. "I encourage every system to nominate a deserving teacher for the state title."
The Georgia Teacher of the Year Program is cosponsored by the state education department and Southern Educators Life Insurance Company. Southern Educators honors the TOTY with $1,000 and the state runner-up with $250, along with a dinner in their honor and hotel accommodations in Atlanta before being presented to the Georgia Board of Education in November.
Georgia's 1985 TOTY will represent the state in the National Teacher of the Year Program which is sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers, Encyclopaedia Britannica and Good Housekeeping magazine.

Kay Harvey, Georgia's 1984 Teacher of the Year, will serve on the final selection committee to choose the 1985 Georgia Teacher of the Year.

Contents

State Board Takes Action For Excellence

Features
Principals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Good Ones and How They Get That Way
Report Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Are They Making the Grade?
Education Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Computers Come to Class
Pine Street Elementary Skills Center .... 15 Machines Make Learning Fun
It's Not Easy Being Excellent . .. . .. .. .... 16 A Look at Georgia's 1984 Schools of Excellence
Departments
1985 TOTY Search Begins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Action for Excellence .................... 2 A Matter of PRiority ......... ..... . . .. . . 23 Teacher Salaries Going Up . .. . .. .. ... .. 24
Cover: Shamrock High School English teacher Katie Vance (left) and Betty Beason, secretary in the attendance office, get programming training in BASIC LANGUAGE. Shamrock, a DeKalb County School, will soon be using computers in both administrative and instructional capacities.
(Photograph by Glenn Oliver)

In recent months the Georgia Board of Education has made some significant policy changes to improve education in the state.
Last November, the board adopted stiffer high school graduation requirements which will require students to take more English, mathematics and science courses. The number of Carnegie units was increased from 20 to 21, and of those 13 will be specified areas of study and eight will be electives.
The new requirements call for four units in English language arts, two in mathematics, two in science! three in social studies, one in health, safety and physical education and one in computer technology and/or fine arts and/ or vocational education. The board also endorses a course of study for college bound students which includes additional courses in English, science, mathematics and foreign language. The new policy will affect students entering the ninth grade next fall.
To be promoted, third grade students will soon be required to pass a state-administered test to measure their reading and mathematics skills. The first test will be given on a pilot basis to third graders next fall. After that, the state board will determine the passing score, and third graders entering school in 1985-86 will be required to pass. The third grade criterion-referenced test will become a part of the statewide testing program and will take the place of the required fourth grade CRT.
Student absences for school-sponsored noninstructional activities will be limited to seven

days per 180-day school year under a field-test Standard adopted by the board in April.
The proposed Standard, if adopted following next year's trial period, will require local boards of education to adopt policies limiting absences for students in grades four through 12 to "no more than seven days/ 42 hours per year for schoolsponsored activities." The local board may adopt a more stringent standard than the seven days. Students in grades one through three may miss no more than 31.5 hours. In addition, the state board Standard allows a school to use a maximum of three days during the 180-day school year for administrative activities such as registration and student orientation.
The board interprets instructional activity as "time spent on instruction provided or coordinated by a regular certified teacher or a supply teacher which relates directly to course content as defined in local system curriculum guides or locally adopted state guides. Testing, counseling (including parentteacher conferences) and health screening are deemed to be instructional activity."
Other areas under study by board committees and which will be voted on during the next several months include establishing basic curriculum content and expectations for what students should learn in each elementary grade and high school subject; simplifying and streamlining teacher certification and upgrading administrative and instructional leadership throughout Georgia public schools through training, development and evaluation .

2 Georgia ALERT, May 1984

Tlte Principal Teaclter-anda wltolelot more
by Eleanor Gilmer

Fox principal Guy Sims believes his school's preschool and kindergarten programs have made an important difference in student achievement. Most Fox students come from low-income families where parents have little time or resources to spend on school readiness for their children.

If you take a cup of kindness, a tablespoon of firmness, a pinch of tact, a teaspoon of communication skills and a bushel of hard work and mix them all together with a lot of leadership ability, what will you get? Probably an outstanding public school principal.
Many have speculated on the ingredients that go into making a good principal. The answers are as varied as the people giving them. But the one thing they are likely to agree on is that the principal is the key to an effective school.
"A good principal motivates students to learn."
"The principal should be tuned in to students."
"The principal should first of all be a good teacher."
"I think the principal should serve as a role model for students."
"A good principal treats teachers as professionals."
"A good principal involves parents in the school
program."

These are comments from students, teachers, parents and principals themselves on what makes an outstanding principal.
The quality of education across the nation has been the topic of much discussion in recent months. Thousands of dollars have been spent studying the issues and recommending solutions to the problems. Many of these studies have reported that the leadership role of the principal plays a crucial part in achieving quality in the school.
Some theorists believe that principals are perhaps the most important individuals in schools, and school effectiveness is directly related to the effectiveness of the principal.
The role of the school principal has broadened greatly since the early days of public education, when the best teacher in the school was appointed supervisor of other teachers. In fact , that is where the term principal originated - this person was the principal teacher.

According to State School Superintendent Charles McDaniel, that still is the most important characteristic of a good principal.
"A good principal must serve as the instructional leader of the school and be an outstanding manager of all resources," he said. "A good principal gives teachers support and sees that they are properly placed. He or she must love children, be willing to listen to parents and must be able to interpret the school and school program to the public. "
McDaniel believes an important characteristic of a good principal is that he or she has been a teacher. "I particularly believe elementary principals should have teaching experience at the elementary level," he said.
Today principals must wear many hats. They must be not only instructional leaders , but also surrogate parents, personnel directors, disciplinarians, public relations specialists, accountants and sometime, janitors .

Georgia ALERT, May 1984 3

In a recent survey conducted by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (PSC), principals were asked to rank their current role and then rank what their ideal role would be.
This is how they ranked their current roles: instructional leadership (31 percent), school manager (25.6 percent), disciplinarian (16 percent), personnel leader (11 percent), planner (4.9 percent), community leader (4.4 percent), coordinator of extracurricular activities (3.6 percent) and professional developer (2.8 percent).
Their ideal roles were ranked this way: instructional leadership (54.2 percent), personnel leader (11.8 percent), school manager (9.4 percent), planner (7.2 percent), community leader (5.6 percent), disciplinarian (4.5 percent), professional developer (4.5 percent) and coordinator of extracurricular activities (2.8 percent).
Principals report spending an average of 53 hours per week on the job. There are nearly 2,000 public school principals in the state. According to the PSC

study, the typical Georgia principal is a 46-year-old white male who grew up in a rural community. The average income of principals is $31,450. Most of them received their education in Georgia, and a large majority have been teachers, assistant principals or coaches. Ninety percent reported they are satisfied with their jobs and most want to remain at their present school for the next five years. They do not wish to become lobbyists, college administrators, college teachers or superintendents.
There are hundreds of outstanding principals across the state. Many of them are spotlighted each year by professional education organizations such as the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders, Georgia Association of Educators and Professional Association of Georgia Educators.
Georgia Alert has selected three principals to feature as examples of those who are outstanding. All three are from schools recently named Georgia Schools of Excellence.

When Columbia County underwent an attendance rezoning, students at a rival school were assigned to Columbia Junior High. A campaign to change attitudes about the school resulted in a new school logo. Principal Gloria Hamilton spent part of her summer painting the logo on the gymnasium floor.

Sims spends a lot of time in the classroom. He and fourth grade teacher Rochelle Scott discuss curriculum plans.
Guy Sims Fox Elementary School
Muscogee County

Fox Elementary School in Muscogee County has many strikes against it. It is one of the oldest schools in the system. Its 500-plus students come from low-income, mainly single parent homes. Eighty percent of the families are on welfare. The school is located in a neighborhood surrounded by federally subsidized housing. Yet there is a warmth about it that visitors feel immediately.
Students are excited about learning. Teachers seldom leave except to retire or move out of the system. And parents who have little schooling themselves are heavily involved in the school program. There is a positive attitude about the entire school.
The key to the school's success is its principal, Guy Sims.
"It takes a special kind of person to head up a school like Fox," said school secretary Evelyn Miley, who sings her boss' praises to anyone who will listen. "Mr. Sims really cares about people, and as a result, they care about themselves," she said.
Sims has been at Fox nearly 12 years, and during that time has made the school an example for others in the system. This school, which ranked near the bottom in achievement, now ranks in the top 10 schools in the system on test scores.
This success is due in part to Sims' belief that to build a good program in a neighborhood like Fox's,

4 Georgia ALERT, May 1984

the principal must stay long enough to build trust. Most of his experience has been in schools similar to Fox. He taught elementary grades in one for five years and was principal of another for three.
Sims plays many roles as principal. He is the father many of the children do not have; he often takes students shopping for clothes or other necessities. He is counselor to parents; mothers often seek his advice about problems with their children. He is a friend to his staff.
"He sets standards of excellence for us and treats us as professionals ," said kindergarten teacher Betty Jo Vignery. "I really appreciate that. As a result teachers act professionally. Every school needs good administration. It's impossible to function in chaos."
Positive reinforcement of students is evident to anyone visiting Fox. The halls are full of art and notes from teachers congratulating students for everything from good test scores to working quietly at their desks. Pictures of students also are displayed. Each month students who have birthdays have their names displayed on a special wall, and each student gets a cupcake on his or her birthday. Sims gives monthly principal's awards for various ac hievements.
"These children have never received much individual attention during their lives, and we try to make them feel special," said Sims.
Sims takes special pride in three areas of his program - the preschool program, a prefirst grade program and the parent involvement program.
In the preschool program one full-time teacher and one aide work with 73 children ages one month to five years. Parent and child meet with the teacher once a week for 30 minutes. Activities are based on results of a screening test. In addition to activities the child does at school, activities are planned with the parent to be completed daily at home with the child. All materials necessary to complete the activities are loaned to the parent.
The prefirst grade program was implemented for students who finished kindergarten but were not ready for first grade.
"The parents resisted the first year we began the program. They didn't want us to hold their child back. But it took only one year to convince parents that the program would pay off," said Sims. "Our test scores have gone up dramatically, and we now have students who feel good about themselves and have positive attitudes about school. In the past these children would have been troublemakers."
Sims said when he began working with students from low-income families he thought the parents just did not care about their child's education.
"But the more Iworked with the parents, the more I realized the majority do care, but the parents themselves felt insecure about school. Mothers on welfare thought they had nothing to offer the school," he said. This has changed. Parents now

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Sims gives a special word of encouragement to third grader Demetrius Love. He believes that being a good principal means taking an interest in each student.

serve as volunteers in many areas. They work in the library, help teachers in the classroom and tutor children. Each Wednesday six mothers work in the school cafeteria to allow teachers to have a dutyfree lunch.
It is no wonder that many awards have gone to Fox Elementary and to its teachers and principal. The School Bell Award for Outstanding School Programs was presented by the Georgia Association of Elementary School Principals in

1983 for the preschool program. For three out of the last four years, a teacher from Fox has been selected as Muscogee County Teacher of the Year. Sims has been named the Outstanding Elementary Principal of the Year by the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders and by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators. He has served as president of the Georgia Association of Elementary Principals. Just recently, he was named one of 100 top school executives in the United States and has been nominated for a national PTA award .

Georgia ALERT, May 1984 5

...-
But awards are not what make Guy Sims and Fox Elementary School outstanding. It is the genuine love and caring the teachers, students, parents and principal have for each other.
"I love Mr. Sims because he never leaves anyone out," said fourth grader Lori Gray.
"I love Mr. Sims because he keeps our school clean," added a kindergartener.
"Mr. Sims is a wonderful principal. He really cares about all of us," said a mother serving as a volunteer.

Gloria Hamilton Columbia Junior High School
Columbia County Schools

That Columbia Junior High School was selected as a Georgia School of Excellence and has been nominated for a national excellence award amazes some people who only two years ago saw unhappy parents, hostile students and an uncooperative community when the school system underwent an attendance rezoning.
"Students whose parents, brothers and sisters went to Evans Junior High and who thought of Columbia Junior High as the enemy were assigned to our school," said Columbia Principal Gloria Hamilton. "Students who had been friends throughout their school careers were assigned to different schools. Parents were unhappy because
Hamilton sometimes fills in for a teacher instead of hiring a substitute. Here she helps Dana Sumner with a history problem.

Columbia students Amy Swaney (left) and Elaine Garnett take advantage ofHamilton's open door policy. She not only encourages students to come to her office to talk with her, but also she eats lunch with the students each day.

their children had to be bused farther to school. This was a very emotional time for all of us."
Under Hamilton's leadership the school faculty and students launched a campaign to try to change attitudes about the school and to soothe sore feelings. The students voted on a new school logo and colors. The previous logo, the bulldog, was eliminated from the walls and school paraphernalia. The school became the Columbia Raiders, and Hamilton spent part of her summer painting the new logo on the gymnasium floor.
This year the school adopted a motto and a theme which paid off in many ways for students and staff. The motto, "Home and School - a Partnership for Excellence," and the theme, "Pride," are demonstrated in all school activities.
"The students now have pride in their school and parents have become avid supporters of our program," said Hamilton.
A former elementary school principal, Hamilton has had to do some adjusting herself to serve as a principal of a junior high school.
"I have had to learn a different type of curriculum and to deal with additional programs such as sports," she said. "I love working with this age child. Junior high students are very special. They also have an adjustment to make when they come to junior high." She said it takes students a while to get used to changing classes instead of attending school in self-contained classes. They have to make decisions about classes and have more

extracurricular activities from which to choose.
Hamilton has an open door policy at her school. "Students can come talk with me any time. I circulate throughout the school and on campus. I always eat lunch with the students. I don't want them to know me as 'the lady in the office,' " she said.
According to Hamilton, most of her time is spent on instructional matters. Sometimes she teaches a class for a teacher who is absent. She frequently observes in the classroom.
"My day begins about 7 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. I do my office work after teachers leave for the day about 3:30," she said.
Last year the seventh grade was added to the junior high, making the total enrollment nearly 800. Emphasis was placed on academic excellence in all grades, and for the past two years standardized test scores for the school have been the highest in the county.
"Even though we have overcome many obstacles during the last two years, Columbia Junior High has consistently performed at the highest academic levels. By viewing all students as individuals, we are able to meet their needs and expectations," said Hamilton.
Students and staff at Columbia Junior High who were there two years ago when the school was going through turmoil are especially proud of their school today and believe the Partnership for Excellence motto has paid off.

6 Georgia ALERT, May 1984

FREDERICK DOUCLA SS HICH
Douglass High principal Lester Butts in front of the school's goals for 1983-84.
Lester Butts Frederick Douglass High School
Atlanta City Schools
The climate of Douglass High School is that of an institution whose main purpose is to develop minds, to institute right attitudes and ideas, to develop character, to help students find out who they are, where they want to go and to provide some means by which their goals may be reached. The climate created in this school was no accident. It was begun before the physical building was completed, according to principal Lester Butts. Butts and a small group of efficient and interested staff, parents and prospective students planned the direction of the school during the spring and summer of 1968 before the opening of the school in August of that year. The new school was composed of students and selected faculty from three rival schools all located within three or four miles of each other, yet of the most diverse socioeconomic range in the city from public and low-income private housing to the most affluent residences. In a single year, however, these combined student bodies, parents and teachers became such a cohesive unit that the school was awarded the WSB School Spirit Award in its first year of operation. For its 16 years the school has maintained this positive climate . Butts, whose leadership is the key to the school Program, provides the setting for a positive approach to learning and allows all segments of the school family to participate in decision making. "He's firm but fair, supportive but not

maneuverable, knowledgeable but not pompous," is how Butts is described in the entry form for Schools of Excellence. Douglass not only won a state award in this program, but also was nominated for a national award.
"Because Douglass' student body is predominantly black, there is no racial bias in our school. However, the diversity in the socioeconomic level of students could cause discrimination," said Butts. "We won't let this happen at Douglass. We won't let a student's economic problems keep him or her from participating in any school activity."
The school's queen contest is a big event each year. "If a student meets all the academic and other qualifications for the contest and can't afford a new dress for the dance, the school buys the material, and the dress is made in the home economics classes or by a hired seamstress," he said. "In most schools, the queen's escort must rent a tux, but we use our ROTC students, who wear their uniforms to escort the contestants."
Butts said he won't allow excuses such as economic depression or race to be used by students for not learning. "I stress to students that they don't have to tell people they are quality - let them find out by observing."
Butts and his staff are aware that economic barriers can restrict some students from learning. "One of our priorities is to motivate students to desire to achieve. Some of our students have never seen their parents read a newspaper or book, and students - especially male students - are often called sissies if they exhibit an interest in school," he said. "We use role models to reach these students. Persons who have achieved in a particular area such as sports and who come from similar backgrounds as these students talk with the students about how they dealt with similar pressures."

Butts believes the principal's major role is to be in charge of academic offerings and to remove barriers from learning. He believes a good principal guards a student's time on task and keeps morale high in the school.
Douglass High School's success is an outcome of the extended family concept. All of the school's programs, policies and practices are based upon what is best for the whole, with each member contributing to achieve agreed-upon goals.
"Deciding what is best, however, is nof easy because of the diversity of" the family members," said Butts. "But through planning, discussing, negotiating and even compromising common goals are agreed upon."
The first senior class was graduated from Douglass in 1970. Of the 349 graduates, 38.9 percent went to four-year colleges. That figure has increased. Last year 66 percent of the students enrolled in college. The number of National Achievement finalists for Outstanding Negro Students has increased from one to as many as 10. The school has had one National Merit finalist, and the number of semifinalists in the National Achievement Scholarship Program for this year is seven, the largest number from a single high school in Georgia.
Like most principals Butts works much longer than an eight-hour day. He not only serves as school administrator, he often teaches classes and serves as a resource person for teachers. "I believe a principal can command more respect when he demonstrates talent in the classroom," he said.
It is obvious from the good relationship Lester Butts has with students, staff, parents and community leaders that he does not lack respect.

Butts often teaches classes and serves as a resourceperson/or teachers. He believes principals can command more respect when they demonstrate talent in the classroom.
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Georgia ALERT, May 1984 7

In the late '60s and early '70s it became fashionable to grade students on a pass/fail basis. But what did "pass" mean? Parents want to know

whether their kids are doing great or just getting by. Now the trend is toward the old-fashioned A, B, C, F and numerical grades.

Confusion or Communicationt

"Johnny can't read," said Mrs. Adamson, the boy's teacher for the last eight months. "At least not at the fourth grade level. Not well enough to go on to the fifth grade next year."
Mr. Jensen glared at the teacher. His wife seemed more bewildered than angry. "But we don't understand," she said. "All year, on every report card, he's always had good marks in reading. Now you say he's failing? How ..."
"Please," Mrs. Adamson interrupted, "let me try to explain. It's true that Johnny's reading has been

Story by Wagers Chenault Photography by Glenn Oliver
evaluated as satisfactory, but not at the fourth grade level. Actually, he's been struggling to get through the third grade reader."
"Struggling? With a third grade book?" Now the father was really hot. "If he's been struggling, why have you been telling us all year long that he's been doing satisfactory work?"
"Try to understand, Mr. Jensen. Satisfactory can mean anything from good to just above failing. I'm afraid in Johnny's case ... "

It's an old story for many teachers and parents. The report card, the primary line of communication between school and home, is often not up to the task. And the problem seems to be getting worse. Over the past 15 years many schools have adopted a satisfactory/ unsatisfactory or pass/ fail grading system. These grades are confusing and imprecise to parents familiar with the A, B, C, D and F of their own school years. Unfortunately, report cards have become less understandable at a time when they are needed most. More mothers are going to work outside the home, and more parents are

8 Georgia ALERT, May 1984

working overtime and holding second jobs. These factors make it increasingly difficult for teachers to meet with parents or even reach them on the phone. So the report card has to do the job. How can it be changed to do the job better?
About two years ago western Georgia's Carroll County School System decided to do something about the problem. The Superintendent's Teacher Advisory Committee (STAC) is a group made up of Carroll County Superintendent Travis Edmondson and a representative from the faculty of each of the system's 16 schools. Their first regular meeting was in the fa ll of 1982. Jan Hamilton, who represented Villa Rica Primary School, recalls, "At the first meeting Dr. Edmondson asked 'What concerns do you have that you feel we need to address?' Everyone said, 'Report Cards! ' " Judy O'Malley, direc tor of curriculum and instruction for Carroll County, asked STAC members whether they would be willing to work on a revision of the reporting system. The challenge was accepted, and the group , together with O'Malley and public relations director Jim McKinnon, began their study.
There were a number of factors to be considered. STAC members agreed that standardization was needed. Each system in Georgia has authority to devise its own report card, but in the Carroll County system there were differences among the individual schools. At that time most, but not all, of the system's primary schools used the satisfactory and unsatisfactory grades. The elementary schools used A, B, C and F, but there was no explanation of exactly what those letters meant. All of the high schools issued numerical grades, but the formats of the report cards varied from school to school. For instance, at Central High School students received a mini-report card from every subject teacher. According to principal Donald Fussell, this gave each teacher an opportunity to make extensive comments. But Fussell acknowledged that parents were deprived of having a complete record of the academic year on one document.
After a year of discussion and after reviewing report cards from other systems around the state , STAC members agreed on cards to be used by all schools in the Carroll County system. High schools still use numerical grades, but now they all use the same cards. Primary and elementary schools have adopted the A, B, C and F grades for academic subjects. Grading is made more precise by using plusses and minuses. And the new report cards clearly indicate the numerical equivalent of the letter grade. Satisfactory and unsatisfactory are still used for nonacademic subjects such as physical education and conduct.
According to O'Malley, grading primary and elementary students on mathematics and reading is a particularly tough problem. Like Johnny, many fourth graders are not ready for a fourth grade reader. Teachers provide these students with less advanced materials, and the students are graded according to how well they do with that material.

That is the grade that appears on the report card. Many parents assume that is the grade that determines their child's eligibility for promotion. But unless the student, at some point during the school year, progresses to the fourth grade reading level, she or he could fail the fourth grade. Using grades such as "satisfactory" compounds the confusion. Even if Johnny's parents had realized the boy was reading at the third grade level, "satisfactory" does not tell them whether he is almost to the fourth grade level or barely above the second grade level. Johnny's future teachers will also be confused and, more important, so will Johnny. Carroll County's new report cards were designed to end that confusion . In addition to an A, B, Cor F grade, the card clearly indicates whether the student is at or below the appropriate grade level in reading and mathematics.
"A report card by itself is not going to get the job done," contends Anthony Wilkins, principal at

Carroll County's Sand Hill Elementary School. However well-designed, no report card issued just four times a year should be considered sufficient communication with the parent. As a result of STAC's recommendations, Carroll County has initiated a policy of sending letters to parents. The first letter is sent to each home in late September and discusses where the student is academically and where she or he should be at the end of the school year to be eligible for promotion. A second letter may be sent in January and a third in April. Both are mailed directly to the parents of students who are having difficulties and are faced with the possibility of failing the grade. Carroll County is presently revising its midterm progress report. Some feel these should be as complete as the endof-term report cards. Others believe the midterm report should focus only on problem areas.
All of this is done now in Carroll County as a matter of policy. Many teachers go beyond these

Parents aren't the only ones happy with the recent changes in report cards. Teachers are now able to chart a child's progress more accurately. And students can experience the satisfaction of moving up from C to B to A

Georgia ALERT, May 1984 9 .1.

requirements and take it upon themselves to make additional contact with parents. "Report cards, letters, midterm progress reports and parentteacher conferences, I don't know which one is the most important part of the reporting system," says Wilkins, "because it takes them all."
Results? This is the first year that the new report cards have been used. But already Carroll County teachers and administrators have received indications that parents support and appreciate the new card. And students, especially those in primary and elementary schools, seem to like the more structured, precisely defined grading system they like to know where they stand. In fact, in regard to the renewed popularity of the A, B, C and F, Judy O'Malley says, "I think that teachers feel

better, students feel better, and parents I know feel better with this type of traditional grading system."
Problems remain. Teachers, already overburdened with administrative chores, are being asked to spend more time and take more care in preparation of report cards and other communications with parents. Some students, particularly in high school, will continue to forge their parent's signature, alter grades and even intercept the U.S. mail. But the teachers and other educators in Carroll County feel they've made a good start. Parents have a better idea of the progress their children are making in school. And that gives them the opportunity to exercise one of their most important responsibilities- to participate in the education of their children.

Penny Bradley, an English teacher at Carroll County's Central High School, believes a teacher's responsibility goes beyond just filling out report cards. Letters, phone calls and conferences with parents are sometimes more effective.

Don Fussell, principal at Central High School, has some reservations about the new card. "There's no best system . .. I like the idea of a direct comment by each teacher, which I've lost, but I also like the idea ofa graphic picture of the whole year, which I've gained."

Jim McKinnon, director of public relations for Carroll County Schools, recognized that confusion over the meaning of "satisfactory" was causing a serious PR problem. "Somewhere along the line parents would feel we weren't telling them the truth."

Anthony Wilkins, principal at Sand Hill Elementary School, stresses the importance of letters to parents and parent conferences. "A report card itself is not going to get the job done."

10 Georgia ALERT, May 1984

Jan Hamilton, a reading and physical education teacher at Villa Rica Primary School, believes the new report card gives parents "a better idea of where their child actually is. This may not be the answer, but it's a step better than what we had."

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Judy O'Malley, director of curriculum and instruction for Carroll County Schools, thinks "teachers feel better, students feel better and parents I know feel better with this type of traditional grading system."

...

Hello EduEation I

Story by Gilda Lamar Watters Photography by Glenn Oliver

[omputers [ome To [lass

Carol Swinney, coordinator of the Macon Computer Center, explains the workings ofthe Apple lie computer. The center provides staff development in technology to teachers, administrators, media specialists, superintendents, support staff and department of education personnel.

It was not surprising a few years ago to hear the over-50 generation say "the little red school house just isn't what it used to be." Indeed, since this group attended school - when anything besides readin', 'ritin' and 'rithmetic was considered a frillschools have changed. But nowadays it is not unusual even to hear people 25 and younger say that education is not the same. Many people who finished high school a few years ago find that the marvels of technology then are mundane and commonplace today. And what is advanced technology for today's student had not been dreamed of a few years back.
The amazing computer certainly has changed things. And not for students alone; teachers and administrators too are finding the use of computers exciting and rewarding.
Technology in Georgia schools, of which the computer is a part, started at the grassroots, according to J . R. Pennington, director of the Georgia Department of Education's Technology Task Force (ETTF). Parents, teachers, media specialists and others strongly voiced the need for students in their community to be able to keep up with changes nationwide by becoming computer literate. In many cases local boards of education that were financially able bought computers for their schools. Sometimes, businesses or civic groups in the community donated equipment and software.
Georgia educators realized that to keep up with the changing times the use of technology in education not only had to be encouraged but also had to be guided. In 1983 State School Superintendent Charles McDaniel put together a fact finding committee of local superintendents interested in coordinating and developing education technology in the state. Their recommendation to McDaniel was to establish a task force for coordinating the development and use of technology for school systems and the department of education. Their desire was to see technology in education and in education administration guided along the road that would best lead to what local school systems need.
ETTF was organized as a three-year, at-large unit of the Georgia Department of Education, with each of the five administrative offices represented by one member: one full-time director, Pennington, from the Office of Planning and Development; and four part-time members, Jane Lee from the Office of

Georgia ALERT, May 1984 11

State Schools and Special Services; DaLinda Brown from the Office of Instructional Services; Jerry Roseberry, interim representative from the Office of Vocational Education and Weyman Culp, interim representative from the Office of Administrative Services. The part-time members spend one quarter of their time on task force activities and the remainder on technology related activities within their respective offices.
According to Pennington, ETTF is taking its job one step at a time. Technology is changing so quickly that the task force finds long-range planning difficult.
"Our biggest thrust at the present is making schools aware of the potential of computers," Pennington said. "Many computers are capable of doing whatever you want. But first you must know what you want. Then you must match the use, the money, the training and the flexibility of a particular system to your school or system needs."
The task force is too small to provide consultation for school systems individually, but working in conjunction with other education groups, it provides technical assistance and staff development for groups of systems.
The fact finding committee set up by McDaniel also recommended that school systems combine to purchase the equipment and training each on its own could not afford. A group of 67school systems formed the Education Technology Consortium and developed the computer center located at Macon Area Vocational Technical School. Since August last year, the Macon Computer Center has trained more than 1,800 superintendents, principals, teachers and department of education personnel. Administrators learned computer awareness and operation, how to evaluate software and hardware and how to use microcomputers in education. Special workshops are scheduled later in 1984 for consortium system secretaries, media specialists, teachers and vocational supervisors. ETTF and the consortium have worked together in developing the computer center's course offerings.
In addition to staff development, ETTF has given attention to networking. They designed and distributed statewide a survey to establish an inventory of school system technology resources and consultants. An electronic data base will be established within the department of education to make this information available to systems.
ETTF also established the Georgia Education Technology Advisory Council, a cross section of educators, vendors and the public . The council is a sounding board for the task force to make sure that education technology is in step with technology advances in business and industry and that it meets the needs of local systems.
The department of education also is working closely with the Georgia HighTechnology Advisory Council, established in 1982 by executive order of former Governor George Busbee. The council

advises the governor, the Georgia Board of Education and the Board of Regents on improvements needed in high technology training to meet current and future needs of industry.
Whereas ETTF functions for elementary and secondary schools, the department employs a high technology coordinator in the Office of Vocational Education to ensure that Georgia's postsecondary vocational programs meet industry's needs. Ray Morrison serves as liaison with the High Technology Advisory Council, the Department of Industry and Trade, vocational schools and industries. Morrison makes sure that postsecondary vocational school programs meet requirements for state and national accreditation. Schools that will be requesting sanction by the national Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology are in Athens, Savannah, MariettaCobb, Augusta, DeKalb and Columbus.
Morrison also works closely with the Georgia business community and the Techniquip Partnership Program. Plans are under way to expand Techniquip, which offers incentives such as tax credits to industries which donate money, equipment or personnel to the state's training and education programs.
State and local efforts to use computers in schools were joined by business's efforts to sell them. Technology in education is big business for computer manufacturers. It's a matter of simple arithmetic. According to Market Data Retrieval, a Connecticut research firm, the average grade school in the U.S. now owns 3.6 computers, while the average high school has 10. But those figures are likely to double annually for the next several years. At universities, computers are expected to become as common as stereos in dormitories.
According to Pennington, you can find almost any type of computer in Georgia schools, but the most commonly used ones are manufactured by Radio Shack, Commodore, Apple and IBM. These vendors and others frequently court schools, giving them not only discounts but also training incentives to get their machines in the school door. That is important to the companies, because a foot in the door at school often means a foot in the door at home. Students working on computers at school often persuade their parents to get the same brand at home.
With profits at stake, computer vendors often offer free instruction, instructional materials and equipment to school systems. DeKalb County is an example of this. It recently was selected as one of 27 systems nationwide which will participate in the Model Secondary School Computer Literacy
Known as "Georgia's Renaissance Man of Education Technology," Randy Pennington is the Education Technology Task Force director. He is an internationally known technology consultant to 43 states and six foreign countries.

Sixth graders at Rome's West End Elementary School are mastering mathematics and more in a pilot program, From Abacus to Computers. Harold

12 Georgia ALERT, May 1984

Smith, p resident of the Northwest Georgia Chapter of the Georgia Society ofProfessional Engineers, helps students apply metric skills and concepts.

Above, Wesley Turner, senior marketing engineer with Georgia Power, helps students gradually byte into the basics of computer programming.

Ed Yeargan, below, of Battey Machinery Co., makes learning about weights and measures easier by explaining the computer program's applications to engineering.

Georgia ALERT, May 1984 13

Program. IBM will donate 90 personal computers and selected software to five DeKalb County schools.
In the last two to three years most Georgia school systems put personnel on staff with some expertise in computer technology. Several systems have computer coordinators, as do all 16 Cooperative Education Service Agencies (CESAs).
Schools use computers for teacher and administrative support, from sending personalized letters home to parents to maintaining attendance and budget data. However, one of the most effective and probably most-talked-about areas in which computers play a part is instruction.
Research indicates and parents agree that today's children are more eager to learn when computers are used in teaching. "The computer's impact on students is phenomenal," Pennington said. "All students- handicapped, gifted, remedial, average - all of them have been greatly affected by computers in the classroom."
At the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf in Clarkston, computers will soon be used for instruction. According to task force member Lee, studies indicate deaf students read better with them . The school will use a new computer language called Logo, which features a triangular cursor called "turtle." The cursor is manipulated to draw an unlimited number of shapes on a screen, and children learn words, problem solving skills, the

difference between right and left, basic elements of programming and geometric concepts they normally would not learn until junior high school.
Computers are equally effective with visually impaired students. The Georgia Academy for the Blind in Macon has Apple computers with state-ofthe-art features such as voice output devices which read what is on the screen. It also has computers which enlarge print up to five inches.
Sixth graders at West End Elementary, a Rome city school, find mathematics more interesting since computers have been put into their lab. The program, From Abacus to Computers, is taught by Georgia Power Company, General Electric Company and Georgia Society of Professional Engineers personnel three days each month. Helen Smith, guidance and counseling director for the system, said the program will be expanded next year.
Students in Georgia schools who need remedial work to pass the criterion-referenced tests find computers just as rewarding as do gifted students who want to write their own programs.
Technology enhances learning, educators agree. But it is not a new thing, Pennington reminds. When instructional television, tape recorded lessons, overhead projectors and typewriters first hit the schools, they were new and advanced for their time . It took a lot of encouragement, enthusiasm and training to get educators reluctant

about newfangled gadgets to try them. The difference is that the other devices were limited in their application to teaching. The computer's potential is limitless, he said.
CESAs have made computer use in local schools their 1984 priority. They are teaching teachers and administrators how to plan for computer purchases. They have given workshops on how to use Logo. They have trained school personnel in how to use software effectively. (A software preview and evaluation consortium is being developed by Central Savannah River CESA and Northeast Georgia CESA.) Many CESA technicians have been trained to care for and maintain Apple and TRS-80 computers and are providing repair service to local systems.
Charles Thompson , director of Metro CESA, sums up what his and other CESAs are doing, "Our whole direction is becoming more technology intensive and less labor intensive ."
Pennington says planning is the key to successful education in the future . "And planning must be done by those who are technologically literate," he said. "The computer is the tool of the information age, but education leaders must look beyond the computer and understand that the tool is changing not only the content of our knowledge but also the way we process, access and apply that knowledge ."

Georgia is one offew states that provide technology training to department of education personnel. Here Bert Griffin, compensatory education consultant, works on an Apple lie at the Macon Center.
Sue Moore, VOT coordinator at Shamrock High School, clues in Wade Adams, industrial arts teacher, on the many ways computers can be helpful to the classroom teacher.
~

14 Georgia ALERT, May 1984

Pine Street Elementary School students in McDuffie County can't seem to get enough of learning, especially when they work with the machines in the school's new Skills Center.

Come On In The Learning's Fun!

Story and Photography by Julia Martin

"This is fun - no lion," proclaims the brightly painted king of beasts at the entrance to Pine Street Elementary School's Skills Center. And to the students inside working diligently on machines which look like robots, computers and calculators, the lion is telling the truth. Who would ever guess it could be such fun overcoming learning deficiencies?
The McDuffie County School's Skills Center opened in the fall of 1983 with approximately 40 learning machines of five different types to remediate criterion-referenced test (CRT) deficiencies of the school's fifth graders. In fact, according to Principal John Hammond, the state CRT was a springboard for developing and funding the center.
"All the machines and materials are crossreferenced to the CRT," Hammond said. "Once a student's weaknesses are diagnosed, our teachers write individual reading and mathematics programs to be used in the Skills Center. The teachers can prescribe the proper work at the proper machine. We can test mastery of the concepts on the machines, too."
And what makes the learning fun are the machines. They consist of Charlie, described in the literature as "the lovable teaching robot from a distant galaxy;" the Tutorgram, an electroboard which looks like a Polaroid camera; the Digitor, which is similar to a calculator; the System 80 machine

which uses records and pictures to teach the students; and the Rainbow Spectra. All except the Oigitor can teach reading and mathematics; it teaches only mathematics concepts. A new machine, the Alpha Master, which teaches only reading concepts, was added to the center in January.
"The children's favorite is the Rainbow Spectra because it is more like a computer," said teacher Kay Sanders. In one language drill, students read paragraphs on the machine and put them into logical order. Charlie features a board that lights up with the correct answer as well as a written answer sheet. The Tutorgram is similar in that cards are placed on the machine which lights up when the correct answer is touched with a stick. On the System 80 machines, students insert records, listen to the instructions, read the screen and press the button below the correct answers. A voice tells the child if the answer is correct or not. Once the students have reviewed the material, they can go to the test record or take a written test on the material covered.
"If a child still does not master the concepts from the machine and the written test, he or she can go to an activity book and work from there ," Sanders said .
The Skills Center is not only a place for students to remedy their deficiencies, but also it is a place for them to learn self-reliance and good work and study

habits . Fifth graders come in two days a week for 45 to 50 minutes - one day for mathematics and one for reading. The center's three teachers and two aides prepare a folder each day for the child's work which contains a continuous record of progress. Each student works from the folder, alone or with needed help, thus enabling the work to be individually paced. Color coded wheels are turned each day so students can eventually work with each machine .
In addition to the fifth graders, compensatory education students are served in the center four days a week. The county's migrant students spend two days a week in the center. With the center's expansion in January, two thirds of the school's fourth graders are also being taught on the machines. "And we plan to have all fourth graders scheduled into the center next year," Hammond said. Even Pine Street students who are not deficient in any areas tested by the CRT use the Skills Center for enrichment.
"We know it works," Hammond said, "because the students are now passing tests on those skills that we know they had not mastered before coming into the Skills Center."
Pine Street Elementary School's Skills Center is popular with visitors from colleges and other school systems, and that's just fine with Hammond. He said, "It's nice. We know we are helping our students. Now we can share and help others, too."

Georgia ALERT, May 1984 15

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"Excellence is never granted ... , but as the reward of labor."
Sir Joshua Reynolds

16 Georgia ALERT, May 1984

by Julia Martin

What does it take to be excellent in public education? What makes a school, an administrator, a teacher or a student outstanding?
Excellence is the result of hard work. Many dedicated people in Georgia public education have made strides toward excellence for many years. And thanks to new state excellence recognition efforts, their hard work is being noticed, honored and emulated.
The Georgia Department of Education has honored excellence in teaching for almost 20 years through the Georgia Teacher of the Year Program. A monthly recognition of excellence by the Georgia Board of Education at each meeting began in January 1983, honoring students, administrators and curriculum areas.
The Georgia Scholar Program was also begun that year to honor graduating seniors who excel in all phases of school life, community activities and the home. The first criterion a Georgia Scholar must meet is to score 1200 or more on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).
The newest program, Georgia Public Schools of Excellence, began in 1984 and is highlighted here. The other programs will be spotlighted in future issues of Alert.

"The goal of the Schools of Excellence Program is not necessarily to find the best schools in Georgia, but to identify schools that are doing an exceptionally fine job," said State School Superintendent Charles McDaniel. "The schools will be examples of outstanding programs from various regions of Georgia. We hope that their excellence will serve as examples to other schools in our state."
Georgia's program is an expansion of the national Secondary School Recognition Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The national program recognizes only middle/junior high and high schools, but Georgia's program was expanded to include excellent elementary schools as well. School systems were invited to nominate one school on each of the three levels. Entries were grouped by congressional district and sent to judges in North Carolina and Tennessee. Schools of Excellence were chosen based on their administrative leadership, teacher effectiveness, parent and community support, positive school environment, clear academic and behavioral goals, regular monitoring of student progress, wellcoordinated curriculum, evidence of student responsibility and effective staff development.

The first district's 1984 Georgia Schools of Excellence are from Chatham, Glynn and Bulloch counties.
May D. Howard Elementary School in Chatham County may appear to be isolated on an island, but it is actually in the middle of activities which make the school excellent. The Every Child a Winner physical education program is a national demonstration site. May Howard School also piloted one of the first programs for the gifted in Savannah, which has grown into the SEARCH program. Kindergarten students are in a computer pilot program learning not only basic language arts and mathematics concepts, but also basic operations and computer terminology. Students write and publish a school paper twice a year and produce a daily television program called "The Morning News and Weather."
The school's leadership says that May Howard is "recognized by the community as an excellent school , with concerned and conscientious teachers and effective programs." They believe that the complete curriculum and excellent resources, the dedicated staff and strong parent support are three factors which contribute to the school's success and the pride that parents, staff and students feel for it.
A special effort has been made at Glynn County Middle School in Brunswick to open lines of communication among administrators, teachers, parents, students and the community. A report card was sent to parents to evaluate the school's performance in instruction, discipline, facilities and communication. More than 50 percent of the cards were returned with the majority favorable.
Glynn Middle also has made a conscious effort to involve nonparents. At least half of the members of their Citizens Communication Committee do not have children in the school. Committee members receive information about school activities and react to it in regard to the concerns and suggestions of the community.
Students at Statesboro High School in Bulloch County with above average ability may enter Program Challenge, a rigorous college prep program. It has provided the proper motivation and advanced study needed by the academically gifted students. Joint enrollment with Georgia Southern College also meets the needs of advanced learners. And , as a comprehensive high school, Statesboro also offers a variety of vocational training courses to its students.
School officials believe that the ROTC program has been a particularly positive addition to Statesboro High. It gives an opportunity for students who have not excelled in other areas to develop leadership skills. ROTC has been their answer to the needs of many of their students and the community's support and acceptance have been extraordinary.

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Travis Gough (left) and J. T. Thompson (right), students at Columbia Junior High in Grovetown, proudly raise the flag designating their school as a 1984 Georgia Public School of Excellence in the Tenth Congressional District.
Georgia ALERT, May 1984 17

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At Statesboro High, order and discipline are stressed as a necessary feature of a successful school. Saturday School was begun last year and provides an alternative to suspension for students who violate the behavior codes. Statesboro High has an orderly, disciplined academic climate.
The second district 1984 Georgia Schools of Excellence are from Ben Hill, Thomas and Lowndes counties.
Ben Hill County Elementary School served as a state demonstration site for the K4 curriculum guide, "Personalizing Instruction for Georgia's Children." The approach takes into account each student's interest, experiences, needs and learning styles. Ben Hill's teachers felt that to be successful they needed to vary their instructional styles and strategies, and the new state guide met their needs. While the concept was developed for K-4 teachers and students, they have spread throughout the school. Ben Hill teachers in grades 5-7 have begun to implement the approach in their classrooms. The teaching methods give Ben Hill students selfconfidence, helps them take greater responsibility for their own learning, helps them learn to work together and emphasizes the development of reading, writing and mathematics skills.
In 1979, Ben Hill Elementary also piloted arts projects sponsored through the Southeast Coalition for Arts Education from the U.S. Office of Education. As federal funds were cut, local money has been used to continue the worthwhile project.
Four years ago, Magnolia-Chappelle Middle School in Thomas County successfully made one school out of two and changed from a traditional junior high with two grades to a middle school with three grades. Their success in integrating two schools, two faculties and implementing a middle school program has given Magnolia-Chappelle a cohesiveness that is apparent. Everyone feels a sense of one school and one spirit.
School officials believe that the main element behind the success of their school is their "stable and caring faculty whose main interest is in the educational, social, physical and maturational development of their students."
Magnolia-Chappelle's learning environment requires strict discipline so that no student's behavior interferes with another's right to learn. An in house suspension center, of which they are proud, is staffed by a teacher and two aides who instruct the students placed there. The program has improved discipline, cut out-of-school suspensions to none and improved the academic achievement of students served by the center.
"Hustle and Harmony" is Magnolia-Chappelle's motto, and it works!

Lowndes County High School in Valdosta is a comprehensive high school with over 50 percent of its graduates entering the job market or going on to further vocational training. Approximately 40 percent enter college. So the school's primary education goals are to develop marketable job skills and to prepare students for further education. Valdosta State College lends support to the academic areas with dual enrollment and early admissions programs.
Peer tutors at Lowndes are available upon request to help other students having problems with their studies. They are a select group of volunteers and they receive elective credit for their work.
Lowndes teachers believe that one of its greatest successes has been the strengthening of academic standards which has renewed the faculty's enthusiasm for the art of teaching. Raised educational standards, higher test scores, a firm administration and opportunities for student achievements are encouraging Lowndes students to strive for excellence.
Putnam County Middle School in Eatonton was named a School of Excellence in the Eighth Congressional District partly because of the dramatic three-year increase of students'scores on the state criterion-referenced testsas much as 400 percentage points.
The 1984 Georgia Schools of Excellence from the third district all come from Muscogee County.
At Fox Elementary School there is plenty of room for leadership. Two Fox teachers helped write and develop the Muscogee County School District Health Project that has been validated at the state and national levels. Last year Fox piloted a drug abuse education program that has been approved as a part of the system's elementary health program. In the past four years, three Fox teachers have been named Muscogee County Teacher of the Year. Fox's principal received state outstanding elementary principal awards in 1982 and 1983. The school has also received the School Bell Award for an Outstanding School Program for its preschool program.
The preschool program at Fox involves parents and children ages one month to kindergarten. It has not only developed positive results in involving

parents with the growth of their children, but also has fostered positive community and parental support for Fox school. A pre-first grade program was developed seven years ago for students not ready for a regular first grade . It has greatly improved the students' attitudes and behavior and enables them to move into a regular first grade the following year and experience success.
Through these programs Fox has overcome a major problem for schools in low socioeconomic neighborhoods, that is the lack of readiness that students entering first grade and kindergarten possess. The low self-concepts of the students is partly overcome by ongoing recognition and projects to develop positive feelings in the students toward themselves and their school.
The success at Rothschild Junior High School in Muscogee is attributed to their strong, supportive administration and the enthusiastic, competent faculty that has a spirit of cooperation. Because of the combined efforts of the teachers, students have improved their criterion-referenced test (CRT) and other test scores. In fact, in the last three or four years, Rothschild students have ranked first or second among the junior high schools in the county. Academic weaknesses of the past have been overcome . Two years ago Rothschild's students, despite being from a lower socioeconomic group of extremely transient students ranked second in the city on CRT reading scores and third in mathematics.
Successful involvement in science bowls, forensics and mathematics tournaments are evidence of the emphasis Rothschild places on academics. In fact, Rothschild had the state first place winner in 1982 and 1983 in science fairs . And in 1982-83 the school had more district science fair winners than any other junior high in Columbus.
Shaw High School in Muscogee opened in 1978 with three features unique to their area - open space, team teaching and an advisor-advisee system that coordinated teachers and counselors. All three were part of the Shaw Plan which was used as the blueprint for future growth of the school. In retrospect, Shaw officials see that these three areas have remained attributes which distinguish the school as a progressive leader in curriculum.
Tearn teaching is the most important aspect of the Shaw Plan. The open space satisfies the physical space requirements, but the teaming is the key element for success.
The advisor-advisee system is an organized approach to planning, relating and providing students with personal communication. Faculty members advise students from the four grade levels and work with a particular counselor. Officials believe that the teachers better understand the total program by being involved with a variety of students.
Shaw has set goals and high expectations for all

18 Georgia ALERT, May 1984

members of their school community - parents, teachers and the administration. With that background, Shaw students have responded with pride in their school, hard work in their studies and high hopes for their futures.
The fourth district Georgia Schools of Excellence are from DeKalb and Rockdale counties.
Parent involvement is a vital part of Rockbridge Elementary School in DeKalb County. The PTA funds the purchase of instructional materials, equipment and other necessities. Parents in the Volunteers in Public Schools program assist teac hers as classroom aides and tutors, check on absent students as Headhunters and serve as library aides. The volunteers in the Apple Corps are parents trained in the use of computer-assisted instruction, and one parent per classroom works with students and computers on a regular basis. Other parents serve as resource persons and speakers and as instructors in the middle years exploratory program. In response to requests from

parents for help with parenting, the PTA and school have developed a parenting library and scheduled periodic study groups and speakers . The parent volunteer corps has been recognized as outstanding by the state PTA
School officials attest that Rockbridge's teachers give 110 percent daily to students, encouraging them to test personal limits. The working relationship among the staff is highly cooperative and professional, with each setting high standards for themselves as well as for the students.
Rockdale's County's Edwards Middle School has academic excellence as its primary concern. The school's positive learning environment ensures that students are able to progress. Edwards' reading and mathematics programs are sequential and taught by all academic teachers. Students must demonstrate mastery before they can advance .
A common teacher planning time during the school day allows the parent and counselor to meet with all of their child's teachers at once. Team teaching is stressed. Students are assigned so that two to three teachers are responsible for the major part of their academic day. This allows for consistent expectations and reasonable daily assignments.

Road signs were given to Georgia's first Schools of Excellence at the awards banquet, sponsored in part by the Blue Bird Body Company.

In such a large school as Edwards, with 1,200 students, maintaining staff identity has been difficult. Edwards developed a school-within-aschool concept to reach that goal. Weekly grade level faculty meetings are held instead of traditional schoolwide meetings. The common grade level planning time allows groups working together to cooperate and plan more effectively.
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Paige Howell from Jackson Road Elementary School in Griffin-Spalding County was one of 10 students who spoke before some 600 guests at the 1984 Georgia Public Schools of Excellence Awards Banquet. Her school's tee shirt proclaims, "Life Swings at Jackson Road School."
While academics are stressed at Edwards Middle, the administration and staff also recognize the need for each middle school student to explore many areas. A full exploratory program includes band, business education, music, industrial arts, home economics and art at each grade level. Students are also involved in an extensive environmental education program and an outdoor adventure program.
Heritage High School in Rockdale has had lots of successes. A new peer tutoring program operates before, during and after school. Registration for new terms is held at night rather than during class time . Morning announcements include the names of students and staff who have made a special achievement. A Parents Advisory Committee meets regularly with the administration. Neighborhood businesses participate in the school's work-study program. Heritage's Junior ROTC unit has been selected by the U.S. Department of Defense as an honor unit four times in the past five years.
Heritage is proud of its strong academic programs, advanced level classes, gifted program, independent study options and joint enrollment with DeKalb College. But opportunities also exist to combine these academic options with hands-on experience in a number of ways - psychology students use the day care classes in the vocational child care program for observation and developmental study; art class sketches and photographs are printed by the graphics arts classes, and independent study computer students serve as tutors and aides in computer classes.
Academic expectations are high at Heritage, but are never held in isolation of all the other opportunities that exist.

Georgia ALERT, May 1984 19

regardless of circumstances, individual successes can be achieved by perseverance and a positive attitude .
The administration and faculty stress the positive effects of togetherness, love, pride, concern and responsibility, acting as an extended family. As a result, Douglass' students are envied for their school loyalty and overall academic and social successes. For 16 years the school has maintained this climate which allows concentration on academic tasks.
The factor that has affected Douglass' success the most is the overall stability of the faculty and student population . Three key concerns have been instilled in them - the family concept, pride in the school and business as usual every day - the business of education.

Gloria Hamilton, principal of Columbia Junior High, shows off the excellence certificate her school received. Governor Joe Frank Harris presented the certificates at the banquet on behalf of the State Board of Education and the Georgia Department of Education.

Sixth district 1984 Georgia Schools of Excellence come from Griffin-Spalding County and Douglas County.

The 1984 Georgia Schools of Excellence from the fifth district are in Fulton County and Atlanta City systems.
North Roswell Elementary School in Fulton County feels that it has maintained high edUcational standards, and that perhaps the area of greatest growth has been in school/community interaction. With a membership of about 80 percent of the students' parents, the PTA is an active, vital part of the school. It recruits and organizes volunteers to staff the school's clinic, conduct storytime classes, help shelve books and create displays in the media center and assist health officials in screenings. The cultural arts committee of the PTA brings local artists into the school. The PTA not only supplies volunteers, but also supports the school with additional finances for ground and building beautification and additional audiovisual equipment and a computer.
Another school/ community group success is the North Roswell Adivosry Committee whose members are administrators, teachers, parents and other community leaders . They receive information regarding school programs, facilities and operations and react by expressing the individual and collective questions and concerns of the community they represent.
Community involvement enhances North Roswell Elementary's program because decisions about matters of curriculum and instruction are ultimately left to the teachers and administrators

who have professional training. The two groupsschool leaders and community leaders - work together in a successful team.
Sandy Springs Middle School faculty in Fulton County wrote, implemented and revised the system's current middle school curriculum and continues to provide feedback on its strengths and weaknesses. Because the teachers have a vested interest in the curriculum, there is a greater effort to concentrate students on the academic tasks that the teachers helped develop. Interdisciplinary studies, foreign languages, exploratory courses, mini-courses and a physical education program round out the Sandy Springs Middle School curriculum.
The school serves a student body with diverse cultural heritages , parental occupations, expectations and family stability. The school staff has been aware of this mixture of cultures and has made it a muticulturallearning experience. Sandy Springs Middle is an exciting environment where education is viewed as a journey, not a destination.
The economic diversity of students at Douglas High School in Atlanta City - one half of whom are on poverty level and approximately one-tenth who are in the upper middle income category could present serious divisive problems. But that has not happened at Douglass. Achievement is a common goal toward which all students can aspire - whether in ROTC, student government, athletics, art, music, academics or conduct. Douglass' students are taught to believe that race and family income are not necessarily determinants of success. They are taught to believe that,

The administration and faculty at Jackson Road Elementary School in Griffin-Spalding County believe the main purpose of education is to help each child grow into a self-directed adult capable of creative and purposeful living. And their school climate reflects that goal. The students' work is attractively displayed in classrooms and halls. Colorful bulletin boards, learning centers and other displays stimulate students' intellectual curiosity and develop creativity. Appealing, eye-catching murals in the cafeteria contribute to an atmosphere conducive to development of social graces.
Each day at Jackson Road begins with a classical music selection played over the intercom. The composer, instruments and special qualities are explained by each teacher.
Jackson Road has special procedures to maintain discipline called "Limiting and Directing." Limits, which state what students do not have the right to do, are posted and discussed in each classroom. Directives, which state what students are to do, are posted also.
"Excellence Through Persistence" is the theme for Douglas County's Fairplay Middle School. Science and technology studies there include an aerospace club which was featured on the nationally syndicated TV program "Kids' World" in 1980; an amateur radio club; a weather station, and a computer lab. The New Pioneers is an orientation group offered by the counselor to help new students make an adjustment to Fairplay. The group meets monthly to discuss concerns, to familiarize students with school rules and procedures and to help students feel comfortable in the new school. All of these elements work together to provide a climate at Fairplay that fosters

20 Georgia ALERT, May 1984

concentration on academics in a wholesome environment.
Lithia Springs Comprehensive High School is also part of Douglas County's "Effective Schools: Every School Outstanding" program. Strong goals are a vital part of an effective school, and their goals are communicated through handbooks, newsletters and discussions at various meetings with parents, students and teachers. A Committee of Ten, consisting of community and parent leaders, works with the school as a key link between the school and community.
Lithia Springs school people believe several factors have made them successful - an administration that is open to new ideas; a staff which is composed of dedicated professionals; a school which has shown a willingness to respond to the needs of the community; a student body which comes from supportive homes; and a good relationship among administrators, faculty and students.
The 1984 Georgia Schools of Excellence from the seventh district are all in Cobb County.
Tritt Elementary School has instituted an enrichment program which provides a diversity of learning experiences and an opportunity for indepth study for all children. Enrichment at Tritt is divided into nine study areas operating both interdependently and independently. They include classroom enrichment such as field trips; specialists in music, physical education and gifted programs; learning resource centers; mini-courses such as creative writing, rocks and minerals, babysitting and foreign languages; special schoolwide events such as science and humanities fairs; a career awareness program; a continuing education program for faculty and staff; a computer lab and a cultural arts program.
When Tritt opened in 1980 the administration had definite ideas about attributes a school should exhibit to be excellent, and systematic efforts have been made to acquire these qualities. The principal hired a high quality staff who have worked together and created a cohesiveness that continues to grow.
Luke Garrett Middle School in Cobb County stresses the teaching and development of the total child. Parent conferences evolved from this concept and, as a result, greater understanding between home, school and community has developed. Through Garrett's Student Support Team, which is composed of administrators, teachers and counselors consult with team teachers to form educational plans for a student who is having difficulty. It has not only provided valuable assistance to students and parents, but also to teachers who have been able to benefit from suggestions and strategies from peers.
Another element of success at Garrett is the pride

which the faculty has for the school and its programs. A strong commitment to effective communication in all facets of the school's programs, policies and procedures has made Garrett successful in serving its community.
Garrett people describe their school climate as a student-oriented, family-like environment conducive to academic pursuits. Coupled with the high expectations for scholastic performance is a high commitment to instill in Garrett's students the willingness and desire to assume responsibility for their actions and to demonstrate good citizenship skills .
The primary educational need of the majority of students at Walton Comprehensive High School in Cobb County is preparation for college. With 85 to 90 percent of their students going to college each year, they have focused on developing a strong program in the traditional academic areas. Because of their competent faculty and excellent curriculum, Walton has gained a reputation as one of the best college prep institutions in Georgia.
Walton has a "Future Shop" which may be the most comprehensive college and career information center in the southeast. An additional room, called the "Apple Shop," houses a computer and the latest software available for college and career planning.
For the 10 to 15 percent of Walton's students who are preparing for immediate employment or endeavors other than college, career prep programs are offered in six technical areas- building construction, computer programming, drafting, electronics, graphic arts and transportation as well as business education.
The eighth district Georgia Schools of Excellence are from Bibb and Putnam counties.
Alexander II Magnet School in Bibb County has risen from an inner-city school with declining enrollment and a threat of being closed to the first magnet school in the state emphasizing mathematics and science in all areas of its curriculum. For example, the language arts program is enhanced through the use of mathematics/ science related stories, terms and activities. In creative writing contests , a mathematics/science theme is used. A fully equipped mathematics/science lab, computer training, mathematics tournaments and science competitions, science project development and mathematics games are all part of the curriculum.
There are numerous opportunities for parents to assist with activities at Alexander II. Volunteers amass hundreds of hours working through the Partners in Education program. Mercer University has adopted the school through the system's Adopt-a-School Program with the professors and

students working with the school in various ways. Since the beginning of the magnet school program, parent involvement has been one of the areas of greatest success. Parents, because they apply and their children are selected to attend Alexander II, have a real interest in the school's success.
Last year Alexander II, which a short while ago was threatened with closing, received more than 900 applications to fill 98 vacancies.
Putnam County Middle School in Eatonton knew what it would take to be successful. The administration and staff decided that if they were going to become a successful step in the education of the county's students, they were going to have to change a negative image. They began by making the public aware of all the good things they were doing and getting community members into the schools to see first -hand. They began to make their school look better physically and to share their achievements with the local school board. They began to build self-confidence in the students and faculty .
According to school officials, Putnam Middle had good teachers, aides, administrators, staff and students. They did good things. They just didn't let the community know. But that has changed.
At Putnam everybody is sharing the same goal- to educate young people . And students' scores on the state CRTs have increased as much as 400 percentage points in the last three years. Staff members have been sold on the idea that if a difference is going to be made, they will have to make it. Pride and motivation by staff members are the key factors to create that climate.
Georgia's ninth district Schools of Excellence are from Gwinnett County and Dalton City.
The principle of participation is emphasized in the management of Gwin Oaks Elementary School in Gwinnett County. Each six weeks, grade level curriculum planning meetings are held. Teachers, team leaders, the principal and instructional lead teacher plan and coordinate activities that benefit the students. It is here that new ideas and new work methods are discussed and implemented, and it is here that teachers participate in making decisions that bring about change.
Gwin Oaks folks believe that one of the most outstanding features of their school is their media center. There students receive instruction in literature appreciation and library skills as well as have time for independent pursuits. Learning centers relate to the six weeks curriculum planning themes, special days and celebrations and games, music and art activities and special education. The Plop Place - a reading house and deck with cushions - and the Booktub - a bathtub with

Georgia ALERT, May 1984 21

cushions - provide opportunities for pleasure reading.
Gwin Oaks students benefit from the variety the media center offers. They look forward to visiting and are always finding new treasures and areas of interest. This enhances a positive attitude toward learning that Gwin Oaks tries to foster in students. Concern for others, responsibility and cooperation are the major social principles stressed at Gwin Oaks.

Five Forks Middle School in Gwinnett County provides basic skills remediation partly through peer tutoring. The peer tutors are eighth grade students who are carefully selected by the counselors. The tutor, who has been trained, meets with the student needing help for one period twice a week. A by-product of the program is the improved self-concept of the tutored student through association with the older peer tutor.

One problem Five Forks faced was teaching the

community to understand and accept the middle

school concept. Through morning coffees with

parents, mailing home a newsletter, hosting a

variety of activities during American Education

Week such as a community and business leaders'

breakfast, establishing a local advisory committee,

establishing a PTA volunteer program and parent

participation in textbook adoption, the parents of

the school community came to feel that they were

participants and supporters of their child's middle

school education. The community's pride and

confidence have been gained.

--/

Dalton High School students who are collegebound know what it means to work hard. They also know what it means to succeed. They are required, in the college prep program, to take four years of mathematics, four of science, four of social studies and at least two of foreign language in addition to four of English. At least 70 percent of the students take more than the basic requirements. At least 95 percent of all graduates finish with more than the prescribed 315 hours.
From the time the first period of the day begins until the dismissal bell in the afternoon, there are no interruptions from the intercom. The stress from the administration to the faculty is to "be on task."
As a pilot school for Georgia's competency-based education program, Dalton High completed CBE course guides in all subject areas. Since that time they have developed a K-12 listing of skills for each major subject area. They indicate the grade the skills are introduced, when they are reinforced, when they are developed and, on most of them, when mastery is expected. The focus of the project, in addition to basic skills, has been course sequencing and the prevention of overlap and duplication. Faculty members at Dalton High use words such as "businesslike, positive, proud and task-oriented" to describe the school's climate.

The 1984 Georgia Schools of Excellence from the tenth district are from Oconee and Columbia counties.
Oconee County Elementary School in Watkinsville was funded in 1980 as a state certified demonstration and training site for STAMM K-12, Systematic Teaching and Measuring Mathematics. Their program has been successful, based on significant student improvement in mathematics. The school has 10 computers and more than 65 software programs for student and teacher use.
It is nice to have a 'friend right next door, and Oconee Elementary has just that in the University of Georgia. The college is used for field trips and resource materials and personnel. Oco