Symposium summary [2001]

Symposium ummary
INTRODUCTION
On February 2-3, 2001, over three hundred (300) Georgia educators assembled at the Atlanta Marriott-Gwinnett Place Hotel for the Teacher Quality Symposium for Exemplary Educators. The purpose of the symposium was to enable outstanding educators in Georgia to become more informed and involved in educational decision making at the state level by bringing them together to discuss important issues pertaining to teacher quality. Those in attendance were Georgia elementary, middle, and secondary public school educators who had received distinguished awards for their job performance. In addition, principals of award-winning teachers, superintendents of award-winning administrators, leaders of any entity that had publicized an official legislative agenda for the 2001 Georgia General Assembly, business leaders, and Education Committee members from the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate were also in attendance (see enclosed list).
During this two-day symposium, attendees were divided into fourteen diverse groups and participated in three breakout sessions covering the following major topics: (1) Recruiting, Preparing, and Retaining Quality Teachers, (2) Results-Based Accountability: Rewards and Interventions According to Performance, and (3) Expanded Career Paths for Teachers Through Progressive Levels of Staff Development. The task of each group was to gain consensus on five major positions pertaining to each topic that would promote teacher quality in this state. At the closing session of the symposium, these endorsements were presented to all participants in a general session. Following this session, a committee of six teachers and local school administrators met to consolidate these endorsements into a concise document that could be shared with parties that influence educational policies. This document, Value our Experience. . .Hear Our Voices, is enclosed for your information.
A recent study, sponsored by the Milken Family Foundation, found that over the next ten years, 2.45 million teachers will be needed, resulting in a 900,000 teacher shortage. The participants from this Teacher Quality Symposium for Exemplary Educators believe that the positions endorsed in this document are crucial to the implementation of needed educational changes and to the enhancement of teacher quality in Georgia.

V O E alue ur xperience . . .
H O V ear ur oices
TOPIC 1 "RECRUITING, PREPARING, AND RETAINING QUALITY TEACHERS"
Teacher-preparation programs should be reality-based and should include instruction and modeling by exemplary educators. Ample time should be provided for preservice teachers to practice teaching techniques in classrooms. Recruitment needs to begin with apprenticeship programs in middle and high schools.
School climate should be improved by allowing shared decision making, by providing needed funding for instructional supplies, and by allocating funds for improving existing physical facilities.
Collaborative partnerships need to be established among the Department of Education, universities and colleges, and local school districts. This network should provide support for veteran teachers. Strong mentor programs should be in place to support beginning teachers.
Transition should be seamless for teachers transferring between systems in the state of Georgia and for teachers transferring to Georgia from other states. Retirees should be allowed to return to their profession without penalty. The penalty for early retirement should be eliminated.
Teaching should be recognized as a valued profession by providing higher salaries and improved benefits. Incremental steps on the salary schedule should be extended beyond the twentieth year of experience. Other incentives should be considered, such as scholarships for attending university classes and conferences; on-site, day-care facilities for school employees; elimination of state income tax for professional educators; etc.
Teachers are the pillar of an educated and exceptional work force; therefore, a professional status should be granted and validated through positive marketing strategies. These strategies should include community media and business involvement through positive advertising campaigns.

V O E alue ur xperience . . .
H O V ear ur oices
TOPIC 2 "RESULTS-BASED ACCOUNTABILITY: REWARDS AND
INTERVENTIONS ACCORDING TO PERFORMANCE"
Student-accountability standards should be based on multiple assessments that reflect student-achievement gains, rather than on a single indicator of student performance.
Positive support should be provided for "at-risk" students and schools. A punitive approach for intervention will discourage veteran/accomplished teachers and administrators from serving in schools where they are most needed.
Student-accountability standards should reflect the uniqueness of each student and each school and should take into account such factors as demographics and cognitive abilities.
All accountability requirements should be derived primarily upon input from schoolbased educators.
All stakeholders (educators, students, parents, elected and appointed officials, etc.) should be held accountable for student performance.
Teachers should be held accountable for only those students who have been under their instruction for the majority of the school year at the time of testing.
Assessment instruments that are tied to the Georgia Quality Core Curriculum will more accurately serve as indicators of student performance for Georgia students.
Administration of standardized tests should take place later in the school year in order to maximize the amount of time for student instruction and test preparation.
Areas of strengths and weaknesses identified in test-score analysis should be utilized in classroom instruction.
Effective communication and understanding of test results are important for all stakeholders. Explanations of test results should include both quantitative and qualitative data.
Schools need to be undergirded with proper-support personnel. Support personnel are vitally important to the successful operation of schools as they allow administrators and teachers to work more effectively toward increasing student achievement.

V O E alue ur xperience . . .
H O V ear ur oices
TOPIC 3 "EXPANDED CAREER PATHS FOR TEACHERS THROUGH
PROGRESSIVE LEVELS OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT"
Career paths to allow teachers to experience professional growth without leaving the classroom should be developed and funded. Career-path options should include mentor, master, and model teachers.
Consistent criteria should be established statewide in order to identify the most highly qualified individuals to serve as mentor, master, and model teachers. Qualified individuals must have demonstrated exemplary classroom-teaching practices and possess leadership abilities.
Flexibility of scheduling should be provided to allow mentor, master, and model teachers to fulfill their responsibilities in these roles as well as their classroom-teaching duties.
Professional staff development should be directly related to the job that the participant is doing and must be relevant to the participant's needs. Individual, professionaldevelopment plans should be developed for teachers, and staff development should reflect the goals addressed in the plans. Master classroom teachers should teach the staff development courses.
School calendars should be expanded to include days with pay built in for the sole purpose of professional development.
Teacher advancement and related professional-development opportunities should be available for educators in all areas of the state. These opportunities should be equally available and effectively communicated to all Georgia educators.
Teachers' salaries are presently based on certification levels. Incremental steps should be added for courses completed beyond the certification level (i.e., masters degree plus thirty hours) or for mentor, master, and model teachers who assume additional leadership roles and responsibilities.

V O E alue ur xperience . . . H O V ear ur oices

SYPMPOSIUM INVITATIONS EXTENDED TO THESE GROUPS

Milken Educators

Christa McAuliffe Fellows

Former Georgia Teachers of the Year

Teachers receiving awards in various

Current Semifinalists for Georgia Teacher

subject areas

of the Year

Education Field Services Directors

National Board Certified Teachers

Metro Association of Classroom Educators

Presidential Scholars for Math and Science Georgia Association of Middle School

Georgia Association of Educators

Principals

Award Winners

Professional Associations and Businesses

Professional Association of Georgia

Fulbright Exchange Award Winners

Educators STAR Teachers

Special Education Teachers of the Year

Atlanta Journal Constitution Honor Teachers Georgia Business Education Teachers

State Superintendent of Schools Teacher

of the Year

Advisory Council Members

Georgia Gifted Teachers of the Year

Georgia National Blue Ribbon Schools

Pulitzer Prize Winners

Principals

Josephine Martin Award Winners

Immediate supervisor with whom each

Alternative Education Teacher of the Year

award-winning teachers works

Principal Award Winners

State House of Representatives Education School Psychologist Winner of the Year

Committee Members

State Agency Heads

State Senate Education Committee Members Presidential Scholars

State Board of Education Members

Round Table Winners

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

Program Area State Teachers of the Year

Directors and Chairpersons of the various The National Teacher Hall of Fame Teachers

Georgia education professional

Georgia Schools of Excellence Principals

organizations