Seventy new county schools teachers gathered this week for the system’s annual Teacher Induction Program (TIP), a two-day conference focusing on teacher quality and the system’s overall mission.
The yearly event got its start in the mid-1990s, and Superintendent Scott Cowart said it’s been a success ever since.
“We try to induct our teachers instead of orient them,” Cowart said. “This isn’t about learning where their classrooms are and those kinds of things. It’s more concerned with learning what Carroll County Schools is all about and our mission in education.”
Cowart said it’s the system’s opportunity to put the “best foot forward” with the new educators.
“This is an important time because, just like with school, you only get one shot at the first day,” he said. “It’s the same with these teachers — we only get one chance to make a first impression.”
This year’s TIP was especially important to get new teachers up to speed on the new standards the schools will be teaching when school starts back Aug. 13.
This year, educators across Georgia will begin teaching the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS) in mathematics, English language arts, as well as literacy in science, social studies and technical subjects.
The CCGPS are part of the Common Core State Standards, a state-led initiative with a goal of establishing a uniform set of expectations for what students will learn no matter what school they attend. The standards have been adopted by 46 states, the U.S. Department of Defense’s education programs and three U.S. territories. Georgia formally adopted the standards in July 2010 and Georgia educators have been training on them since March 2011.
Rebecca Manley, a University of West Georgia biology graduate who will start teaching physical science this year at Villa Rica High School, said she appreciates the new standards because they take some of the pressure off her job.
“The unknown things about starting are overwhelming,” she said, “but the new standards make it much easier.”
Manley, who graduated from Central High School in 2007 and taught at Mill Creek High School last semester, said her lesson plans are “pretty much done” for her at Villa Rica High and that she can focus on other things instead of worrying about what she’s going to teach the next week.
Luke McLendon graduated from Villa Rica High School and will teach at Villa Rica Elementary this year. McLendon, who graduated from Point University in Atlanta, will teach fifth grade English language arts.
“I’m right back where I started,” McLendon said. “I started in Villa Rica Primary, then to the elementary, then Bay Springs Middle, then Villa Rica High.”
McLendon agreed with Manley on the new standards, saying he thinks it’s a “good plan” and especially good for first-year teachers.
The program, sponsored by SMI, College and Career Academy, Georgia Association of Educators, ValuTeacher, Professional Association of Georgia Educators, BB&T and Wells Fargo, focused its breakout session Thursday afternoon on collaborative team-based improvement on the process to monitor student progress.
The “new blood,” as Cowart described them, brings new talent to the system.
“There’s nothing like the excitement at the beginning of the year,” Cowart said. “If teachers can’t get excited about the start of the school year, then they probably shouldn’t be teachers.”
School board Chairman Dr. Jon Anderson spoke to the group of teachers, saying he and the board are assigned the task of getting as much education out of every dollar spent.
“We have the challenge of spending dollars seriously, and that includes you all as well,” he said. “You have 176 calendar days this year, which is roughly 1,230 hours to make a difference in these students’ lives.”
To prepare for their first days, Manley and McLendon both said they are studying up and thinking about their first days.
“I think back on the teachers I had at Villa Rica and the techniques and skills they use,” McLendon said. “I’m really interested in the community of Villa Rica, and I’d like to bring that into my teaching style.”
Manley said she spends most of her time mentally preparing by reading the textbook.
“I just want to always know what’s coming up,” she said. “But I’m doing OK with the nerves.”
Since someone posting this morning has decided to post false and misleading information, I feel compelled to offer corrections and additional information.
GAE is definitely an affiliate of NEA. No doubt about that. And NEA and GAE both work together to represent teachers' interests. I can't imagine there are people who would think teachers should not have the right to be part of an organization that helps them with employment related issues. Does NEA and GAE spend money on political issues? Yes. But not to the extent that some would have you believe. Trial lawyers associations, medical related groups, pharmacological groups, and big corporations spend far more money on political activity than NEA and GAE.
Georgia teachers do not have to be a member of a professional association. They would be foolish not to be a member, because these associations provide a couple of extremely valuable benefits: legal services and liability insurance. For the small membership fees the teacher pays to the organization of their choice, they can have some assurance of protection should they find themselves in unfortunate circumstances. Again, there is no requirement that teachers join one of these organizations.
Personally, I find remarks like those of DonHH troubling because it shows an attempt to create an issue out of something that really is not an issue. Yet comments to news articles are filled with statements like the ones here that simply are not accurate or are designed to be divisive.
Our schools in Carroll County are good schools and deserve support from our community. Thank you to all of you who give your support and help to make our schools even better places for students.
The Georgia Association of Educators IS the NEA in Georgia. There IS no other statewide unit.
And the Georgia Association of Educators WILL spend your dues funding Obama, gay marriage and the entire liberal Democrat agenda if you join and give them your money. Don't think otherwise, or image the political "portion" of your dues is all they will use.
If you don't 100% favor the Democrats you'd do well to look to PAGE or elsewhere for your professional needs.
Google "NEA" and "union" to see this.
Next, Google "NEA" and "donations" to see where the dues money paid to GAE/NEA ends up: overwhelmingly (95%) with Democrats, and ultra-liberal causes.
Local union reps will seek to play this down. Don't be fooled!
Now, look at the best public schools in the USA, for example; Maryland, NY, Iowa, etc. They are all unionized and with collective bargaining power (these states have representative collective bargaining rights)..
Now, look at GA, AL, MS, etc., proudly at the bottom of public schools in terms of achievements. Perhaps unions help students cheat to achieve better performance? No, cheating happens here (APS).
God bless us all & everyone!
Yet they have the worst test scores.
When the US led the world in every aspect, the US had more unions (with collective barging) than now. The German economy is booming, Germany has more unions than the US ever had (per capita of worker/company).
With less than 20% of states with collective bargaining unions for public educators, blaming bad education on unions is like blaming bad education for not having unions. The issue is much more complicated and union bashing will not improve the education in the US in general or GA in particular. Without great public education, GA will continue to be an economic bottom feeder with an economic future in doubt.
Or read what Steve Jobs had to say about the NEA in last year's bestselling biography on Jobs by Walter Isaacson (p.544).
What I'm saying HERE is that the NEA is joined at the hip with the Democrat Party, and those contemplating joining GAE need to be aware of that. Again, just Google "NEA" and "donations" to see how your dues money will be used.
And then ask yourself: Is that representative of YOUR beliefs?
GA is republicans dominated (with the exception of ALT metro), and has a sorry state of education (and economy). If democrats are bad, republicans surely just as bad. GA is a clear example where one party domination leads to terrible consequences.