Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement

Leadership News & Highlights

THE GEORGIA PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCES SCHOOL SELECTIONS FOR 19TH BUS TRIP ACROSS GEORGIA

Annual Event Showcases Achieving Schools; Emphasizes Best Practices

The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education has announced the eight schools that will make up this year’s annual Bus Trip Across Georgia. The theme this year is “Georgia’s Public Schools: Changing Culture, Building Community, and Reaching Excellence.”

The 2011 trip will focus on schools in the mid-eastern and southeastern regions of the state. The selected schools are Lake Oconee Academy, Greene County Schools; Oak Hill Middle School, Baldwin County Schools; Langston Chapel Elementary School, Bulloch County Schools; Claxton Middle School, Evans County Schools; Taylors Creek Elementary School, Liberty County Schools; Sugarmill Elementary School, Camden County Schools; Golden Isles Career Academy, Glynn County Schools; Ware County High School, Ware County Schools.

The event will be conducted Oct. 25 – 27. Exact dates for each school visit have not yet been determined. Details will be announced later this summer by GPEE including the application process to participate as a rider or a local visitor to a particular site

Visit the Partnership web site (www.gpee.org – Annual Bus Trip page located under the Programs tab) for more information about the organization and the event. There is a video report of the 2010 trip and the “Photo Gallery” page on the site also records previous visits.

Announcing 2011-2012 Base Camp/Leadership Summit Cohort:
GLISI’s 2011-2012 Base Camp/ Leadership Summit Cohort applications are now available for registration. Four Cohorts will be available during the 2011-2012 school year.
Click here for more details

GLISI’s own Dr. Georgia Evans, Performance Consultant and Dr. JoAnn Brown, Program Manager, were invited by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) to serve as members of the Teacher Leadership Program Standards Task Force. The purpose of this Task Force is to engage Georgia educators from colleges/universities, school systems, RESAs, and state agencies in developing educator preparation and certification rules in the new field of Teacher Leadership. Part of this work includes the development of standards that will guide universities as they create preparation programs at the master’s degree level or higher leading to certification in the new field of Teacher Leadership.

Since GaPSC recently led a task force in the development of teacher leader standards for the Teacher Leader endorsement, we believe we can begin our work by reviewing these standards to determine if they are sufficient to support full certification programs at the M.Ed., Ed.S, and Ed.D. levels. The goal is to establish the standards as soon as possible, seek Commission approval, and then engage the Evaluation Systems group of Pearson in the development of the GACE assessments for this field. Also, colleges and universities can begin planning program content based on the new standards.

Mike Vanairsdale, a Leadership Performance consultant with GLISI and a leader in GLISI’s Balanced Scorecard work, was recently interviewed by School Leadership Briefing - Audio Journal and Professional Development for Administrators, regarding the impact of data analysis and the Balanced Scorecard’s impact on improving school performance. In the article Mike explains that while test scores measure student progress, they are lagging indicators of performance because they look backward and don’t show the whole picture or provide school districts with the data needed for making improvements. To systemically improve performance leaders must look at leading indicators of improving student performance - across the organization, using tools such as the Balanced Scorecard
http://www.schoolbriefing.com/273/using-data-as-a-leading-indicator-for-school-improvement/

GLISI congratulates Mitchell Middle School and Henderson Middle School for being named two of GASSP's 2010-2011 Breakthrough Middle Schools. To read more about this and the other 11 schools, click here.

Read Gale Hulme's GSBA eBOARD Solutions blog on Creating a Performance Culture. eBOARD Solutions blog features posts from experts in the field of good governance specifically related to leadership in public schools. Click here to read Dr. Hulme's blog and be sure to check out the other blogs on the right.

GLISI and SREB Announce Online Learning Partnership at Learning Forward National Conference, December 2010. Make your professional learning budget last longer - increase your knowledge and skills from the comfort of your office or home! GLISI has teamed with SREB (Southern Regional Education Board) and Florida Virtual Schools to bring its quality leadership development training to you via web-based, instructor-led courses focused on teaching priority leadership skills based on real-world problems. As always, GLISI's focus is on what school leaders must know and be able to do to improve instruction and raise student achievement. Participants can enroll in courses as individuals or as school-based teams. Eight modules will be available by September 2011. Contact JoAnn.Brown@glisi.org for more information.

GLISI Experts Share Balanced Scorecard at Fall 2010 Conferences. On November 10, Scott Cowart (Superintendent, Carroll County Schools) and Maggie Glennon (Performance Consultant, GLISI) presented a concurrent session at the SACS/CASI (Southern Association of Schools and Colleges / Council on Accreditation and School Improvement) conference. About 40 people attended "Using the Balanced Scorecard to Meet SACS/CASI Standards," in which they experienced a strategic planning process that mirrors the requirements of SACS/CASI, based on successful use of this technique at both Monroe and Carroll County school systems, and on the research of Robert Marzano, Tim Waters and the Wallace Foundation. On December 20, they presented together again at a general session at the GSBA (Georgia School Boards Association) conference. About 120 people attended "Organizing to Improve Student Achievement" in which they came to understand how to use a Balanced Scorecard as a tool to drive student and organizational performance, and to meet SACS/CASI standards. Both the November and December sessions were met with good evaluations.

GLISI Executive Director Gale Hulme has accepted an invitation to be part of The Georgia Professional Standards Commission task force designed to develop the new rules and guidelines which will allow educators to convert “L” certificates to “PL” certificates.

Congratulations to Gwinnett County Public Schools for receiving the 2010 Broad Prize: $1 million in college scholarships to support high school students. The Broad Prize is the largest education award and annually awards large urban school districts that demonstrate the strongest student achievement and improvement while narrowing achievement gaps between income and ethnic groups. The money goes directly to graduating high school seniors for college scholarships. National education leaders celebrated Gwinnett's focus on narrowing achievement gaps. To read more about this award, click here.

GLISI's Performance Consultant, Mike Vanairsdale becomes an integral part in helping Liberty County Board of Education understand the importance of a Balanced Scorecard. Liberty County has worked with Vanairsdale to develop and implement a Balanced Scorecard over the last year and are working to input data by January. Liberty's Board Members recognize that the Balanced Scorecard is an "excellent tool" and will help the district improve. To read the full story, click here.

GLISI Director of Research and Policy Leslie Hazle Bussey has been invited to serve on a national review panel for Pride Surveys/International Survey Associates. Pride/ISA is a well-respected authority on school climate and safety surveys for students. They have recently piloted a teacher and school leader climate survey to further understand different perspectives on school climate. School climate is a vital leading indicator of school improvement work, and we are excited about her work in this area to ensure that cost-effective instruments are developed to yield reliable and meaningful data for districts and policymakers.

New GLISI Research: Rising Stars Impact is a six-part series disseminating the findings of Rising Stars Collaboratives Program™ as a Pathway to Leadership Development: A Case Study, an in-depth analysis of GLISI's Rising Stars Collaboratives Program™. The case study was conducted by a University of Georgia College of Education research team led by Sally Zepeda, Ph.D., Professor and Principal Investigator, University of Georgia Department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy. The series explores the theoretical and practical elements of the findings by aligning discoveries to the core competencies and organizational issues faced by education leaders today. The first installment, Promoting a Positive Organizational Culture is now available. Click here to read the first of the series pieces!

The Council of Chief State School Officers is looking for input on their Model Core Teaching Standards. Public participation is welcomed through focus groups and a survey that can be done yourself in by phone, in person, or through web conferencing. Training webinars are for August 31 at 4 PM, September 1 at 1 PM, September 2 at 12 PM, September 8 at 2 PM, September 9 at 1 PM and September 10 at 11:30 AM. To get more information about these focus group trainings, contact Kathleen Paliokas at kathleenp@ccsso.org or 202-336-7058. There is also an online survey set up to provide feedback. And for more information, click here for their website.

GLISI invited to attend ECS 2010 National Forum on Education Policy and the DQC "Answering Critical Policy Questions: Leveraging Longitudinal P20/Workforce Data Systems" with several key policy leaders in Georgia. Other leaders include Diane Bradford, Amy Mast, Virginia Michelich, Andy Parsons, Mark Pevey, Josephine Reed-Taylor, Martha Reichrath, and Lynne Weisenbach. The Georgia group has been asked to lead a session on "Linking and Sharing Data." Thanks to The Wallace Foundation for supporting this endeavor.

GLISI releases its 2009-2010 Success Case Booklet highlighting 6 Georgia School Districts achieving positive impact through GLISI work. GLISI congratulates and thanks Atlanta Public Schools, Baldwin County Schools, Candler County Schools, Clay County Schools, Clayton Public Schools, and Mitchell County School System for their work and dedication to improving education leadership across Georgia. Click here to see the final product.

Georgia is one of 19 states committed to participate in the National Board Certification for Principals field test. To learn more about the opportunity to become a National Board Certified Principal by participating in the free field test, click here for Gale Hulme's letter to Georgia Superintendents, here for FAQ, and here for a brochure.

Gale Hulme, GLISI's Executive Director has been accepted as a member of Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education’s Education Policy Fellowship Program. Congratulations! To learn more about this program, visit their website at www.gpee.org.

GLISI congratulates the many organizations that received the good news of receiving federal funding through the USDOE’s School Leadership Program (SLP) Grant and the USDOE’s Investing in Innovation (i3) Grant. GLISI applied for both these grants and though we did not receive either we look forward to future grant opportunities with the USDOE and our valued clients. In addition, we are committed to the projects outlined in the grant applications and hope to find other funding sources to complete these projects as envisioned.

To read more about the SLP Grant including the awarded applicants, click here.

To read more about the i3 grant including the awarded applicants, click here.

GLISI’s SLP Grant application: GLISI submitted a version of the Rising Stars program for this grant. Click here to read more about GLISI’s SLP proposal.

GLISI’s i3 Grant application: GLISI submitted a development grant for i3 that uses Base Camp and Leadership Summit as the core program, but with an additional coaching program to ensure implementation. Click here to read more about GLISI’s i3 proposal. i3 applicants have also been invited to submit their proposals to a site for private and public foundations to review and fund. GLISI has submitted a proposal and hopes to secure alternative funding for this project.

Thank you to all supporting partners for believing in GLISI to write letters of support and participate in the application process.

Congratulations to Forsyth County for their Investing in Innovations (i3) grant award. Forsyth County is one of the 49 organizations awarded these federal funds for innovation in education. The project, EngageME-P.L.E.A.S.E. (Personalized Learning Experiences Accelerate Standards-based Education) focuses on increasing student achievement and increasing graduation rate for subgroups, high needs students, and in total. Using data to personalize learning for students, Forsyth hopes to achieve these goals and help their students. For more information on this award, please click here.

The Wallace Foundation releases a new report on education leadership framing the national discussion and calling for more focus on this critical issue. To read the full report and to see Ann Duffy's quotation on leader needs (pg. 9), click here.

Ann Duffy, GLISI's Policy Director was recently published in UGA's 2010 Education Policy Papers. Duffy's paper examines Georgia's high performance principal program and provides policymakers and stakeholders with in-depth analyses on many education issues. To read Duffy's article and see the final project, click here.

Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education and Georgia School Boards Association are sponsoring Education Policy Forums: Sessions for Candidates and Community Leaders. The sessions will inform policymakers about available tools and information to deal with the issues Georgia schools are facing. In addition, community leaders will also learn about the issues in Georgia's education, discover their community's stand, and understand how to work with policy makers. Seven sessions will be held across the state. To find out more and to register, please click here.

The Wallace Foundation releases two reports on education leadership: Central Office Transformation for District-Wide Teaching and Learning Improvement and Education Leadership: An Agenda for School Improvement. To access these reports, click here.

Want to be a part of community conversations around public education? There is an opportunity for you: A Vision for Public Education in Georgia. One of the objectives of the project is to ensure meaningful engagement by citizens across the state to craft a vision for public education. Click here to learn more about the project and see dates and locations of upcoming meetings.

GLISI is in the news for helping Georgia districts apply for million dollar School Improvement Grants from the Georgia Department of Education. Georgia Evans, a GLISI Performance Consultant, was highlighted in a recent article for assisting Carroll County's Temple High School in their grant work. To read the article, click here. For more information on how GLISI can help you, contact Gale Hulme at gale.hulme@glisi.org.