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n 2017, Gainesville ISD was one of five school districts in the nation to be awarded the Empowering Educators to Excel Grant, a 5-year grant funded through the U.S. Department of Education. The E3 grant joins GISD into a network of educators working on school improvement practices across 4 states, 5 districts, and 47 schools.
RETAIN Stipends During the last three years, $827,966 in retainment stipends was distributed to returning educators for their commitment the previous year to educator growth and student learning. Onboarding Teams Campus onboarding teams serve as the welcome wagon that supports new educators in feeling connected to our Leopard Family. “I wish they would have had this when I started as a first year teacher. Getting to know your team is vital, and I feel that this program has really helped create that bond early on,” said Brennan Pemberton, Chalmers onboarding team captain.
RECRUIT E3 has supported GISD in building year-long, multi-stakeholder and equity-driven recruitment systems to attract effective teachers. GISD has put in place the essential elements for building 21st century recruitment
systems — with the leadership of crossdepartmental working teams — including the use of the latest digital communication channels, video, and best practices for candidate screening and selection. GISD has created a library of videos to attract candidates, including teachers sharing their experience and highlighting their bright spots. These are available at youtube.com/ gainesvilleisd, or scan the QR code for easy access.
GROW Instructional Leadership Teams, consisting of teacher leaders, meet weekly and use a targeted approach to work on identified school priorities. Professional Learning Community content teams collectively work on a common challenge surrounding student learning. Teachers leverage bright spots within the campus and utilize similar strategies and approaches to strengthen other areas. Teachers receive individualized instructional coaching as a way to strengthen educator practices and to
increase the impact on the diverse learning styles in our classrooms. “The teachers of GISD have worked tirelessly to incorporate new strategies to make the largest impact possible on their students,” said Dana Dudenhoeffer, E3 Project Coach. In the 2019-2020 school year, GISD held the first Aspiring Leaders Academy, which provides high quality professional learning for educators striving to gain the knowledge and tools to be more effective leaders. Last year, 12 educators completed the program, and four of those 12 moved into leadership positions this year. An additional 11 educators are currently attending the second Aspiring Leaders Academy. Throughout the year, the cohort of aspiring leaders cover topics designed to support leadership development in the areas of Transformational Leadership, Instructional Vision, Data-Based Decision-Making, High-Performing Teams, Creating a Culture of Equity, and Distributive Leadership.
“AFTER JOINING THE INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP TEAM, I BEGAN TO SEE LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL IN MYSELF THAT I DIDN’T KNOW WAS THERE. ” ~Sutton Hennessy, 2020 Aspiring Leaders Academy
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• Gainesville SPOT SPOTlight light • Winter 2020
