Legislative
Day on Capitol Hill Promotes Healthy Synergy with Legislators By Guest Contributor Tom Mark, Ed.D., Director of Alternative Education, Tift County Schools
A
t this year’s PAGE & GAEL Day on Capitol Hill, teachers and administrators from throughout Georgia descended upon the state capitol to meet with legislators and leaders from the Georgia Department of Education, including State School Superintendent Richard Woods. The event was cohosted by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators and the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders. Although a winter storm nearly cancelled the event and hindered the travel of many in the northern part of the state, the meeting was well attended by nearly 200 educators, including a strong contingent from south Georgia. “The high number of people attending, in spite of the bad weather, is indicative of the fact
that educators are passionate about the issues that affect the students in their classrooms,” says Richard Fisher, principal of Len Lastinger Primary School in Tift County. During the morning session, DOE leaders addressed the newly implemented Student Learning Objectives (SLOs). Many of the comments from educators were delivered with negative implications, as concern was expressed about the high number of tests being given and the loss of educational time due to the state-mandated examinations. On a more positive note, Jimmy Stokes, GAEL executive director, informed the group that Georgia legislators were debating about awarding diplomas to the thousands of former students who earned the
required number of Carnegie Units but did not pass the standardized graduation test. Since then, the legislation did pass. In his keynote address to the educators, Superintendent Woods delivered hope that the amount of testing would be studied and that it was his hope that testing would be restructured so that students could be evaluated in a more diagnostic manner, instead of the test results reading like an autopsy report. “It is good to see that a connection is being established between the educational associations and the state government,” says Mickey Weldon, chief academic officer of Tift County Schools. “There is a type of synergy being developed that is important if we are to continue to make n progress in public education.”
Following his keynote address at PAGE & GAEL Day on Capitol Hill, State School Superintendent Richard Woods (center) gathered with Tift County educators (from left) Dr. Tom Mark, director of alternative education; Mickey Weldon, chief academic officer; Richard Fisher, principal of Len Lastinger Primary School; and Debbie Brown, assistant director of Sixth Street Academy Alternative School.
12 PAGE ONE
May/June 2015
