From: John Barge [JohnBarge@doe.k12.ga.us]
Sent: Friday, August 29, 2014 10:14 AM
Subject: Encouraging News from US ED
To : Superintendents
During the past several months many of you have spoken to me about the increasing demands on teachers and schools as they work diligently to implement the variety of educational initiatives and reforms in which we are engaged. You have communicated to me that you understand and support the reforms and that you have confidence that they will make a difference for Georgia’s students. The issue I continue to hear is that the timeline for full implementation of the reform efforts has converged and that you are concerned that rushing these initiatives may have a detrimental effect on the quality of the final implementation. Requiring more rigorous standards, administering high-quality assessments, and implementing teacher evaluations that include student growth are all extremely important and we remain committed to each of them.
I want to assure you that I have heard your concerns and agree with you that we are working on the right work and that the reforms are important. I also understand the benefits of being able to have more time for implementation. As many of you are aware, Secretary Arne Duncan announced this week that the U. S. Department of Education has also heard from many educators that the pace of the implementation of so many reforms on such an aggressive timeline will hinder us from receiving the ultimate benefit. He agrees that we must allow time for proper and thoughtful implementation. He has stated that the U. S. Department of Education will begin the process of providing additional flexibility to the ESEA waiver timeline which requires the use of student growth measures to be included in teacher evaluation high-stakes decisions. We are awaiting the guidance document from the U. S. Department of Education. When we receive the guidance, Georgia will actively seek the timeline flexibility to which Secretary Duncan referred, and we will share the details of that flexibility as soon as possible. This, in no way, lessens our commitment to the important reform agenda we, as a State, and you, at the district level, have set for Georgia, but would allow a more reasonable timeline for full implementation. Our first priority is to do the work well and to ensure sustainable results, even if that means timelines must be extended.
Thank you for your continued efforts in moving Georgia forward in student achievement!
John D. Barge, Ed. D
State School Superintendent
Georgia Department of Education
2066 Twin Tower East
205 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive
Atlanta, GA 30334
(404) 657-1175 - Office
(404) 651-8737 – Fax
jbarge@doe.k12.ga.us<mailto:jbarge@doe.k12.ga.us>
http://gadoe.org%3chttp//gadoe.org/%3E
Follow us on Twitter: @gadoenews and @drjohnbarge
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gadoe
"Making Education Work for All Georgians"
No comments:
Post a Comment