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Spotlight on . . .
Our National Board Certified Teachers
An impressive 24 Cobb County educators earned the
status of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs), a prestigious
credential in the education field, in 2003.
Considered one of education’s top honors, earning National Board
Certification takes nearly a year to complete with rigorous
assessments of the candidates throughout the process. Established in
1993 by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards,
national certification provides advanced evaluation of experienced
educators and complements the state certification process. Teachers
can gain national certification in their select teaching areas
including language arts, early childhood, mathematics, and science,
among others.
“The District is very proud of its newest National Board Certified
Teachers,” said Superintendent Joe Redden. “Earning this prestigious
credential demonstrates the Cobb County educators’ dedication to
education and to our students.”
In recognition of this top honor, the Cobb County School District
presented a $1,000 incentive to the 24 new NBCTs, as well as to those
teachers who have previously earned the national certification
designation. This incentive is determined each year as allowed by the
School District’s budget.
For more information on National Board Certification, visit the
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Web site at
www.nbpts.org.
Congratulations to the class of 2003
Lisa Andell Hibshman - Early
Childhood/Generalist (Eastvalley ES)
Julie Bayne - Early Childhood/Generalist (Vaughan ES)
Susan Bush - Adolesence and Young Adult/Mathematics (Lassiter
High School)
James Carter - Adolescence and Young Adulthood/English Language Arts
(Wheeler HS)
Judith Coane - Adolescence and Young Adulthood/English Language Arts
(Kell HS)
Kathleen Finch - Adolescence and Young Adulthood/English Language Arts
(Lassiter HS)
Carol Galloy - Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood/Exceptional
Needs Specialist (North Cobb HS)
Patricia Goodwin - Early Childhood through Young Adulthood/Exceptional
Needs Specialist (Murdock ES)
Mary Ann Lasseter - Middle Childhood/Generalist (Dowell ES)
Ann Le Clair-Ash - Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood/World
Languages Other than English (Pope HS)
Diana Lossner - Adolescence and Young Adulthood/Mathematics (Pope HS)
Deborah Marker - Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood/World
Languages Other than English (Osborne HS)
Sylvia Martinez - Adolescence through Young Adulthood/English Language
Arts (Campbell HS)
Peggy Milam - Early Childhood through Young Adulthood/Library Media
(Compton ES)
Patrice Perugini-Hosmer - Early Adolescence through Young
Adulthood/World Languages Other than English (Harrison HS)
John Reagan - Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood/Career and
Technical Education (Sprayberry HS)
Jerry Rietveld - Adolescence through Young Adulthood/Science (Pope HS)
Melyn Roberson - Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood/World
Languages Other than English (Campbell HS)
Aimee Simons - Early Childhood/Generalist (Murdock ES)
Lynn Teague - Middle Childhood/Generalist (Hayes ES)
Linda Venuto - Early Childhood through Young Adulthood/Library Media
(Cooper MS)
Rose Mary White - Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood/World
Languages Other than English (Pope HS)
Jana Williams - Early Adolesence through Young Adult/Music (Walton
High School)
Jo Zarzeka - Early Childhood through Young Adulthood/Library Media
(Sprayberry HS)
Spotlight on . . .
National Blue Ribbon Schools & Georgia Schools of Excellence
The Cobb County School
District has consistently earned awards in recognition of its
excellence in education. Two top honors include the National Blue
Ribbon School award and the Georgia School of Excellence award.
The District has earned an impressive 16 National Blue Ribbon
School awards and 33 Georgia School of Excellence awards.
2003 National Blue
Ribbon School Award Winner:
Dickerson Middle School
Dickerson Middle School
was named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of
Education under the department’s No Child Left Behind–Blue Ribbon
Schools Program.
Dickerson is among 219
schools recognized nationally and one of only six Georgia public
schools to be chosen for this distinguished honor in 2003.
The No Child Left
Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools Program, established by U.S. Secretary
of Education Rod Paige, honors public and private K-12 schools
that are either academically superior in their states or that
demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement while adhering
to the core principals of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Dickerson Middle School was nominated for this award by meeting
criteria of having overall student achievement in the top 10
percent statewide on reading and math assessments.
“We’re so proud of our
students for their efforts to be engaged in learning, and the
parents for their support and involvement in the school program,”
said Melba Fugitt, principal of Dickerson Middle School. “The Blue
Ribbon Award is a great honor for the school and our community.”
"Our teachers set the
stage for student achievement through their dedication to the
instructional program and their abilities to engage students in
learning activities,” said Ms. Fugitt. “Classroom instruction and
parental support are the strengths that teach students the
importance of school achievement.”
Dickerson also earned
state honors in 1988 as a Georgia School of Excellence. The middle
school also was named the top school in Georgia for the highest
test scores in reading and math in 1997, 1998, and 1999.
By earning the No Child
Left Behind-Blue Ribbon School award, which was formerly called
the National Schools of Excellence Program, Dickerson marks the
16th Cobb County School chosen for this honor since the program’s
inception in 1982.
2003 Georgia School
of Excellence Award Winner:
Hightower Trail Middle School
Hightower Trail Middle
School was named a 2003 Georgia School of Excellence.
This prestigious award,
presented annually to qualifying schools by the Georgia Department
of Education, recognizes outstanding public schools for their
success in the areas of student focus and support; school
organization and culture; challenging standards and curriculum;
active teaching and learning; professional community, leadership
and educational vitality; school, family and community
partnerships; and indicators of success.
Hightower Trail is one
of only five middle schools statewide that received the honor.
Being named a Georgia School of Excellence is a challenge with a
rigorous selection process including site visits to the nominated
schools and an intense application review by the state Department
of Education.
“Being selected as a
Georgia School of Excellence is truly a great honor,” said Tony
Melton, former principal of Hightower Trail, now assistant
superintendent of Policy & Planning. “Through our experience in
this program, we can proudly renewal that we have developed a
learning community within our school.”
In addition to this
award, Hightower Trail has enjoyed numerous state and national
honors earned by its faculty, staff and students. The school’s
PTSA was named Best Middle School PTSA in Georgia for 2002 by the
Georgia PTA. The successful implementation of key learning
programs, including additions to the gifted curriculum, and noted
achievements by faculty members have earned the school special
honors and demonstrate its commitment to excellence in education.
Hightower Trail Middle
School joins 32 other Cobb County schools that have received the
Georgia Schools of Excellence honor since the program began in
1984.
Spotlight
on . . .
Technology and its Use in Grading
New technology is offering
exciting advancements for students, parents and educators in the Cobb
County School District. These advancements include new methods for
reporting grades and attendance, and checking grades online.
Teachers at high schools and middle schools have begun using an online
grade book and attendance system as part of the adopted SchoolMax
Student Information System.
Called “i-Cue,” the system provides teachers with the ability to
record student attendance and grades, including quizzes, homework
assignments, tests, and more, online from their classroom or wherever
they have Internet access. Elementary school teachers have access to
the attendance capability of i-Cue, but do not yet have the ability to
report grades for their students. The District is working to achieve
this capability for educators and parents of elementary school
students.
SchoolMax also offers parents an exciting new module called “i-Parent.”
Parents of high school students can access their child’s grade and
attendance information directly via the Internet. i-Parent is the
parent-side of the i-Cue system and provides parents with information
reported online by their child’s teacher, including attendance and
testing data.
While parents of middle and elementary school students do not yet have
access to their children’s information, the School District is working
to advance the SchoolMax technology to include these grade levels for
both parents and teachers.
The District continues to work to achieve a higher level of
performance of the SchoolMax system, as the District continues to
explore and expand its use of technology for students, educators and
parents.
Spotlight
on . . .
Leadership Training Key to Developing Effective Educators and
Administrators
The continued development and training of top educators and
administrators is key to achieving the Cobb County School District’s
goal of excellence in education. The Leadership Development Program is
an integral tool in developing these District leaders.
Designed to
assist administrators in developing the knowledge, skills, attitudes,
and aspirations to become effective leaders, the Leadership
Development Program is a pivotal module of the District’s Staff
Development plans for school improvement. The program’s top three
goals are:
• To
provide research-based professional learning to promote the
development of future administrators.
• To implement research-based professional learning to enhance the
effectiveness of current administrators.
• To establish cohorts with colleges and universities for
prospective and current administrators to obtain degrees in
educational leadership.
The District
relies on the Leadership Development Program to guide candidates for
leadership positions including principals and Central Office
administrators. From Leadership Academies, Partnership Cohort Groups
and the Leadership Assessment Center to the Principal Mentor-Coach
Program, Advanced Professional Learning and more, the Leadership
Development Program provides District leaders and future leaders with
a variety of career development opportunities.
“School
leaders face increasingly high demands to reach higher standards and
raise student achievement,” said Sherri Sallinger, director of
Leadership Development. “The Leadership Development Program aspires to
develop the strong leadership that is needed to meet those
challenges.”
Leadership
development opportunities are designed to support and enhance the
success of new principals and administrators in the Cobb County School
District. The program offers research- and education-based standards
in its training tools and methods. With the proper training and tools,
future District leaders are being prepared to fill important
leadership roles and are learning the skills necessary to improve
student achievement.
For more
information on the opportunities available from the Leadership
Development Program,
click here.
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