Race to the Top. Georgia Report. Year 1: School Year 2010-2011. [State-Specific Summary Report]
Author: Department of Education (ED)
Date: 2012-01-10
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Academic Standards,Accountability,Achievement Gains,Achievement Gap,Administrator Effectiveness,Administrator Evaluation,Best Practices,Budgets,Career Planning,Charter Schools,Competition,Data,Disabilities,Educational Assessment,Educational Change,Educational Improvement,Elementary Secondary Education,English Curriculum,Federal Legislation,Federal State Relationship,Graduation Rate,Grants,Higher Education,Language Arts,Leadership Effectiveness,Mathematics,Measurement Objectives,Models,Outcomes of Education,Performance Based Assessment,Poverty,Principals,Professional Development,Program Evaluation,Program Implementation,School Districts,School Effectiveness,School Turnaround,State Government,STEM Education,Systems Approach,Teacher Effectiveness,Teacher Evaluation

This State-specific summary report serves as an assessment of Georgia's Year 1 Race to the Top implementation, highlighting successes and accomplishments, identifying challenges, and providing lessons learned from implementation to date. Georgia's first-year accomplishments include awarding the State's first five Race to the Top Innovation Fund competitive grants, securing the Georgia Board of Education's approval for key contracts across the reform areas, and developing a comprehensive project management system. Although Georgia enjoyed some success in Year 1, the State faced challenges related to maintaining the original proposed schedule, transitions in State and LEA leadership, and hiring qualified staff. The timeline proposed in the State's Phase 2 application had not been updated from the proposed Phase 1 application. This resulted in significant timeline delays and required numerous adjustments to the implementation schedule. The State revised its timelines as a part of the Scope of Work approval process. Georgia also experienced State-level leadership changes, including the election of a new Governor and a new State Superintendent of Education in November 2010. In addition, six of the largest participating LEAs also experienced leadership changes, hiring new superintendents during the course of Year 1. Finally, the State encountered challenges in staffing its management team and the teams across the core education reform areas, hiring the bulk of its staff between March and May 2011. The final Race to the Top staff member was hired in September 2011. Georgia intends to complete implementation of the SharePoint project management system, which will facilitate the sharing of information across LEAs and the State starting in October 2011. The SharePoint site complements the State's communications plans for the remaining project years. The communication strategy includes an online newsletter for all LEAs and stakeholders, as well as community- education-related meetings across the State. The State also plans to support new superintendents in participating LEAs by connecting them with veteran superintendents in other participating LEAs. A glossary is included. (Contains 6 footnotes.) [For the full report, &quot;Race to the Top. Georgia. State-Reported APR: Year One,&quot; see ED529313. For &quot;Race to the Top Annual Performance Report,&quot; see ED529267.]