Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 505 - PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS COMMISSION › Chapter 505-3 - EDUCATOR PREPARATION RULES › Rule 505-3-.05 - Georgia Teacher Academy for Preparation and Pedagogy (GaTAPP)

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through
			 June 27, 2024
(1)
Purpose
. This rule states specific content standards and
			 requirements for approving non-traditional preparation programs designed for
			 the initial preparation of transition teachers and supplements requirements in
			 GaPSC Rules
			 505-3-.01 REQUIREMENTS AND STANDARDS
			 FOR APPROVING EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROVIDERS AND EDUCATOR PREPARATION PROGRAMS,
			 GaPSC Rule
			 505-3-.02 EDUCATOR PREPARATION
			 PROVIDER ANNUAL REPORTING AND EVALUATION, and GaPSC Certification Rules
			 505-2-.01 GEORGIA EDUCATOR
			 CERTIFICATION,
			 505-2-.08 PROVISIONAL CERTIFICATE, and
			 505-2-.05 PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE.
			 This rule also states specific content standards and requirements for approving
			 non-traditional preparation programs that prepare professionally certified
			 teachers to teach any subject in grades P-5. Field-Specific requirements for
			 the Elementary Education Certification-Only Program through GaTAPP (grades P-5)
			 are described at
www.gapsc.com
FIELD-SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS. This extension to the GaTAPP rule supplements the
			 requirements in GaPSC Rule
			 505-3-.14 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION (P-5)
			 PROGRAM.
(2)
Definitions.
(a)
Academic Year
(AY): Consists of two (2) full
			 semesters, one (1) of which must include the beginning of a school
			 year.
(b)
Candidate
			 Support Team
(CST): A team of school-based leaders, mentors,
			 Educator Preparation Provider (EPP) supervisors, and content specialists who
			 monitor, assess, and coach candidates using performance assessment data to
			 improve teaching performance in order to improve student learning.
(c)
Coaching:
Assisting candidates in transferring knowledge, skills, and understandings in
			 the GaTAPP program into professional practice.
(d)
Clinical Practice/Field
			 Experiences
:
1.
Clinical Practice
: Candidates are immersed in the
			 learning community and provided opportunities to develop and demonstrate
			 competence in the professional roles for which they are preparing while
			 supported by the Candidate Support Team. The job-embedded, hands-on experiences
			 provide candidates with an intensive and extensive opportunity to be monitored,
			 assessed, and coached. Performance assessment data from these experiences
			 inform the Individualized Induction Plan/ Professional Learning Plan.
2.
Field
			 Experiences
: Various early and ongoing field-based opportunities,
			 in which candidates may observe, assist, tutor, instruct, and/or conduct
			 research. Field experiences occur outside the candidate's classroom in settings
			 such as schools, community centers, or homeless shelters.
(e)
Dispositions
:
			 Moral commitments and professional attitudes, values, and beliefs that underlie
			 educator performance and are demonstrated through both verbal and non-verbal
			 behaviors as educators interact with students, families, colleagues, and
			 communities.
(f)
Elementary Education Certification-Only Program
: A one
			 (1) year supervised program administered through GaTAPP to prepare teachers
			 with Professional teaching certification in any field issued by the GaPSC with
			 the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to teach all subjects in grades P-5.
			 This program requires an induction component that includes coaching and
			 elementary pedagogical and content instruction for one (1) full academic year.
			 This program does not lead to a degree or college credit.
(g)
Highly Qualified
			 Status
: Although no longer a federal mandate, candidates admitted
			 into GaTAPP programs have a minimum of a bachelor's degree, Georgia Provisional
			 teacher certification, and verified content knowledge in the subjects they
			 teach. Candidates seeking certification in non-core academic teaching fields
			 are not required to meet "highly qualified requirements" and must complete the
			 program to receive an Induction or Professional certificate by the end of the
			 Provisional certificate validity period.
(h)
Individual Induction Plan
			 (IIP)
: A dynamic plan of action to improve candidate performance
			 collaboratively developed by the CST and the candidate based on performance
			 assessment data. The IIP will be used by the mentor/supervisor to coach the
			 candidate in the twenty-four (24) competencies and dispositions delineated in
			 this rule (also known as a Professional Learning Plan).
(i)
Induction
: A
			 period of time (frequently up to three (3) years) when educators are new to a
			 teaching or leader position or new to the state, a school, or a school
			 district. The State Induction Guidance Documents provide a framework for how
			 school districts and their partners will structure a system of support for the
			 novice teacher and new leader in their first years of service. In GaTAPP,
			 Induction is the first three (3) years as a newly employed classroom teacher
			 who must receive mentoring/coaching from the Candidate Support Team throughout
			 the induction period.
(j)
Non-traditional Preparation
: Post-baccalaureate
			 programs designed for individuals who did not prepare as educators during their
			 undergraduate studies. These preparation programs, designed to lead to an
			 Educator Preparation Provider's recommendation for certification but not a
			 degree, often accommodate the schedules of adults and recognize their earlier
			 academic preparation and life experiences. In most instances, candidates are
			 employed as educators while enrolled. An example is the Georgia Teacher Academy
			 for Preparation and Pedagogy (GaTAPP) where employment is required for
			 enrollment.
(k)
Regionally Accredited
: A process for assessing and
			 enhancing academic and educational quality through voluntary peer review by a
			 regionally accepted accrediting body to ensure the school district is meeting
			 its standards of educational quality.
(l)
Special Education
			 Consultative Teacher
: A Special Education teacher who works
			 collaboratively with a content area teacher of record in all content and is not
			 responsible for final scores for students. Candidates in the GaTAPP program are
			 required to develop unit and/or lesson plans based on the Georgia
			 state-approved P-12 performance standards in an academic content area(s) of
			 concentration and to implement those plans in the classroom.
(m)
Special Education Teacher of
			 Record
: A Special Education teacher who is responsible for the
			 curriculum, instruction, assessment, and record maintenance for the P-12
			 learner in any of the five (5) academic content concentrations, regular or
			 remedial.
(n)
Transition teachers
: Individuals who wish to
			 transition into teaching from another career path, did not complete a teacher
			 education program, and who have never held a professional teaching certificate
			 in any state or country.