STATE POLICy Issues

Georgia

As part of the southern belt, Georgia consistently struggles with meeting or exceeding many of the AYP benchmarks as part of NCLB. Will race the Top funds and a focus on STEM help bridge the gap in student achievement in STEM topics?

Landscape

HOSP has a long-standing relationship to Georgia from a prior event in 2007 to support the adoption of more hands-on, inquiry-based science education programs and tools, K-12. HOSP hosted a 1 day workshop where over 250 educators attended across grade areas to learn more. Many received addition CEU credits for their attendance, and the event exposed over half of the teachers to an approach to teaching and learning beyond a textbook.

Georgia faces numerous budget and economic challenges, but with Race to the Top funding, the state plans to increase the number of student proficient in math and science education (with a low of 27% proficient in math and below the national average in science). This spring the Governor announced a new Innovation Fund as part of the RRT resources. This fund focuses on:

• Raising student achievement through the development and delivery of applied learning opportunities and experiences directly tied to a subject matter, especially in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
• Raising teacher effectiveness through support for innovative induction programs to bridge the gap between pre-service and career teaching, focusing on providing structured and intensive support to new teachers and leaders.
• Increasing the pipeline of effective educators by developing local capacity through Grow Your Own Teacher programs in rural regions to increase the workforce, especially in high-need subject areas.
• Developing or expanding charter schools that are focused on STEM education to improve the level of STEM instruction in the state and direct students toward in-demand, high-tech careers.

Activities

HOSP will continue to engage with GA educators with whom we have built a relationship with and track developments in both the state legislature and with RTT spending so identify ways we can support a robust instructional core through the use of hands-on materials, tools and programs.

HOSP is always looking for ways to support the great work in STEM across the U.S. Do you have a story you want to tell, an organization or idea that is doing good work or legislation that you would like some advocacy help with? We want to help!
Please email us at info@handsonsciencepartnership.com