Multimedia – State Teacher of the Year Banquet 2012

Please enjoy multimedia content from the recent State Teacher of the Year banquet featuring our very own finalist Elisha Gray of Jackson High School.

Temporary Banner Page

http://www.apsk12.org/media/index.html

Previous Year winner’s Speech

http://www.apsk12.org/media/VIDEO_PAGES/GTOTY2012Speech.html

2013 Winner announcement and program highlights

http://www.apsk12.org/media/VIDEO_PAGES/GTOTY2012Highlights.html

Evening Photo Gallery featuring Elisha Gray

http://www.apsk12.org/media/Photo_Gallerys/GTOTYbanq2012/index.html

Event Audiocast

http://www.apsk12.org/media/Audio_Media/GTOTY2012-AUDIOCAST.mp3

Final Pre-K Registration Opportunity

For those who missed this week’s Wednesday and Saturday registration dates for the APS 2012 Pre-Kindergarten lottery, there is one more opportunity Wednesday, June 13 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Kennedy Middle School, 225 James P. Brawley Dr., NW Atlanta 30314 to sign-up for this valuable education program.

The lottery drawing is scheduled to be conducted from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 20 and will be managed by Data Systems and Games, Inc. A certified public accounting firm will validate the results, which will be posted at each Pre-Kindergarten site by Monday, July 2.

Through the current state-funded Pre-K initiative, APS offers a comprehensive full-day program for approximately 850 four-year-old children. To participate in the APS Pre-K program, a child must be four years of age on or before September 1, 2012 and reside in an APS attendance zone or be the child of an APS employee.

Transportation will be provided for children who live more than a mile from their zoned elementary school. Children who enter Pre-K by way of the Special Needs Department will receive transportation to and from their school site.

Important information regarding required documentation for registration, along with the rules governing eligibility for the APS Pre-Kindergarten program, is posted on the district Web site at http://www.atlantapublicschools.us. Go to the Quick Links section in the upper right-hand corner of the home page and click on Pre-Kindergarten Program.

General Administrative Transfer Application Deadline – June 15, 2012

Pursuant to Georgia law, Atlanta Public Schools offers public school choice through the administrative transfer process.  Friday, June 15th, 2012 is the final day for parents and guardians to request a general administrative transfer  for their children for the 2012-2013 school year.  General administrative transfers are transfers that allow students to attend an out of zone school if space is available in the out of zone school.

Transfers applications are selected by lottery and not first come first served. Applications may be submitted in person on ANY of the following remaining dates:  June 11 – June 15, 2012 9:00 am – 3:00 pm.  Applications are accepted at the Department of Student Relations located at 130 Trinity Ave., 2nd Floor, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.

Applications submitted by mail or fax will not be accepted.  All city of Atlanta residents are eligible to apply for administrative transfers.  Non-resident students may also apply but tuition will be required.  Children of APS full time non-resident employees are considered residents and allowed to attend APS schools tuition-free

General administrative transfers are granted based upon space availability. If the number of applications for a given school exceeds the number of available spaces, a random lottery will be conducted to provide each interested student with an equal opportunity to be admitted. Applications must be submitted in person. Applications will be assigned a lottery identification number which will be used to randomly select approvals for transfers should the number of applicants surpass the number of available seats at a particular school.

CLICK HERE to view Elementary Schools accepting General Administrative Transfers.

CLICK HERE to view Middle Schools accepting General Administrative Transfers.

CLICK HERE to view High Schools accepting General Administrative Transfers.

Transportation under this public school choice option is the responsibility of the parent.  A general administrative transfer is valid through the highest grade of the school for which the transfer is approved. A transfer does not grant students the right to attend the next school in the feeder pattern

Parents are required to submit the following documents with the transfer application. You may attach a copy of all required residency documents to the application or you may bring the originals to the Department of Student Relations and we will make a copy of your residency documents.
a) Current mortgage statement, deed, lease or statement from housing authority;
b) Georgia Power utility bill dated within thirty (30) days of your application date;
c) Photo Identification or APS employment badge (if parent or legal guardian is an APS employee).
d) Any two (2) of the following documents:
1). For the current year, a property tax statement which shows the name and address;
2). Voter registration documentation;
3). Current motor vehicle registration;
4). Employer documentation (e.g. application for employment, health insurance, previously issued W- 2 or Form 1099, pay stub) which evidences the location of the legal residence;
5). Current bank, credit union, or other financial institution documentation (e.g. loan documents,
credit card statement, monthly activity statement, voided check) which evidences the location of
the legal residence;
6). Receipt to have utilities connected; or
7). Current homeowners or renters insurance.

CLICK HERE to download the General Administrative Transfer Application (English)

CLICK HERE to download the General Administrative Transfer Application (Spanish)

For more information, please contact the Office of Student Relations at 404-802-2233 or via email at placements@atlanta.k12.ga.us

CLICK HERE to visite the General Administrative Transfer web page.

Elección de Escuela Pública 2012‐2013

Elección de Escuela Pública 2012‐2013

Querido Padre/ Guardián legal:

Las Escuelas Públicas de Atlanta recientemente completaron un proceso de redistribución de dos años. La redistribución no es nunca fácil, pero es necesaria para efectivamente manejar los recursos educativos y asegurar los logros de los estudiantes. La propuesta de redistribución final aprobada por la Junta Directiva cierra siete escuelas y crea nueve grupos de escuelas secundarias, donde los estudiantes de una misma vecindad se mantendrán juntos durante toda su etapa escolar de K‐12. Nuestra meta es proveer una educación rigurosa y de calidad para cada estudiante de nuestras escuelas. Además, continuaremos ofreciendo a los padres y los estudiantes opciones para la elección de escuela.

Según lo acordado por la ley de Georgia, las Escuelas Públicas de Atlanta ofrece la elección de escuelas públicas a través de un proceso de transferencia administrativa. Usted tiene la opción de pedir una transferencia administrativa general a otra escuela de las Escuelas Públicas de Atlanta que tenga espacio disponible para el año escolar que comienza. Usted también tiene la opción de pedir una transferencia a las academias de niños o niñas (B.E.S.T. Academy y Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy) a través del proceso de aplicación que abarca a toda la ciudad. Los padres que elijan transferir a su hijo(a) a una escuela fuera de la zona de asistencia debe asumir todos los costos y las responsabilidades relacionadas con el transporte de su hijo(a) desde y hacia la escuela.

Las transferencias administrativas generales y las aplicaciones a las academias de niños y niñas de la ciudad son garantizadas dependiendo en la disponibilidad de cupos. El distrito publicará en el sitio web de APS una lista de escuelas con cupos disponibles para estudiantes de otras zonas. Si el distrito recibe más aplicaciones por escuela que los cupos que tiene disponibles, se realizará una lotería para dar a cada estudiante la misma oportunidad de ser seleccionado.  http://www.atlanta.k12.ga.us//Domain/96.

Los padres pueden aplicar para una transferencia administrativa general o para las academias de niños y niñas el día sábado, 19 de mayo de 2012 entre las 9 a.m. y 2 p.m. o desde el lunes, 21 de mayo de 2012 hasta el 15 de junio de 2012 entre las 9 a.m. y 3 p.m. Se requiere que los padres apliquen en persona visitando la oficina de Relaciones Estudiantiles de APS (Student Relations) en el 130 Trinity Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30303.

Existe la posibilidad de que los padres no hayan recibido una respuesta sobre la aplicación de transferencia administrativa general al comienzo del año escolar. S usted no ha recibido una respuesta acerca de su aplicación el primee día de escuela, usted deberá inscribir a su hijo(a) en la escuela de su zona hasta que haya recibido una respuesta.

Gracias por su atención sobre este asunto. Si usted tiene preguntas acerca de las transferencias administrativas generales, por favor contacte la oficina de Relaciones Estudiantiles de APS (Student Relations) al (404) 802‐2233 o envíenos un correo electrónico a placements@atlanta.k12.ga.us.

Sinceramente,

Erroll B. Davis, Jr. Superintendentet

APS moves to Common Core Standards

When the The U.S. Department of Education granted Georgia’s waiver request to be excused from the requirements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, administrators at Atlanta Public Schools and across the state were even more optimistic that their transition to the Common Core Curriculum would improve performance and help students achieve attainable standards.   

The NCLB waiver gives the states the freedom to set their own student-achievement goals and design their own interventions for failing schools.   In exchange for this flexibility, the department required each of the states to provide a viable alternative to NCLB, which included:

• adopting college- and career-ready standards, setting new targets for improving achievement among all students, 
• focusing on 15 percent of their most troubled schools
• creating guidelines for teacher evaluations based in part on student performance.   

Disadvantages of No Child Left Behind 

The purpose of NCLB was to ensure that no child attended a failing school, and the expectation was that all students would perform on grade level in reading/language arts and mathematics by 2014. 

State, district and school accountability for improving student performance increased significantly under NCLB.  And since there was no national standard for student assessment, each state was permitted to choose its own standards for assessment and develop its own accountability system based on annual student test results.  In Georgia, the primary indicators of student performance were the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) and the Georgia High School Graduation Tests (GHSGT).   

The federal government provided funding to schools that could successfully show Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), while schools that missed AYP for two consecutive years were labeled “in need of improvement” –a designation that resulted in the school receiving specific consequences, and one that many believed unfairly discredited and stigmatized schools.  This created the inherent problem of educators around the country “teaching to the test” and students in every state memorizing numerous facts to pass tests. 

A New Accountability System

As part of the NCLB waiver agreement, states agreed to raise standards, improve accountability, and undertake essential reforms to improve teacher effectiveness.  So, while Georgia will still test its students annually, the NCLB waiver allows the state to move away from focusing solely on the state’s minimal competency tests.  Instead, Georgia will  use the Georgia College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) as the new measure of  school and student achievement.  Many believe that the CCRPI evaluates performance  much better than NCLB,  because it uses several different variables rather than a single test to measure achievement.

The Common Core Connection

The Common Core Curriculum Initiative satisfies the NCLB’s waiver’s requirement to raise standards and the initiative is consistent with CCRPI .  It also responds to complaints that the NCLB standards could never be realistically attained.   And while educators previously felt forced to focus on recall and breadth, the Common Core Standards Initiative pushes educators to focus on critical thinking and depth of skills.  It shifts the focus from group test scores to individual performance standards that demonstrate the developing skills and proficiencies students need for post-secondary success.

The initiative provides states with rigorous, consistent standards for K-12 English language arts and math, and spells out what children are expected to learn in those subjects so that when they graduate from high school they are able to succeed in entry-level college courses and in workforce training programs. 

 

Consistent and Uniform Learning Nationwide 

This means that teachers and parents will have more consistency and clarity about what students across the country are expected to learn.  Until now, states have made individual determinations about academic standards and learning expectations, which have resulted in students at the same grade level learning and achieving at different levels from state to state.  

Utilizing consistent standards will make learning more uniform across the country, ensure more consistent exposure to learning materials and experiences and provide appropriate benchmarks for all students, no matter where they live.  

Common Core has already been adopted by 48 states and the District of Columbia. The curriculum provides a framework that is re-engineering public education by producing graduates who are prepared, tech-savvy and equipped for success in college, career and beyond.

For more information on The Common Core Standards Initiative, visit www.corestandards.org