West Georgia RESA Presentation March 24, 2016 Georgia Professional Standards Commission West Georgia RESA Presentation March 24, 2016 Georgia Professional Standards Commission

What is Ethics?

Ethics Knowledge-codes, rules, knowing right from wrong Conduct-behavior that aligns with knowledge Ethics-courage to execute in the midst of pressure Doing what is right when no one is looking

Questions Complete the following sentences with an elbow partner…. The most ethical person I know is….. This person is ethical because…

Rachel Spates

3 Main Duties of Educators Teach the Children Protect the Students Conduct Themselves Professionally and Ethically

TKEs/LKEs

What the Evaluators of Teachers are Required to Do: Conduct Orientation Analyze results of teachers’ Self-Assessments as required Pre-Evaluation Conference Conduct 4 Walk-throughs/2 Formative Observations Engage all teachers in Mid-year Conference discussing Student Growth data and TAPS Standards 9/19/2018

Evaluators of Teachers Certify the SLO Pre- and Post-Assessments were administered according to LEA’s “window” Ensure Roster Verification process is completed in November and April by all teachers Administer Surveys of Instructional Practice to students utilizing results in Summative Assessment ratings Complete 1 Summative Assessment Conduct Individual Summative Assessment Conferences Complete 2 Formative Assessments utilizing results of the Walk-throughs, Formative Observations, and requested Documentation from teachers 9/19/2018

What the Evaluators of Leaders are Required to Do: Conduct Orientation Analyze results of leaders’ Self-Assessments which are discussed in required Pre-Evaluation Conference Finalize 2 Performance Goals in Pre-Evaluation Conference and outline documentation that must be submitted before Formative Assessment Complete Formative Assessment on each leader Engage all leaders in Mid-year Conference discussing results of Formative Assessment 9/19/2018

Evaluators of Leaders Continue collecting documentation to be utilized in rating LAPS standards for Summative Assessment Administer Climate Surveys to certified/classified staff utilizing results in Summative Assessment ratings Complete 1 Summative Assessment Conduct individual Summative Assessment Conferences 9/19/2018

Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) New Territory for GaPSC Our Focus is on mandated Standardized State Testing Report Only Major Violations of SLOs Testing Cite What School System Has Done

Abandonment of Contract

PSC Guidelines Submit resignation before June 1 After June 1 for illness in family which requires educator to provide care, for spousal transfer which requires unreasonable commute, or promotion within the field of education

Abandonment Questions Why do some school systems release educator from contract and others file complaint with the PSC? Does payment of liquidated damages fee constitute a release? Is it okay to release weak teachers but require good teachers to honor the contract? Does area of certification matter?

Abandonment Questions (cont’d) Should a school system be consistent or consider each case individually? Should a school system offer a contract to an educator who is under contract with another system? Does it make a difference if the educator sought the position rather than being recruited?

Standard #8 School Systems are encouraged to handle employment issues locally Liquidated damages assessment complicates abandonment Look at effect on students GaPSC looks at date letter of resignation was sent, reason for resignation (sickness, promotion, or commute issues) Action School System has taken

Statistics from one Metro Atlanta School System Year # of individuals walking away from their employment agreement after June 1 FY14 554 FY15 609

Year Denied Revoked Voluntary Total Surrender FY 2005 25 93 22 140 FY 2006 42 72 17 131 FY 2007 23 76 26 125 FY 2008 33 54 16 103 FY 2009 25 71 27 123 FY 2010 13 67 28 108 FY 2011 18 58 20 96 FY 2012 18 92 25 135 FY 2013 14 86 28 128 FY 2014 18 99 26 143 FY 2015 26 81 29 136

Sanctions-February, 2015-February, 2016 Legal compliance - 41 Conduct with Students - 63 Alcohol and Drugs - 20 Honesty - 57 Public Funds and Property - 9 Remunerative Conduct - 3 Confidential Information - 1

Sanctions Abandonment of Contract - 6 Required Reports - 16 Professional Conduct - 37 Testing - 15 Total - 268

RESA Totals FY 2015 FY 2014 CSRA - 31 Chattahoochee - 30 Coastal Plains - 34 First District - 70 Griffin - 59 Heart of Georgia - 6 Metro - 289 Middle Georgia - 45 North Georgia - 34 CSRA - 72 Chattahoochee - 30 Coastal Plains - 31 First District - 124 Griffin - 53 Heart of Georgia - 12 Metro - 317 Middle Georgia - 51 North Georgia - 28

RESA Totals FY 2015 FY 2014 NE Georgia - 29 NW Georgia - 36 Oconee - 12 Okefenokee - 14 Pioneer - 16 SW Georgia - 30 West Georgia - 26 RESA Avg - 48 RESA Total - 761 NE Georgia - 64 NW Georgia - 53 Oconee - 10 Okefenokee - 10 Pioneer - 34 SW Georgia - 45 West Georgia - 18 RESA Avg - 60 RESA Total - 955

Open Cases by RESA -Teachers Listed on CPI Report 2015 2015 CSRA - .0063 Chattahoochee - .0094 Coastal Plains - .0097 First District - .0083 Griffin - .0088 Heart of Ga. - .0042 Metro - .0068 Middle Ga. - .0100 North Ga. - .0070 NE Ga. - .0058 NW Ga. - .0050 Oconee - .0123 Okefenokee - .0077 Pioneer - .0032 SW Ga. - .0085 W. Ga. - .0065 Avg. - .0070

West Georgia RESA FY 2015 FY 2014 Carroll County-3 Carrollton City-4 Coweta County-4 Harris County-2 Heard County-1 Meriwether County-4 Troup County-8 Total-26 RESAs avg-48 Carroll County-0 Carrollton City-4 Coweta County-2 Harris County-1 Heard County-0 Meriwether County-7 Troup County-4 Total-18 RESAs avg-60

Who Are the Guilty Educators? Popular teachers Paraprofessionals CTAE, Coaches, Fine arts Teachers of Students with Disabilities 34 % are initiated by Female teachers 53% of reported cases are in grades K-8

Are Principals at Fault? Encouraging relationships with students without providing the “how” Awarding and Recognizing Teachers who get Involved in the Lives of their Students Not providing Expectations and Training for Teachers when Supervising Students

Errors Made By Administrators Failure to Investigate Rumors Sloppy Investigation Failure to Report Within 24 Hours Too Trusting Failure to follow requirements of TKEs Failure to Train Failure to Establish Culture of Ethical and Professional Behavior Sending Mixed Messages

Scenario One Spanish teacher plans a trip to Spain during the summer for her students and other interested students to experience a different culture and practice speaking the language Is it a school sponsored trip or a independent trip?

Scenario One (continued) Is it ethical for the teacher to receive a free trip from the travel agency by generating 10 paid travelers? If more students attend, and another chaperone is added, should the chaperone go for free? What if the additional chaperone is the principal’s wife …or another foreign language teacher at the school?

Scenario One (cont’d) What is the discipline code for the trip? What if the teacher holds meetings with the parents and students on school grounds? Does it make a difference if students from another school participate in the trip? What if travel agent messed up and when they arrive in Spain, there is no hotel available and no transportation from the airport?

New Issue

Clearance Certificates Don’t get cute with titles If they are around students, get clearance certificates for them if they do not qualify for a paraprofessional certificate Exemptions-Custodians, Bus Drivers, and Food Service Workers excluding Director

Resources Ethics Division Carl Vinson Institute of Government-Russ Cook Pro-Ethica-Educational Testing Services FBI-Atlanta Office-Britt Johnson Pioneer RESA-Ethics Course #1397 Georgia Center for Child Advocacy

Interesting Slide

Interesting Non-relevant Information

Contact Information Paul A. Shaw, Director Ethics Division Phone: (404) 232-2635 Email: paul.shaw@gapsc.com

Georgia Professional Standards Commission 39