1. Education Update
February 28, 2018

2. Mission Statement
The mission of the Griffin-Spalding County School System is to empower students to graduate college and career ready.
2/24/2019

3. Vision Statement
The vision of the Griffin-Spalding County School System is to be an agent of change, transforming our students into future-ready learners and contributing members of society.
2/24/2019

4. District Perspective Current enrollment – approximately 10,380
Among the 180 school districts in Georgia, GSCS ranks 34th largest
Median size for a school district in Georgia – 3,530
Average size for a school district in Georgia – 9,800
The largest 20% of the school districts account for half the total student population
Nationally – average school district size is approximately 3,000
46% have less than 1000 students
2/24/2019

5. District Perspective
Spalding County ranks 132nd in terms of taxable property wealth per student out the 180 school districts in Georgia
Tax millage rate has declined in each of the past four years
2014 – 19.47
2015 – 18.74
2016 – 18.57
2017 –
2/24/2019

6. Graduation Rate Comparison
2014
2015
2016
2017
GSCS
66.6
69.17
73.0
81.5
State
72.5
78.8
79.2
80.6
2/24/2019

7. Graduation Rate Comparison
2015
2016
2017
A.Z. Kelsey
31.25
31.71
47.37
Griffin High
71.99
77.26
87.42
Spalding High
74.91
75.76
79.73
2/24/2019

8. Graduation Initiatives
Block scheduling at high school
Provides 32 opportunities to earn the 23 credits necessary for graduation
Traditional six or seven period day provided only 24 or 28 opportunities to earn 23 credits
State does specify course credits within the 23 needed for graduation
Senior graduation tracking meetings

9. Graduation Initiatives
Credit recovery and credit repair process
Credit recovery – recovery of credits for failed courses via computer based program
Offered during school day, after school, and weekend
Credit repair – completion of remediation tasks allows a student to improve original grade between 60 and 69 to a passing score of 70 for the course
Support classes feeding into required courses with block transition
Provides students with preparation for courses such as Algebra I and Geometry

10. Graduation Initiatives
A. Z. Kelsey Academy – non-traditional high school program providing smaller class sizes with less distractions; graduation rate moved to 47% from 31% in previous year
Had 18 AZK graduates in December 2017
Improved processes to track transfer students both in and out of the district
Clean up of student data to better identify cohort members

11. New Initiatives (Accessible now on GSCS website)
High School Advisement Guide
Incorporates all you need to know about the high school experience
Glossary of terms relevant to the high school experience
Enrollment
Course offerings and possible pathways
Graduation credit requirements
Extracurricular activities including athletic eligibility
Dual enrollment
HOPE eligibility requirements
NCAA eligibility requirements
And, much more

12. GSCS Discipline Trends

13. Office Disciplinary Referrals
Graph represents data collected via Infinite Campus for the months of August through January.
34% Decrease since

14. Number of Referrals Resulting in ISS
Graph represents data collected via Infinite Campus for the months of August through January.
20% Decrease since

15. Number of Students Assigned to ISS
Graph represents data collected via Infinite Campus for the months of August through January.
32% Decrease since

16. Number of ISS Days Assigned
Graph represents data collected via Infinite Campus for the months of August through January.
28% Decrease since
The 802 day difference between and is equal to regaining over 4.5 years of lost instructional time.

17. Number of Referrals Resulting in OSS
Graph represents data collected via Infinite Campus for the months of August through January.
17% Decrease since

18. Number of Students Assigned to OSS
Graph represents data collected via Infinite Campus for the months of August through January.
22% Decrease since

19. Number of OSS Days Assigned
Graph represents data collected via Infinite Campus for the months of August through January.
35% Decrease since
The 1,237 day difference between and is equal to regaining over 7 years of lost instructional time.

20. Intervention # 1 Teach the Expectations

21. Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS)
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based, data-driven framework proven to reduce disciplinary incidents, increase a school’s sense of safety and support improved academic outcomes.
PBIS schools apply a multi- tiered approach to prevention, using disciplinary data and principles of behavior analysis to develop school-wide, targeted and individualized interventions and supports to improve school climate for all students.

22. Intervention # 2 Teach the Skills

23. Second Step Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum
Committee for Children’s research-based Second Step SEL Program gives teachers an easy- to-implement, engaging way to teach social-emotional skills and concepts. The Second Step Program is designed to help children thrive and be more successful in school—ultimately setting them up to be thoughtful and productive adults.
Taught as a Tier I intervention in 5 elementary schools in The remaining 6 elementary schools will roll out the curriculum in
Graph represents data collected via Infinite Campus for the months of August through January.

24. Intervention # 3 Teach the Faculty

25. Crisis Prevention Institute’s Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Program
The cornerstone of CPI is the Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® program, which is considered the worldwide standard for crisis prevention and intervention training. With a core philosophy of providing for the Care, Welfare, Safety, and SecuritySM of everyone involved in a crisis situation, the program’s proven strategies give human service providers and educators the skills to safely and effectively respond to anxious, hostile, or violent behavior while balancing the responsibilities of care.
All bus drivers have been trained in the Verbal De-escalation curriculum.
Over 500 GSCS employees have been trained/re-trained since July

26. New Challenges Number of children with chronic medical issues
Number of children who are homeless
256 homeless students under McKinney-Vento
44 of these enrolled in January
Transiency rate among students
– 21%
to date – 16.47%
1,822 students have enrolled or made enrollment changes since the beginning of the school year
Mental health issues

27. Wraparound Services Nurses in all schools Dental program
Child Find – screens children birth to 5 for special services
Homeless support
Behavior specialists
Mentor program
Attendance Task Force
41 referrals this year

28. Wraparound Services Project AWARE
Federal grant involving three counties in GA
Focus on awareness of the mental health needs of youth
Works with individual students, groups, families, and staff
Referral network for cases that need additional care
Provides training to internal and external audiences on youth mental health issues

29. STAR Climate Ratings
State criteria based on survey data from students, parents, and staff plus objective data such as discipline data submitted
Rating scale - 1 to 5 with 3 being average
For :
16 of 18 schools had ratings of 3 or higher
13 of 18 schools had ratings of 4 or higher

30. Other Initiatives Summer school program
Griffin Region College and Career Academy
Work-based learning / internships
Literacy Plan – all grades; cross-content
Zero to Five Initiative
Curriculum Guides

31. How can we work together?
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