CCGPS or GSE - Georgia Performance Standards or Georgia Standards of Excellence for English/Language Arts and Mathmatics standards. The new Georgia Performance Standards are meant to raise the level of expectation for ALL students in Georgia. The change in curriculum goals and expectations will change the ways teachers approach their content. With this change, it is important to understand the professional responsibility of the classroom teacher to differentiate instruction in order to meet the unique needs of their students. For more information you may go to: www.georgiastandards.org/. CCRPI- College and Career Ready Performance Index. CCRPI is a comprehensive school improvement, accountability, and communication platform for all educational stakeholders that will promote college and career readiness for all Georgia public school students. CogAT- Cognitive Abilities Test. To assess students’ abilities in reasoning and problem solving using verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal (spatial) symbols. For more information, visit:http://www.hmhco.com/hmh-assessments/ability/cogat-6#sthash.vnztadEi.dpuf CRCT –Criterion Referenced Competency Test. This assessment is retired as of 2014 and has been replaced by Georgia Milestones. EIP – Early Intervention Program. Children start school at a designated chronological age, but differ greatly in their individual development and experience base. The Early Intervention Program (EIP) is designed to serve K-5 students who are at risk of not reaching or maintaining academic grade level. The purpose of EIP is to help students reach grade level performance in the shortest possible time. The Early Intervention Program is staffed by certified teachers with experience and expertise in teaching students with diverse needs and abilities. Eligibility determination is made by identifying the students functioning below the normal expectations for the respective grade using criteria provided by the Georgia Department of Education and the Fulton County School System. ELL – English Language Learner. This is one term that is utilized in reference to children that demonstrate limited English proficiency and are serviced by our ESOL program.ELL-M - English Language Learner - Monitored. This is one term that is utilized in reference to children that demonstrate limited English proficiency and are no longer serviced by our ESOL program, but yet are still being monitored for success.ESOL – English to Speakers of Other Languages. The Quality Basic Education Act provides for the creation of programs designed to help limited English proficient students. These programs develop proficiency in the English language skills of listening, speaking, writing, and reading so that students can experience success in their classrooms and in social contexts both inside and outside of the school. Students from other cultures become acclimated to American culture through language-based instruction. All instruction in the ESOL program is given in English to facilitate the acquisition of English language skills for successful academic and social pursuits. The ESOL Program for grades K-8 follows a pull-out model with services provided on a daily schedule. The number of segments of service is determined by the identified need and in accordance with State Rule 160-4-5-.02, which also specified the number of students per given segment.ESSA- The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed by President Obama on December 10, 2015, and represents good news for our nation’s schools. This bipartisan measure reauthorizes the 50-year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the nation’s national education law and longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students. The new law builds on key areas of progress in recent years, made possible by the efforts of educators, communities, parents, and students across the country. FERPA - The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. For more information you may go to: www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guide/fpco/ferpa/index.html. FTE – Full Time Equivalent. This FTE process is used in the reporting of all students and their specific areas of service to the state department for funding of our public schools. Funding is generated based upon three “student counts” per year that identify all of the service that we offer to our students including general education programs, special education and support programs.GKIDS – Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills. Georgia’s Quality Basic Education Act requires that children enrolled in Georgia public school kindergarten programs be assessed for first grade readiness with an instrument or instruments adopted by the Georgia Board of Education. Kindergarten students are defined as those who are reported to the state as “kindergartners” on official attendance forms. This includes those children who have been retained or are enrolled in a transitional or readiness program. The readiness assessment shall include data obtained from multiple sources including, but not limited to the GKIDS, which is the instrument adopted by the State Board of Education. Readiness information obtained by the instrument shall be used by the local school system, along with teacher recommendations and other relevant information, to make appropriate individual student grade placement decisions.
Educational Acronyms
A Helpful Guide To Our Educational Acronyms H-T
IDEA – The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) aligns closely to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), helping to ensure equity, accountability and excellence in education for children with disabilities.
IEP – Individual Education Plan. This is a plan that is written by the IEP team (teachers, parent(s), special education staff members, and the instructional support teacher) to address the needs of the student based upon his/her identified disability. Goals, objectives and timelines are set throughout the year and accommodations are implemented by both the special education teacher(s) and the general education teacher(s). An annual review is held to evaluate the effectiveness of these accommodations and to review and establish further objectives.
ISC – In-School Coordinator. This staff member is our liaison between the general education and special education teachers. The ISC is an integral part of our student support for special education students, assists with SST as needed, and regularly assists teachers with the overall management of student IEPs.
NCLB - No Child Left Behind. This law has been updated with the ESSA act President Obama signed in December 2015. On January 23, 2001, President Bush sent his No Child Left Behind plan for comprehensive education reform to Congress. At that time, he asked members of Congress to engage in an active bipartisan debate on how we can use the federal role in education to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged and minority students and their peers. The result, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, embodies the four principles of President George W. Bush's education reform plan: stronger accountability for results, expanded flexibility and local control, expanded options for parents, and an emphasis on teaching methods that have been proven to work. For more information you may go to: www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml.
OT – Occupational Therapy. This service is offered under Services for Exceptional Children to those children that have active Individual Education Plans that demonstrate a need for occupational therapy to support their needs.
PT - Physical Therapy. This service is offered under Services for Exceptional Children to those children that have active Individual Education Plans that demonstrate a need for physical therapy to support their needs.
PTO – Parent Teacher Organization. The Elm Street PTO plans its programs and activities to meet the needs of children and youth in our own school and community. Our PTO supports our art education program by supplementing the 15 hours of art instruction provided by the school system to provide students one art class each week. The Elm Street PTO is an integral support and partner to our students and staff, impacting our overall achievement.
REACH – Also known as TAG in some systems: Talented and Gifted. A comprehensive program of services to intellectually gifted students. Students eligible for the gifted program will receive services through appropriate delivery models implemented consistently throughout the school system.
RTI- Response to Intervention. A multi-tier approach to the early identification and support of students with learning and behavior needs. The RTI process begins with high-quality instruction and universal screening of all children in the general education classroom.
SLO/SGA- Student Learning Objectives – for non-tested subjects, SLOs describe what students are expected to learn in a given academic year as measured by a pre-assessment and post-assessment. SGA- Student Growth Assessment- the testing used to determin SLO.
SST – Student Support Team. A Student Support Team (SST) is a group of three or more professionals whose responsibility is to assist the classroom teachers in a collaborative, data-based, problem solving process designed to identify a student’s instructional needs; effective and appropriate strategies for the general education classroom; and, continuous monitoring procedures. The SST supports students who continue to experience academic, social, or emotional difficulties in their current educational setting after informal strategies have been implemented by the classroom teacher.
Top TEN- The Top TEN (Traits Eagles Need) is comprised of 10 words used to help guide and mold the students of Elm Street Elementary. The words are: Optimism; Adaptability; Integrity; Loyalty; Courage; Respect; Compassion; Initiative; Perseverance; Responsibility. Each month teachers nominate a student from the class who best demonstrates the quality of the word.