Teachers' recommendations to Georgia governor due this month

Teachers who were part of a committee reviewing recommendations of Gov. Nathan Deal's Task Force on Education didn't reveal what would be in their final report when they spoke at the University of Georgia College of Education's annual "State of Education in Georgia Conference this week.

But they predicted teachers will like what they hear when their report is made public.

"You know until the governor sees the final report, I can't tell you what is in it, but we can tell you about the process," said Susan Andrews of the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget.

Deal is scheduled to get the report on Oct. 24.

Deal appointed a task force in January 2015, chaired by former UGA president Charles Knapp, to come up with recommendations to improve public education in Georgia.

The committee would work in five broad areas, the governor's office announced at the time.

The commission would study the state's education system, including its funding formula, and provide recommendations intended to improve the system, increase access to early learning programs, recruit and retain high-quality instructors and expand school options for Georgia's families.

The group turned its report over to the governor last year, but Deal backed off from proposing legislation to enact the task force's 58 recommendations from five committees - school funding, early childhood education, teacher recruitment and retention, educational options (choice) and "Move on When Ready," an initiative designed to allow students to move ahead to study in college or technical school when they're ready, rather than having to wait until their graduation date.

Deal held off making any legislative recommendations at the 2016 legislative session, but is expected to so when the legislature convenes in January.

Deal formed a big group of teachers to review recommendations in over the summer three of the five areas, excluding school funding and early childhood education.

Three teachers who were on the big teacher review group - about 90 overall - spoke to the conference Friday.

"We provided solutions," said Rep. Amy Carter (R-Valdosta), who chaired the group. Carter represents Brooks and parts of Thomas and Lowndes counties and is a veteran high school teacher at Lowndes County High School. "We were all by the end of it pretty much saying the same things."

The group was diverse in terms of work experience, said Georgia Teacher of the Year Casey Bethel, a science teacher in the Douglas County School System, Amy Carter, Brooks and parts of Thomas and Lowndes counties.

Bynikini Frazier, a former Chatham County Teacher of the year who teaches first grade at Savannah's Hodge Elementary School, was also a panelist.

Andrews hinted at some of what the issues may be when the legislature convenes in January, asking at one point whether the state should have a funding formula that gives more to children in poverty than to those who are not.

Small districts face particular challenges because of their low enrollment and low density, Andrews said.

Pay for performance, as opposed to pay for experience, could also be on the legislative agenda.

"We are compelled to ask how we can pay differently to attract the best and the brightest (to teaching).

Turnovers among young teachers is high, and many leave the profession, and with enrollment in education schools dropping, the state and nation face a looming shortage of teachers.

But if the state can boost its teacher retention rate by just 4 percent, "the teacher shortage will disappear," she said.

Follow reporter Lee Shearer at www.facebook.com/LeeShearerABH or https://twitter.com/LeeShearer.