Running Head: CURRENT REALITY AND GSAPS 1

Professional Learning Current Reality and GSAPS

Lauren Pittman

PL & Technology Innovation

Kennesaw State University

Running Head: CURRENT REALITY AND GSAPS 2

Setting and Context

The setting for the Professional Learning Current Reality and GSAPS is Creekland

Middle School in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Lawrenceville is located in Gwinnett County, a

northern suburb of the Atlanta area. Gwinnett County is the second-largest county in Georgia

with a population of 936, 250 (U. S. Census, 2019) and is the largest school district in the state

serving 178,000 students (Gwinnett County Public Schools, 2020).

Gwinnett County Schools consists of 141 schools; 80 elementary schools, 29 middle

schools, 23 high schools, seven specialty schools, and two charter schools. The mission of

Gwinnett County Schools is to “pursue excellence in academic knowledge, skills, and behavior

for each student, resulting in measured improvement against local, national, and world-class

standards.” The vision of the school system is “to become a system of world-class schools where

students acquire the knowledge and skills to be successful in college and careers” (Gwinnett

County Public Schools, 2020). Gwinnett County students represent a diverse population with 181

countries represented and 100 languages spoken (GCPS, 2020).

Creekland Middle School is a reflection of the diverse population of Gwinnett County.

The faculty and staff consist of one principal, five assistant principals, three counselors, 128

teachers, and 12 paraprofessionals. There are currently 2,000 students enrolled at the school

with demographic breakdowns of 22% White, 32% African-American, 30% Hispanic, 12%

Asian/Pacific Islander, and 5% Multi-racial (Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, 2020).

Of those, 16% are Economically Disadvantaged, 15% are Students with Disabilities and 20%

are English Language Learners (Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, 2020). The school’s

academic performance is 66% higher than other schools in the state but lower than the district

average. The school’s academic growth is also 40% higher than schools in the state but again
Running Head: CURRENT REALITY AND GSAPS 3

lower than the district. Eighth graders reading at or above grade level is 79.1%. The school has a

12% mobility rate and has a College and Career Readiness Performance Index (CCRPI) score of

78.5 (Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, 2020).

Gwinnett County Schools have established a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy for

technology hardware. However, teachers and students have access to five computer labs with 35

computers in each lab, 10 laptop carts with 20 computers each, and four iPad carts with 15 on

each. Due to the pandemic, the school and district have purchased an additional 200

Chromebooks and 20 hotspots for students to check out for distance learning. Each teacher is

given a laptop for instructional use and planning and each classroom is outfitted with at least one

netbook for student use.

Vision

The vision of Gwinnett County’s use of technology is reflected in its adaptation of the

Quality Plus Teaching Strategies (QPTS). These strategies are identified as ones that will lead

student learning and are the priority instructional methods that Gwinnett County teachers

employ. Teachers need to be well versed in these strategies and finding the best strategy to

implement for optimal student learning. Below you will find the wheel of instructional strategies

as well as forms of assessment, literacy implementation, and reflective tools such as student-goal

setting and feedback that drive the strategy choices and evaluate student progress. As you can see

technology is not a specific instructional strategy but one that is embedded within the QPTS to

enhance teaching strategies and promote student learning.

Running Head: CURRENT REALITY AND GSAPS 4

Instructional Strategies:

Background and Prior Knowledge

Problem-Solving
Questioning
Modeling & Practice
Comparison and Contrast
Non-Verbal Representation
Summarizing
Vocabulary
Collaboration
(Gwinnett County Public Schools, 2021)

To help facilitate this vision Dr. Kimberly Birds, principal of Creekland Middle School, is

setting aside funds each year to increase the technology hardware accessible to students and

teachers. Her ultimate goal is to see Creekland as a 1:1 school with either Chromebooks or

netbooks for student disbursement. The county has also provided a retrofit in recent years to

update outdated or broken hardware and update the bandwidth for more effective internet access.

She would also like to see digital citizenship and using technology responsibly included as part

of the strategic vision of technology implementation (K. Birds, personal communication,

February 2021).

Dr. Birds also sees technology as a way for teachers to get immediate feedback on

student’s informal and formative assessments. Web 2.0 tools like Kahoot! and Nearpod can give

teachers the feedback they need to provide any interventions, if necessary, to assist in closing the

learning gaps of our students (L.Pittman, personal communication, February 2021).

Needs Assessment

The Local School Plan for Improvement (LSPI) is a dynamic document that is created by

all schools in the Gwinnett County School system. Each school in the Gwinnett County School

System creates its own LSPI with its unique sets of data and goals. This document is published to
Running Head: CURRENT REALITY AND GSAPS 5

the school community as a communication tool to explain the progress being made at the local

school level. Data is used to determine areas of improvement and to identify measurable and

specific objectives. The development of the LSPI includes teachers, parents, and community

members as part of the discussion on school improvement (Creekland Middle School, 2020).

Creekland Middle School’s LSPI outlines long and short-term goals for the four academic

content areas as well as the Connections Department. Each area has its own specific goal with an

implementation design to drive the improvement plan. This year the implementation design for

all departments encompass the employment of a 3-part lesson plan framework, Academic

Knowledge and Skills (AKS) analysis, common and formative assessment creation, digital

learning, and monthly Professional Learning Community meeting. The math department has

included a balanced numeracy framework in addition to the listed implementations. The LSPI

goal-setting data is gathered from the first semester’s final exam scoring of students reaching the

proficient and distinguished levels on this assessment (Creekland Middle School, 2020).

Professional Learning and Alignment

During my interview, Dr. Birds explained that professional learning opportunities for the

teachers are driven by the goals of the LSPI data and the implementation plan. She also said she

used informal observations of student engagement and student interviews to assist in planning

professional learning opportunities. (K. Birds, personal communication, February 2021). The

combination of quantitative and qualitative data is passed onto teachers who then can ask for

specific training in relation to the topics using Web 2.0 tools like Google Classroom, EdPuzzle,

Mote, and Nearpod. These professional learning opportunities are called Quick Connect sessions

and are held at various times during the day and year and are led by teachers in the school.
Running Head: CURRENT REALITY AND GSAPS 6

In addition to the Quick Connect sessions, teachers meet monthly to participate in the

Professional Learning Community (PLC). Grade level meetings and content meetings are held in

alternating weeks. During the grade level and content meetings, teachers are working

collaboratively to create common assessments and hold discussions on where students are in the

process of acquisition of the AKS. During the monthly PLC meetings, there is a professional

learning team of district coaches and local teachers that are demonstrating best practices that

leads the discussion that directly applies to the LSPI data and goals. Teachers and administration

use the ATLAS protocol when reviewing various forms of data. The ATLAS protocol is a tool to

guide teachers in discovering what students understand and how they are thinking (School

Reform Initiative, 2021).

Creekland Middle School does have a Local School Technology Coordinator (LSTC),

that assists in collecting and analyzing data with the teachers and administration. She also leads

training in job-embedded technology as needed for our gradebook (Synergy) and Learning

Management System (eClass/D2L). The majority of technology professional learning is driven

by the teachers with the LSCT as support should the need arise.

Follow-ups of professional development are informed by a variety of surveys and data

collected from summative, formative and observational feedback. The lack of or increase of

student demonstration of learning will drive more specific professional training opportunities.

Funding & Incentives

Dr. Birds explained that money for professional development is “downloaded” to local

schools from county funds specifically designated for professional development. The principal

can then decide on a local level how those funds are spent. Some examples of expenses would be

a school-wide initiative with a guest speaker and literature or the cost of subs for teacher
Running Head: CURRENT REALITY AND GSAPS 7

coverage of full or half-day professional learning with district instructional coaches or leaders

outside the county. Dr. Birds says she prefers that the cost of professional learning is focused on

individual teams, grade levels, or content areas as opposed to a school-wide initiative (K. Birds,

personal communication, February 2021).

She also says that she hopes that the opportunities to motivate teachers to participate in

professional learning is beyond the yearly contact hour requirements required by the Georgia

Professional Standards Commision to maintain our teaching credentials. She feels that we as

teachers should be intrinsically motivated as professionals within our field to find ways to

continue to grow and develop as educators. In addition, she is not opposed to paying teachers for

participating in professional development outside of contract hours or assisting in paying for the

costs of registration and travel fees for outside conferences and workshops.

Diversity

The majority of training for teachers on instructional strategies related to Special

Education and Limited English Learners can be found in the county’s Learning Management

System and Professional Development and Evaluation portal. There has not been a school-wide

training to meet the needs of these students as Dr. Birds feels that the online and on-demand

virtual opportunities for learning can be catered to the teacher’s individual needs.

Collaboration

As mentioned in previous sections, there are many opportunities for teachers to

collaborate on best learning practices, common assessments, data analysis, and job-embedded

technology. The average time that teachers meet in a collaborative setting is approximately 240

minutes a month broken down into one meeting a week over a four week time span. If teachers

feel the need to collaborate more they have the freedom to do so during their planning and
Running Head: CURRENT REALITY AND GSAPS 8

teacher workdays. Minutes from formal meetings like the PLC and ATLAS protocol are recorded

and given to administration for further review.

Evaluation

Creekland Middle School uses the data mentioned in previous sections to evaluate the

effectiveness of the teaching and learning happening within the school walls. Teachers are

formally observed several times a year as part of the Teacher Key Effectiveness System (TKES)

and the Results Based Evaluation System, (RBES) where feedback both in a one on one meeting

with the observing administrator and through digital documentation. Additional feedback on

local school initiatives like the 3-part lesson are given in informal walk-through observations.

The observing administrator leaves a checklist of qualities observed and suggested areas of

improvement. Teachers can use this feedback in addition to the data analysis to guide their

teaching to meet the LSPI goals of Creekland Middle School.

Running Head: CURRENT REALITY AND GSAPS 9

References

Creekland Middle School. (2020). Local School Plan for Improvement.

https://www.gcpsk12.org/cms/lib/GA02204486/Centricity/domain/12352/lspi2020-21/20

20-21%20LSPI-CreeklandMS.eq.pdf.

Governor’s Office of Student Achievement. (2020). Creekland middle school. State of Georgia.

https://schoolgrades.georgia.gov/creekland-middle-school-0

Gwinnett County Public Schools. (2020). About Us / Homepage.

https://www.gcpsk12.org/domain/6.

Gwinnett County Public Schools. (2021). Quality-Plus Teaching Strategies.

https://www.gcpsk12.org/domain/11887.

K. Birds, personal communication, February 2021

School Reform Initiative. (2021). Atlas-Learning From Student Work Protocol – School Reform

Initiative.https://www.schoolreforminitiative.org/download/atlas-learning-from-student-w

ork-protocol/

United States Census (2019). U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Gwinnett County, Georgia.

Census Bureau QuickFacts. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/gwinnettcountygeorgia.