Our History
First contact - 1999
In the fall of 1999, Lynn Pennington, a recently hired Education Consultant for SST in Fulton County Schools, called the Georgia Department of Education’s (DOE) SST contact person, Frank Smith, to ask what kind of training or professional support activities might be available for educators leading SSTs in their district. Mr. Smith invited Ms. Pennington to meet with him to discuss possibilities at the DOE. It was during their first meeting that they discussed the idea of inviting SST administrators from metropolitan Atlanta area school systems to a meeting to find out their needs and consider forming an SST consortium.
Form a mutual support group - 2000
Frank Smith wrote an invitational letter and arranged that it be sent to 20 metro school superintendents. About 25 people turned out for the first meeting on October 19, 2000 and bared their souls about how much help SST needed in their systems. At the first meeting, Lynn Pennington provided an overview, Frank Smith talked about the “Origin of SST and the New Rule” (2000), and Debbie Rondem of Forsyth County gave an invited presentation on data gathering and its use in SSTs within a system. The participants enthusiastically agreed that it would be beneficial to continue to meet throughout the year. In this way, then, in the 2000-2001 school year, the Metro SST Consortium was created and by the end of the year, the number of districts had grown to 22 (Atlanta city, Bartow, Buford city, Carrollton city, Cherokee, Decatur city, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Forsyth, Fulton, Griffin-Spalding, Gwinnett, Henry, Marietta city, Meriwether, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale and Troup).
Grow the group - 2001
Inexorably, more and more people began coming from farther and farther away. We met 5 times a year at Fulton County’s Teaching Museum South in Hapeville near the airport. Attendance was in the dozens and included nearly every type of educator and administrator in the schools. The agendas were planned in advance and the topics were generated by the needs of the group. Guest speakers were invited on occasion and often members of the consortium were asked to present on a topic. At every meeting, participants had an opportunity to share developments in their district and seek information and suggestions from other members, which they eagerly did. Networking amongst members was a notable strength of this group.
Explore systematic training - 2003
In the summer of 2003, Lynn and Frank approached Dr. Barbara Meyers—a pioneer in supporting the SST concept at Georgia State University-- about developing course work for intensive, systematic training on SST. The initial goal was to have a partnership between Fulton County Schools and GSU to design and deliver professional learning courses to increase the competency and depth of knowledge of the SST Chairpersons. As we began our discussions, it occurred to us that this could, in fact, be good for educators with SST responsibilities across the entire state.
Envision certification add-on, approach Professional Standards Commission (PSC) - 2004
We conceived the idea of creating a credential to give SST chairs more credibility and respectability, and hopefully as a way to eventually garner funding for their position from the state. We proposed the idea to Dr. F.D. Toth, head of PSC. He was receptive to the idea and invited us to create and submit proposed standards for the coursework for such a credential. Naturally, the full PSC commission would have the final say.
Create task force, write course standards - 2004
Frank and Lynn, with guidance from the PSC, assembled a committee in order to distill the critical components needed to be an effective SST chair. Jennifer Schau and Nancy Bailey, both members of the Metro SST Consortium, participated on the SST Standards task force, along with educators from districts around the state, institutions of higher education, the Department of Education, and RESA. The committee submitted ten proposed standards for an SST Coordinator add-on endorsement to the PSC in November 2004. At their January 2005 meeting, the PSC adopted the standards verbatim and initiated the required public review process; they gave final approval on June 9, 2005. Now we needed to find a school system or other entity willing to offer the coursework!
Create an SST Audit Process - 2004-2005
Patrick Kennedy of Clarke County schools called Frank Smith in 2004 to explore the notion of developing an SST audit for his school system. Frank invited him to broach the idea with, and pick the brains of, the Metro SST consortium members. The group immediately saw the potential benefit of such a process. They not only supported Patrick and Cathy McKenzie in their Clarke County audit, but voted to try to adapt it as a rubric for auditing systems in the consortium that would voluntarily undergo it. Four other districts of comparable size participated with Clarke County in the audit “co-op.” Members from those systems served on a revolving team with each heading a team and producing a full report (Clarke County- Paula Freer, Troup County- Patrick Kennedy, Coweta County- Debbie Rondem, Forsyth County- Iva King). All concluded that this was an invaluable process for systems.
Present at the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) convention - 2005
At the 2005 NASP national convention in Atlanta, several members from the Metro SST Consortium, along with two GSU faculty members and a PSC staff member presented a workshop entitled, “From Controversy to Credentialing: Georgia’s Pre-Referral Intervention Story.” This chronicled the development of the Georgia SST process from its rocky beginning in the crucible of Marshall vs. Georgia, through the formation of the Metro SST Consortium to the development of the PSC course standards. Metro SST Consortium participants presenting included: Paula Freer, Patrick Kennedy, Lynn Pennington, Jennifer Schau, and Frank Smith.
Grow to statewide - 2006
In early 2006 we realized that we needed to raise this consortium to the next level. We had people attending from as far away as Dalton, Gainesville, Carrollton, Columbus, Athens, Milledgeville and even Leesburg. Such obvious demand dictated that it was time to expand from a metro Atlanta entity to a statewide organization. A core group from the Metro SST Consortium (Frank Smith, Lynn Pennington, Debbie Rondem, and Deborah Crockett) met with Dr. Jim Puckett (Executive Director of the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders [GAEL]) and Dr. Alan Fisher (Deputy Executive Director of GAEL) to explore the proposed expansion and the possibility of help from GAEL. Subsequently, GAEL created a survey for our members and their colleagues to ‘test the water’ about the needs for, and desire to participate in, a new professional association targeted at SST and the rapidly evolving concept of a Pyramid of Interventions and Response to Intervention (POI/RTI). A surprising 1000+ educators responded to the GAEL survey expressing very positive response to forming a professional SST association. On November 14, 2006, the Metro SST Consortium voted to move ahead with incorporation. GAEL generously agreed to assist as the organizational and fiscal agent for our new entity.
Incorporate as a non-profit - 2007
We knew that we needed a formal structure and that we wanted to be able to lobby for political purposes. Lynn undertook the actions needed to register us with the Secretary of State’s office. Thus, we incorporated on February 7, 2007, as the Student Support Team Association for Georgia Educators, Inc. (SSTAGE). Subsequently, we filed with the IRS as a 501(c)(6) non-profit, a status that allows certain political lobbying activities.
Serve the membership - 2007
We began planning conferences and workshops to meet the diverse needs of the membership. The survey completed by those 1000+ educators gave us good direction for planning professional learning activities across Georgia. After each event, we requested feedback from our attendees so we could learn what information and professional learning topics our members needed, as well as where they wanted the activities to occur. This ongoing process of ‘listening’ to our members has contributed to our continued high turnout at workshops and conferences, nearly all of which have been sellouts.
Awards, promising practices - 2008-2010
As a new organization, we knew that we needed to get some visibility in a hurry, so we created a system of awards and recognitions for what we judged to be “promising practices” around the state. In keeping with a theatrical theme that played upon our SSTAGE acronym, the Board of Directors initiated annual SSTAGE STAR Awards for Promising Practices. These were to recognize school systems and schools that demonstrated the best examples of RTI/POI/SST implementation based on our SSTAGE Rubric. This has been well received.
A history of collaboration with:
Georgia Department of Education
SST/School Psychology specialist on SSTAGE Board
Participation on DOE statewide Response to Intervention/Pyramid of Interventions Committee
Feedback to DOE on proposed changes to Special Education Rules and Hospital Homebound Rule
Participation on DOE’s State Advisory Panel for Special Education
Co-sponsorship of conferences and ElluminateLive! web presentations
Collaboration in development of a revised RTI Rubric
Georgia Association of Education Leaders
Continued contract with GAEL for organization and financial services
Participation and presentations at the Summer GAEL conferences
Sharing GAEL legislative and advocacy information with SSTAGE members
Collaboration with Georgia Association of Elementary School Principals for 2009 SSTAGE Fall Conference
Professional Standards Commission
Early 2010- Frank, Debbie Rondem and Lynn met with PSC to initiate update of SST Coordinator Standards and embed language of RTI and Pyramid of Interventions
May 2010- Lynn and John Wight (GA DOE) presented on RTI for PSC Division on Educator Preparation
September 2010- Lynn chaired the new PSC task force to revise the SST Coordinator Standards
Leaders; statistics; activities offered since incorporation
2007-2008
Board of Directors
President – Lynn L. Pennington
President-Elect – Paula Freer
Secretary – Pat Kennedy
Treasurer – Jennifer Schau
Regional Representatives – Joye Baker, Kim Hornsby, Stephanie Phillips-Hardy, Scarlet Correll and Jennifer Schau
Conference Committee Co-chairs: Debbie Rondem & Deborah Crockett
Communication Committee Co-chairs: Tracy Boney & Frank Smith
Membership Committee Co-chairs: Diane Drew-Grotheer & Iva King
ESOL Rep.: Maria Montalvo-Balbed
Professional Learning Activities
3 conferences + 1000+ participants (Anderson Conference Center, Macon and Kennesaw State Univ. in the fall, and Anderson Conference Center in January)
9 Secondary Level Symposia = 580+ participants
5 Regional meetings (in Region 5)
Presentation at Summer GAEL conference
Members = 850+
SSTAGE Board of Directors had 16 ‘official’ meetings in the first 18 months!
2008-2009
Board of Directors
President – Lynn L. Pennington (July – February) Paula Freer (March – June)
President-Elect – Paula Freer (July – February) Debbie Rondem (March – June)
Secretary – Iva King
Treasurer – Pat Kennedy
Regional Representatives – Karen Thrasher, Kim Hornsby, Karen Hodnette, Carol Sprague and Jennifer Schau
Directors-At-Large – Stephanie Phillips-Hardy, Cathy McKenzie and Jacqueline Scales
DOE Liaison – Frank Smith
Industry Liaison – Rae Ann Gerhardt (Public Consulting Group)
Bylaws adopted by Board
Professional Learning Activities
“Setting the SSTAGE…Act II” – Sept. 9th & 10th in Dublin at the Dubose Porter Center
“Best Practices Conference” – Jan. 14th &15th at the Classic Center, Athens
Regional activities- varied by region
Presentation at Summer GAEL conference
Executive Director position created. Lynn L. Pennington becomes the first Exec. Director by acclamation. Dr. Paula Freer takes over as President. First SSTAGE Board summer retreat, June 2009.
2009-2010
Board of Directors
President – Paula Freer
President-Elect – Debbie Rondem
Past-President – Lynn L. Pennington
Secretary – Iva King
Treasurer – Pat Kennedy
Regional Representatives – Karen Thrasher, Marilyn Dryden, Karen Hodnette, Carol Sprague and Jennifer Schau
Directors-At-Large – Stephanie Phillips-Hardy, Cathy McKenzie and Jacqueline Scales
DOE Liaison – Frank Smith
Executive Director – Lynn L. Pennington
Professional Learning Activities
“Setting the SSTAGE…Act III” – September 15th and 16th (in collaboration with GAESP)
“Best Practices Conference” in partnership with GaDOE – January 13th at the Classic Center in Athens
3 One-day drive-in workshops “RTI within Georgia’s Pyramid of Interventions” (Iva King & Lynn Pennington)
2 One-day drive-in workshops “Evaluating Fidelity of Interventions and RTI Processes: Research to Practice” (Dr. Jeff Braden, North Carolina State University)
7 One-day drive-in workshops “Developing a Framework for RTI in High Schools: Addressing Challenges and Opportunities for Success” (in collaboration with the Georgia Department of Education)
Presentation at Summer GAEL conference
2009-2010 SSTAGE Star Awards for Promising Practices recipients included Calhoun City School System, St. Marys Middle School (Camden County), Taylor County Upper Elementary School and Chattahoochee Elementary School (Forsyth County)
SSTAGE Board summer retreat, June 2010
Lynn LeLoup Pennington Scholarship established
2010-2011
Board of Directors
President – Debbie Rondem
President-Elect – Donna Major
Past-President – Paula Freer
Secretary – Iva King
Treasurer – Pat Kennedy
Regional Representatives – Karen Thrasher, Kristie Long, Jackie Powell, Carol Sprague and Jennifer Schau
Directors-At-Large – Cathy McKenzie, Jacqueline Scales and Shelly Bell
SSTAGE Liaison to GaDOE – Frank Smith
Executive Director – Lynn L. Pennington
Professional Learning Activities
Fall Workshops - Dublin (9-13-10), Jonesboro (9-14-10), and Rome (9-24-10)
PALS Reading Grades 2-8
PALS Reading High School
PALS Math Grades 2-6
Behavior Education Program
Workshop presentation at Georgia TESOL Conference (Freer, Pennington and Montalvo)
GaDOE ElluminateLive! presentations by the SSTAGE Star Award winners Ware County Schools and Elm Street School, Rome City Schools
“Best Practices Conference” in partnership with GaDOE – February 13th at the Classic Center, Athens
“Developing a Framework for RTI in High Schools & Middle School: Addressing Challenges and Opportunities for Success” in Muscogee County Schools (1-26 & 27-11) (King, Smith and Pennington)
RTI Summer Summit in partnership with Clayton County Schools and Pearson on June 21st at Clayton County Professional Learning Center. Keynote – Dr. Mark Shinn
New SSTAGE web site and logo
Frank Smith honored as the ‘Sage of SSTAGE’ at the Best Practices Conference
2010-2011 SSTAGE Star Awards for Promising Practices recipients included Ware County School System and Elm Street Elementary School, Rome City Schools
Established committees with measurable goals
SSTAGE Board retreat, June 2011
Created the Debbie Rondem Award for Outstanding Leadership to be awarded annually. Debbie Rondem is the first recipient of the award.
2011-2012
Board of Directors
President – Donna Major
President-Elect – Pat Kennedy
Past-President – Debbie Rondem
Secretary – Iva King
Treasurer – Jacqueline Scales
Regional Representatives – Debbie Williamson, Kristie Long, Jackie Powell, Theresa Martin and Jennifer Schau
Directors-At-Large –Shelly Bell, Wanda McPherson and Deborah Moore-Sanders
DOE Liaison – Paula Freer
Executive Director – Lynn L. Pennington
Professional Learning Events
Fall Conference - Dublin, September 14, 2011 - Progress Monitoring
Promising Practices Conference - Athens, January 11, 2011 (Sold out conference)
Several GaDOE webinars including Little Middle School, Liberty Elementary School, Ware County High School and Lincoln County School System.
Winter GAEL Conference - Athens, Feb. 2012, presentation by Debbie Rondem, Pat Kennedy, Brian Lewis, Cheryl Riddle and Howie Gunby
RTI Summer Summit - Savannah (June 18th) & Jonesboro (June 19th) with Renaissance Learning & Clayton County Schools, featuring Dr. Edward Shapiro
Dr. Martha Reichrath, GaDOE, visited Liberty ES and Little Mill MS
Strategic Planning resulting in four major plans including:
Developing an RTI audit process
Developing the SST Coordinator endorsement courses and finding a partner provider
Reaching more school districts with SSTAGE professional learning
Increasing school districts requesting consultation
SSTAGE STAR Award winners for 2011-12 were: Woodstock ES in Cherokee County, Teasley MS in Cherokee County, Ware County HS in Ware County, and Griffin-Spaulding School System.
SSTAGE Board members were part of the task force to update Georgia's SST Manual, the RTI Guidance document and the Georgia Department of Education RtI Rubric.
Continuing partnership with the GA DOE on major conferences.
Collaboration with Bob Swiggum (GaDOE, CIO) to include universal screening and progress monitoring assessments in the SLDS.
Fifth Anniversary celebration dinner for the board
SSTAGE Board Retreat, June 7th and 8th
Over 667 SSTAGE members paid by May 22.
Assisted in developing the first Georgia contact list of SST, RTI and 504 contacts in every school district.
2012-2013
Board of Directors
President – Pat Kennedy
President-Elect – Jennifer Schau
Past-President – Donna Major
Secretary – Iva King
Treasurer – Jacqueline Scales
Regional Representatives – Debbie Williamson, Kristie Long, Jackie Powell, Theresa Martin and Morgan Potts
Directors-At-Large – Deborah Moore-Sanders, Tonya Turner, and Tina Johnson/Donna Drakeford
DOE Liaison – Paula Freer
Executive Director – Lynn L. Pennington
Professional Learning Events
Fall Conference, Sept. 12, 2012, "Practical, Proven, Effective Interventions", Dublin (Sold out!)
Best Practices Conference, Jan. 16, 2013, "Georgia’s Promising Practices for RTI, Pyramid of Interventions, and SST", Athens (Sold out!)
"Best Practices in RTI & a Multi-Tiered System of Supports ,What's working to improve achievement for all students", May 30, 2013, Savannah, Presenter: Wayne Callender, and in collaboration with McGraw Hill (Sold out!)
Griffin RESA Lunch & Learn presentation about SSTAGE & RTI, Feb. 5, 2013 by Pat Kennedy and Lynn
GaDOE School Turnaround Leadership Conference presentation about SSTAGE, Nov. 28, 2012, by Lynn
Presentations by the 2012 SSTAGE STAR Award winners :Woodstock ES in Cherokee County, Teasley MS in Cherokee County, Ware County HS in Ware County, Griffin-Spaulding School System and a select team of RTI leaders were recorded by Georgia Public Broadcasting. This event was coordinated and hosted by Paula Freer.
2013 SSTAGE STAR Award winners include: Waresboro ES, Ware County; Clinch County Middle School; Newton High School, Newton County; Newnan High School, Coweta County; and Madison County School District.
An RTI Audit was developed and piloted in October 2012 in Coweta County Schools. Pat Kennedy led the development effort and coordinated the entire project, and he was assisted in the audit process by Iva King, Paula Freer, Jodi Weber, Jean Ramirez and Madge Willis.
An RTI Audit business proposal was developed.
Continued collaboration with the GaDOE (Dr. Reichrath and Paula Freer) on major conferences, and Pat Kennedy and Lynn met with Dr. Reichrath to talk about RTI issues.
Over 700+ SSTAGE members (our cumulative mailing list is 2300+)
Cathy McKenzie, Cherokee County Schools, was the 2012 winner of the Debbie Rondem Award for Outstanding Leadership
We continued our work with the DOE over the year on the new state rubric for RTI.
SSTAGE Board of Directors' Retreat, June 17th and 18th
2013-2014
Board of Directors
President – Jennifer Schau
President-Elect – Shelly Bell
Past-President – Pat Kennedy
Secretary – Kristie Long
Treasurer – Jacqueline Scales
Regional Representatives – Debbie Williamson, Wallace Blackstock, Deborah Moore-Sanders, Theresa Martin and Morgan Potts
Directors-At-Large –Jackie Powell, Leonora Clarkson and Donna Drakeford
DOE Liaison – none
Executive Director – Lynn L. Pennington
Professional Learning Events
Fall Conference, Sept. 17, 2013, " Success Within Reach: RTI Applications for Academic and Behavioral Interventions,” featuring Dr. Matthew Burns, Dr. T. Chris Riley-Tillman and Dr. Amanda VanDerHeyden. It was the largest conference to date with over 650 registrants.
Promising Practices Conference, Jan. 15, 2014, "Georgia’s Promising Practices for RTI, Pyramid of Interventions, and SST", Athens .
RTI Summer Summit on June 3, 2014 in Atlanta and in Savannah on June 4, 2014. Speakers sponsored by Voyager Sopris Learning are Stephanie Gottwald and Helen Long.
Presentations by Deborah Moore Sanders and Lynn L. Pennington for the GaDOE College and Career Ready, School Improvement Conference, June – July 2013 entitled RTI for School and District Leaders. A similar presentation was given at The Center For Educational Transformation & Excellence conference in the fall.
SSTAGE Connections, a new 501(c)3 non-profit corporation was registered with the Georgia Secretary of State’s office in August and will be a sister organization to SSTAGE. The board will include Jennifer Schau as the chair, Thomas VanSoelen as co-chair, Iva King as secretary, and board members Paula Freer and Jackie Powell. Patrick Kennedy will serve as the executive director.
SSTAGE joined the Georgia Vision Project led by Dr. Stan DeJarnet and Lynn is serving as a representative on the steering committee for SSTAGE and Iva King for SSTAGE Connections.
SSTAGE endorsed the Common Core along with other GAEL affiliates.
Continued collaboration with the GaDOE (Dr. Reichrath) on major conferences.
Continued work with the GaDOE on the RTI rubric and this year the rubric was field tested and three of those sites were facilitated by a member of the SSTAGE board (Jennifer Schau, Paula Freer and Debbie Williamson)
Over 1000+ SSTAGE members! (1040 as of 5-2-14) and 3250 total contacts.
The first SSTAGE Newsletter was distributed this spring and we received excellent feedback.
The third winner of the Debbie Rondem Award for Outstanding Leadership was Dr. Lisa Hinely. She received her award at the fall conference.
The 2014 SSTAGE STAR Award winners were Jefferson Elem. School (Jefferson City Schools), Colham Ferry Elem. School (Oconee County Schools), Burke County Middle School, Stephens County Middle School and Clarke County School District.
SSTAGE has initiated plans for a collaborative conference with GCASE and GASP on the topic of Progress Monitoring which is planned for February 2015.
SSTAGE Board of Directors' Retreat, June 9th and 10th.
2014-15
Board of Directors
President – Shelly Bell
President-Elect – Cheryl Riddle
Past-President – Jennifer Schau
Secretary – Kristie Long
Treasurer – Susan Barrow
Regional Representatives – Wanda McPherson, Wallace Blackstock, Deborah Moore-Sanders, Donna McClain and Morgan Potts
Directors-At-Large – Leonora Clarkson, Craig Lockhart and Chase Puckett
DOE Liaison – none
Executive Director – Lynn L. Pennington
Professional Learning Events
Fall Conference, Sept. 11, 2014, Keeping RTI on Track: How to Identify, Repair, and Prevent Mistakes that Derail Implementation, Drs. Amanda VanDerHeyden and Kent Johnson. It was the largest conference to date with over 650 registrants.
Promising Practices Conference, Jan. 15, 2015, “Georgia’s Promising Practices for RTI, Pyramid of Interventions, and SST", Athens .
Collaborative conference with GCASE and GASP on February 24, 2015 entitled “Using RTI Data to Make Decisions: Analysis to Action.” Drs. Chris Riley-Tillman and Matthew Burns presented.
Awards
The fourth winner of the Debbie Rondem Award for Outstanding Leadership was Donna Collins, Principal of Stephens County Middle School. She received her award at the fall conference.
The Intervention Resilience Award winner was Newton High School, Newton County Schools
The 2015 SSTAGE STAR Award winners were Twin Oaks Elem. School (Lee County) and Calhoun Middle School (Calhoun City Schools).
A new Rising STAR Award was created to recognize Westside High School (Bibb County Schools) and Washington County High School for their effective Tier 1 practices, a building block for future RTI implementation.
Activities, Collaborations, and Engagements
SSTAGE continued to participate in the Georgia Vision Project led by Dr. Stan DeJarnet and Lynn is serving as a representative on the steering committee for SSTAGE and Iva King for SSTAGE Connections.
Shelly Bell, Leonora Clarkson, Susan Barrow, Pat Kennedy and Lynn are members of the GaDOE committee to help plan the next steps for RTI/MTSS in Georgia
Continued collaboration with the GaDOE (Dr. Reichrath) on major conferences.
The revised RTI rubric was submitted in final draft form in July to the GaDOE.
Over 750 SSTAGE members!
The Volume 2, No. 1 SSTAGE Newsletter was distributed in November
SSTAGE Board of Directors' Retreat, June 15th and 16th
Participation/presentations by Lynn
RTI Workshop at Georgia Regents University on 12-8-14 (Invitation from Dr. Nai-Cheng Kuo, Special Education Coordinator at GRU)
2015 P-20 Partnership – Metro area meeting on 11-18-14. Partnership between PSC, DOE and Univ. System of GA. Purpose is to better prepare new teachers for work in GA schools.
Workshop “Want Equity and Equality? Then Effective RTI Is a Must!”, The Center for Educational Transformation and Excellence on 11-13-14
Seminar presentation for special education doctoral program at KSU on 11-10-14.
Lynn co-presented with Pat Kennedy and Jodi Weber, at a four day RTI workshop for the school districts in the East Central GLRS region. SSTAGE Connections was the provider, but Lynn’s time was being supported by her contract with SSTAGE.
The Future & ESEA Flexibility Meeting at GaDOE on 2-4-15
Meeting with Matt Arthur, chair, the Governor’s Education Reform Commission subcommittee on Move On When Ready on 3-5-15
Planning meeting on April 2nd with Debbie Gay, DOE Special Education Director, to discuss a partnership with other organizations to improve equity and culture for all students, thereby reducing disproportionality.
Co-presented with Cheryl Riddle on 5-12-15 to an AP leadership class at GSU’s Principal Center.
Equity and Access in Georgia School, a planning summit on May 19th with DOE and invited guests.
SSTAGE Connections
SSTAGE Connections was awarded 501(c)3 status in April. The board members include Jennifer Schau as the chair, Thomas VanSoelen as co-chair, Iva King as secretary, and board members Paula Freer and Jackie Powell. Patrick Kennedy will serve as the executive director.
2015-16
Board of Directors
President – Cheryl Riddle
President-Elect – Amanda Sailors
Past-President – Shelly Bell
Secretary – Kristie Long
Treasurer – Susan Barrow
Regional Representatives – Wanda McPherson, Wallace Blackstock, Deborah Moore-Sanders, Donna McClain and Andrea Turner
Directors-At-Large – Cammie Neal, Craig Lockhart and Chase Puckett
DOE Liaison – Dr. Caitlin Dooley
Executive Director – Lynn L. Pennington
Professional Learning Events
Fall Conference, Sept. 16, 2015, RTI Leadership and Coaching by Wayne Callender and Improving Instructional Systems and Supports: Accelerate Learning and Close the Arithmetic to Algebra Gap by Paul Riccomini.
High School RTI/MTSS Academy, October 14 and 15, 2015 which included Training for Teams by Rebecca Sarlo and Algebra Progress Monitoring by Anne Foegen and Jeannette Olson (Project AAIMS)
Promising Practices Conference, Jan. 14, 2016, “Georgia’s Promising Practices for RTI/MTSS, Pyramid of Interventions, and SST", Athens.
June Workshops: Building Your MTSS Infrastructure for Research Based Instruction with Tom Jenkins, June 2, 2016, sponsored by EPS Literacy and Intervention, and Success for All Students: Implementing Differentiated Reading Support in the Standard Classroom Setting with Frank D. Smith, June 7 and 8, 2016, sponsored by Voyager Sopris Learning.
Awards
The fifth winner of the Debbie Rondem Award for Outstanding Leadership was Dr. Craig Lockhart, Deputy Superintendent, Newton County Schools. He received his award at the fall conference.
The 2016 SSTAGE STAR Award winners were Carroll County Schools; Whitlow ES, Forsyth County Schools; Comer ES, Madison County Schools; Burney-Harris-Lyons MS, Clarke County Schools; and Lithia Springs HS, Douglas County Schools received a Rising STAR Award.
Jennifer Schau received the Jim Puckett Outstanding Educator Award.
Craig Lockhart and Lynn Pennington each received a GAEL Exemplary Service Award.
Activities, Collaborations, and Engagements
SSTAGE continued to participate in the Georgia Vision Project led by Dr. Stan DeJarnet and Lynn is serving as a representative on the steering committee for SSTAGE. SSTAGE contributed $1000 to the Vision Project.
Cheryl Riddle, Shelly Bell and Lynn Pennington met with Dr. Caitlin Dooley, Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, GaDOE, to talk about RTI/MTSS and state support for the framework.
Amanda Sailors, Deborah Moore-Sanders, Craig Lockhart and Lynn Pennington met with Senator Lindsay Tippins about SB 364 and to request support for the RTI/MTSS process. Amanda crafted a letter, on behalf of SSTAGE, asking him to add in the wording regarding “tiered interventions.”
The first Southeast Regional meeting was held the day after the January conference with Amanda Sailors and Lynn Pennington. Representatives from SDE in GA, NC and SC attended in addition to vendors from FL and NC.
A second meeting of the Southeast Regional Collaborative for SDEs only was arranged by Lynn and Debbie Gay (Director of Special Education, GaDOE) on April 1 at the GaDOE. Several SSTAGE members were invited to attend including Susan Barrow and Amanda Sailors. This meeting included Amy Jablonski’s team from NC and George Batsche’s team from FL. More than 15 GaDOE staff were in attendance which we hope will lead to greater State Dept. interest and investment in all things RTI/MTSS.
A fall and spring SSTAGE Newsletter were published this year.
Membership exceed over 900 members.
Wallace Blackstock was approved as the new Executive Director beginning July 1.
The SST Coordinator Endorsement course outline was FINALLY approved by the PSC and Griffin RESA is sponsoring the three course endorsement. This process began in 2003, pre-SSTAGE. Several SSTAGE members participated on the PSC committee to revise the standards in 2011. Pat Kennedy and Lynn Pennington are co-writing the curriculum and teaching the first two cadres of students. The first few cadres filled up within a few weeks. One of the course requirements is to attend an RTI/MTSS conference, which will hope will be a SSTAGE event.
SSTAGE Board of Directors' Retreat, June 14th and 15th
Participation/presentations by Lynn
Participation on the GaDOE Equity and Excellence in Georgia Schools committee (GaDOE Special Education Division) to plan workshops for high disproportionate school districts and she attended two of their workshops.
Collaborated with Debbie Gay, Director of Special Education, GaDOE, to develop five equity-themed breakout sessions for the 2016 GAEL Summer Conference.
Met with Will Rumbaugh, Division of School and District Effectiveness, GaDOE to discuss “What’s RTI/MTSS and how it is similar to school improvement?” Later met with his team to talk about revising the DOE website on RTI/MTSS.
Attended Engaging Stakeholders Around Children’s Mental Health: Taking the Next Steps (GaDOE Project Aware), a full day conference.
Met with Cindy Morely, Director of External Affairs, Communities in Schools Georgia, about possible collaborations. She has been invited to give a workshop at the 2017 Promising Practices Conference.
Collaborated with Pat Kennedy on SSTAGE Connections.