Literacy Council Professional Development Working Group - June 2024 Meeting

The Georgia Council on Literacy Professional Development Working Group met virtually June 20. Deans from the education colleges at Dalton State College and the University of North Georgia shared information on literacy efforts at each institution. Amy Denty provided an update on professional development offered by the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE). The Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) provided working group members with an overview of literacy-related changes being made to the GACE exam.

College Deans Share Literacy Progress

Sharon Hixon, dean of the School of Education at Dalton State College, shared information on the college’s efforts to implement the Georgia Early Literacy Act. These efforts include developing new courses, providing professional development offerings for students and professors, and developing assessments to gauge progress on literacy instruction for teacher candidates.

Sheri Hardee, dean of the College of Education at the University of North Georgia, highlighted the university’s focus on professional development, particularly through LETRS training, to prepare teacher candidates in science of reading instruction. Hardee shared positive feedback from teacher candidates and faculty.

Hardee also highlighted the University System of Georgia Science of Reading Consortium comprised of faculty from colleges of education. Members of the Council on Literacy expressed interest in a presentation from the consortium.

GaDOE Professional Development

GaDOE Literacy Director Amy Denty provided enrollment data and other statistics on the Georgia Literacy Academy modules created by Cox Campus. Denty emphasized that, while the Georgia Literacy Academy is a strong tool, it is not meant to be the singular tool used by districts for science of reading training. 

Denty demonstrated the Georgia Inspire platform for committee members.  All Georgia Literacy Academy modules are available to educators through this platform.

GACE Exam Update by GaPSC

GaPSC representatives provided a status update on GACE exam changes spurred by the Georgia Early Literacy Act. The GACE testing supplier will be changing to Evaluation Systems by Pearson on July 1, 2025, and changes to the GACE exam will not be made until then. However, a group of Georgia educators are working to incorporate Literacy Act requirements into the exam.

Next Meeting Upcoming full Council on Literacy meetings are planned for Aug. 26 at Georgia College & State University and Nov. 19 at Lanier Technical College.