ATLANTA - Gov. Sonny Perdue has announced enhancements to the master teacher certification program as another step toward improving student achievement in Georgia.
As introduced in Perdue's 2005 Georgia Learns education package, the program recognizes teachers who demonstrate instructional excellence in K-12 classrooms.
"The master teacher program bestows recognition on Georgia's educators who clearly make a difference in students' achievement," Perdue said. "With a firm program foundation now in place, I believe it's time to financially reward our expert teachers who mentor and coach their peers and play a vital role in creating a more educated Georgia."
In the FY 2009 budget, Perdue proposed that the state reward veteran teachers holding master teacher certification with an annual stipend of $500 for mentoring new teachers and $2,000 for serving as an academic coach. The governor also plans to give priority to certified master teachers when making appointments to the boards and commissions that govern Georgia's K-12 education agencies.
The Georgia Professional Standards Commission will implement incentives to bolster the program. Master teachers will automatically earn renewal of their teaching certificates as long as they maintain master status through student achievement gains. And the commission will host an annual conference to honor and provide leadership training to Georgia's master teachers.
Modifications to the certification process will take effect immediately to support these programmatic changes:
- The application deadline for the current year will be extended to March 7.
- The application process for second-eighth grade core academic teachers will be streamlined to take less than 20 minutes to complete; and
- Applicants will have to submit only two years of student achievement data rather than three.
For more information on the Master Teacher Program, visit http://www.gamasterteachers.org or send an email to MasterTeachers@gapsc.com.
As introduced in Perdue's 2005 Georgia Learns education package, the program recognizes teachers who demonstrate instructional excellence in K-12 classrooms.
"The master teacher program bestows recognition on Georgia's educators who clearly make a difference in students' achievement," Perdue said. "With a firm program foundation now in place, I believe it's time to financially reward our expert teachers who mentor and coach their peers and play a vital role in creating a more educated Georgia."
In the FY 2009 budget, Perdue proposed that the state reward veteran teachers holding master teacher certification with an annual stipend of $500 for mentoring new teachers and $2,000 for serving as an academic coach. The governor also plans to give priority to certified master teachers when making appointments to the boards and commissions that govern Georgia's K-12 education agencies.
The Georgia Professional Standards Commission will implement incentives to bolster the program. Master teachers will automatically earn renewal of their teaching certificates as long as they maintain master status through student achievement gains. And the commission will host an annual conference to honor and provide leadership training to Georgia's master teachers.
Modifications to the certification process will take effect immediately to support these programmatic changes:
- The application deadline for the current year will be extended to March 7.
- The application process for second-eighth grade core academic teachers will be streamlined to take less than 20 minutes to complete; and
- Applicants will have to submit only two years of student achievement data rather than three.
For more information on the Master Teacher Program, visit http://www.gamasterteachers.org or send an email to MasterTeachers@gapsc.com.