The Georgia Department of Education is the winner of the Southern Regional Education Board’s 2023 State Leadership Award for creating professional learning experiences for educators and implementing college- and career-readiness strategies. The state will be presented the award on July 18, 2023, at SREB’s Making Schools Work Conference in Orlando, Florida.  

SREB’s State Leadership Award recognizes states that have established continuous improvement structures and processes to help schools transform school and classroom practices, establish and sustain change, and increase student achievement.  

“Georgia has made great strides in providing educators with high quality professional learning that is engaging, job-embedded and ongoing, said Dale Winkler,” SREB Vice President for School Improvement.  

Collaborating with SREB, Georgia created virtual professional learning communities for school leaders to discuss common challenges and share improvement strategies. The state also developed an online mentoring course for educators who serve as mentors for new teachers.  

To guide professional learning and instructional practices for career, technical and agriculture education teachers, Georgia created a profile of a CTAE graduate. With guidance from the state’s business and industry advisory council, the state conducted a study of end-of-pathway assessments for CTAE concentrators during 2022.  

The Georgia Department of Education has been a strong supporter of SREB’s Coaching for Change Conference, which launched in 2022 as the nation’s only professional learning event designed exclusively for school instructional coaches. Georgia Department of Education staff participated in the conference planning, served as featured presenters and promoted the conference to local district coaches.  

“Together, these initiatives to build the capacity of educators to solve common problems and implement powerful instructional strategies contribute to higher levels of student achievement,” Winkler said. 

The Southern Regional Education Board works with states and educators to improve education at every level, from early childhood through postsecondary education and the workforce.  SREB’s annual Making Schools Work Conference provides educators hundreds of professional development sessions and networking with colleagues from across the country.  

SREB media contact: Janita Poe, SREB News Manager, (404) 879-5516.