Cindy Morley ppt presentation at Georgia Association of Career and Technical Educators Conference in Atlanta, GA

1. INVESTING IN OUR
YOUTH TODAY, YIELDING
A POSITIVE RETURN
TOMORROW
Georgia Department of Labor
Commissioner Mark Butler

2. THE DISCONNECT

3. LOOKING FOR AN
ANSWER
The Georgia
Department of Labor
began studying
successful soft skills
programs in four
different states
We took what
worked in each
state and applied it
to Georgia

4. Unfortunately, many students are not
receiving satisfactory training skills to
operate in a working environment.
GeorgiaBEST gives students the chance
to gain these skills, while allowing them
an advantage in promoting themselves in
the competitive job market that exists
today.
LABOR
COMMISSIONER
MARK BUTLER

5. DEVELOPING
GEORGIABEST
 10 Standards were developed
 Development of a module for teachers to follow
when implementing
 A justification paper was then developed for each
of the 10 standards
 Possible activities were also developed for the
teachers to implement for each of the standards
 An assessment sheet for teachers to grade
students was created

6. THE 10 STANDARDS

7. THE PILOT SCHOOLS
• The Department of Labor met with
Superintendents, principals and
teachers across the state.
• Nine different school systems and 21
schools took part in the pilot program
• The program began in January 2012
and ended in April.
• The state success rate was 62 percent

8. THE PILOT SCHOOLS AND
THEIR RATE OF SUCCESS
Sandy
Creek
Rockdale
High Academy
Emanuel
Douglas •60% County •35%
County Institute
•37% •41% Fannin
County
Whitewater High
Carroll High •76%
County Swainsboro
•60% High
•71%
•43%
Grovetown
12-For- Dodge High
Life County Lakeside •58%
•100% High & Evans
•66% •100%

9. HOW IT WORKS

10. STUDENT RATING SHEET

11. GEORGIABEST IN THE
CLASSROOM

12. THE CERTIFICATE

13. WHAT DOES THE
CERTIFICATE MEAN?
 Certificates
bear the seal of the Department of
Labor, and are provided by the GDOL at no cost
to the schools
 Certificatesserve as validation to employers that
this student has successfully displayed strong
work habits and has gone above and beyond
 Students can list certificates on their job
applications, as well as college applications

14. POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES FOR
GEORGIABEST
• Students can be required to read
‘Dress for Success’ and do a report
on it
• Schools can hold Mock Interview
Days in connection with local
business leaders
• Students can write mock business
emails and create resumes

15. TEAMWORK:
 Team work skills are best developed in group
assignments where the teacher either randomly
assigns team members or creates the teams so that
the students are not comfortable with each other or
have different strengths.
 Teachers can assign a group project in which one
member of each group is a project manager and
provides leadership and direction to the other
members. Group projects often teach flexibility as
well, because each member of a group has to balance
their desires with the desires of their group members.
Students can be required to do a presentation and
“sell” their idea to teachers.

16. PUNCTUALITY AND TIME
MANAGEMENT
 Students can be required to keep a week-long
time-log of their arrival at school, work,
sports practice, after-school activities, and
even family events. They can look at details
such as how many times they were late for
certain commitments, what were they
strongest motivators to be on time, how can
they improve on their punctuality.
 Students can also keep a week-long journal of
their duties or commitments each day for a
week.

17. SELF-MANAGEMENT,
LEADERSHIP
 Students can read about business leaders in
the corporate world or in the military and
compile a list of leadership styles that work.
 Students can also be required to come up
with an idea for an activity or project in the
school and present their idea to the teacher.
The ideas could range from putting vending
machines in the cafeteria to suggesting that
teams be developed to sell ads for school
yearbooks because sales are falling. This
shows creativity of the student, problem-
solving and leadership.

18. ON THE JOB TRAINING,
CAREER RESEARCH
 Students could research different careers,
and either spend the day with someone in
that field in a job-shadowing day, or write
a paper about that career – including
their reason for choosing this career, the
requirements of the career, etc.
 Speakers can be invited in to talk to
students about certain careers, or
students could participate in career day at
the school.
 Hold Career Day

19. IMPORTANCE OF SOFT
SKILLS

21. GEORGIABEST 2012-2013
 GeorgiaBEST will be implemented in schools
next year beginning in August or September, and
will run through April
 Schools on block schedules can run the program
from August to December, and from January to
April
 Teachers will submit names of students certified
for GeorgiaBEST in November or April, and
certificates will be printed by GDOL

22. THE SCHOOL’S RESPONSIBILITY
 Teachers will assess each student on each of the
10 standards.
 The assessments for individual standards can be
performed weekly – as the teacher completes
discussion of that standard.
 Teachers and schools will submit a standardized
Excel form with all students names, and the total
points they received.
 The DOL will hold several webinars throughout
the year that teachers can participate in

23. NEW SCHOOLS FOR NEXT
YEAR
 Hall County Schools
 Pike County High
 Walton County schools
 Banks County High
 Thomson High
 Liberty County Charter Academy

24. SCHOOLS WE ARE WORKING
WITH FOR NEXT YEAR
 Marietta High School
 Lamar County High School
 Effingham County
 Long County
 Bulloch County
 Bleckley County
 Golden Isle Career Academy
 Brunswick Christian Academy
 Ware County
 Cherokee County
 Screven County
 Griffin/Spalding County

25. WANT MORE INFORMATION?
 Cindy Morley
 Cindy.morley@gdol.ga.gov
 404-232-7343 Direct Line
 404-308-2930 Cell Phone