From A to Z:  A Helpful Guide to Our Educational Acronyms

AR – Accelerated Reader.  The Accelerated Reader program is designed to increase independent reading of participants.  The program, funded by the PTA, provides computer comprehension tests for a variety of reading material at many different levels.

AYP – Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is one of the cornerstones of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. It is a measure of year-to-year student achievement on statewide assessments. For more information you may go to: www.doe.k12.ga.us/support/plan/nclb/ayp.asp.

CRCT – Criterion Referenced Competency Test.  The CRCT , given each year to students in grades 1 through 5, is designed to measure how well students acquire the skills and knowledge described in the Georgia Performance Standards. The assessments yield information on academic achievement at the student, class, school, system, and state levels. This information is used to diagnose individual student strengths and weaknesses as related to the instruction of the Georgia Performance Standards, and to gauge the quality of education throughout Georgia.  Students in third grade are required by the state to pass the reading portion of the test in order to be promoted to fourth grade.  Students in fifth grade are required by the state to pass the reading and math portions of the test in order to be promoted to sixth grade. For more information you may go to: www.doe.k12.ga.us/curriculum/testing/crct.asp.

CST – Curriculum Support Teacher.  This staff member assists and supports all staff in the implementation of the curriculum.  The CST also strives to ensure proper student placement.    The CST serves as an active member of the Student Support Team, administrative team and leadership team. 

EIP – Early Intervention Program.  Children start school at a designated chronological age, but differ greatly in their individual development and experience base.  The Early Intervention Program (EIP) is designed to serve K-5 students who are at risk of not reaching or maintaining academic grade level.  The purpose of EIP is to help students reach grade level performance in the shortest possible time.  The Early Intervention Program is staffed by certified teachers with experience and expertise in teaching students with diverse needs and abilities.  Eligibility determination is made by identifying the students functioning below the normal expectations for the respective grade using criteria provided by the Georgia Department of Education and the Fulton County School System.

ELL - English Language Learners.  Students that are not native English speakers.  They are supported by our ESOL program until full immersion in the general education setting is appropriate. 

ESOL – English to Speakers of Other Languages.  The Quality Basic Education Act provides for the creation of programs designed to help limited English proficient students.  These programs develop proficiency in the English language skills of listening, speaking, writing, and reading so that students can experience success in their classrooms and in social contexts both inside and outside of the school.  Students from other cultures become acclimated to American culture through language-based instruction.  All instruction in the ESOL program is given in English to facilitate the acquisition of English language skills for successful academic and social pursuits. The ESOL Program for grades K-8 follows a pull-out model with services provided on a daily schedule.  The number of segments of service is determined by the identified need and in accordance with State Rule 160-4-5-.02, which also specified the number of students per given segment. 

FERPA -  The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. For more information you may go to: www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guide/fpco/ferpa/index.html.

FTE – Full Time Equivalent.  This FTE process is used in the reporting of all students and their specific areas of service to the state department for funding of our public schools.  Funding is generated based upon three “student counts” per year that identify all of the service that we offer to our students including general education programs, special education and support programs.  

GKIDS – Georgia Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills.  Georgia’s Quality Basic Education Act requires that children enrolled in Georgia public school kindergarten programs be assessed for first grade readiness with an instrument or instruments adopted by the Georgia Board of Education.   Kindergarten students are defined as those who are reported to the state as “kindergartners” on official attendance forms.  This includes those children who have been retained or are enrolled in a transitional or readiness program.  The readiness assessment shall include data obtained from multiple sources including, but not limited to the GKIDS, which is the instrument adopted by the State Board of Education.  Readiness information obtained by the instrument shall be used by the local school system, along with teacher recommendations and other relevant information, to make appropriate individual student grade placement decisions.

GPS - Georgia Performance Standards.  The new Georgia Performance Standards are meant to raise the level of expectation for ALL students in Georgia. The change in curriculum goals and expectations will change the ways teachers approach their content. With this change, it is important to understand the professional responsibility of the classroom teacher to differentiate instruction in order to meet the unique needs of their students. For more information you may go to: www.georgiastandards.org/.

GWA – Georgia Writing Assessment.  The Georgia Quality Basic Education Act requires students in grades three and five to participate in writing assessments.
• Grade 3
In the third grade, students write frequently in four areas identified in the GPS (personal experience, imaginative story, responding to literature, responding to QCC content).  Using multiple samples of each student’s writing, teachers assess the writing stage representative of each student’s work.  The Developmental Stage/Scoring Guidelines are used in making the final assessment.
• Grade 5
In the fifth grade, students will be given either an informational, persuasive, or narrative writing topic.  Because topics will be spiraled, students may receive any one of the three writing topics, thus requiring them to be prepared to write in informational, narrative, and persuasive genres.  Administration dates are determined by Georgia State Department of Education.

IDEA – The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) aligns closely to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), helping to ensure equity, accountability and excellence in education for children with disabilities.

IEP – Individual Education Plan.  This is a plan that is written by the IEP team (teachers, parent(s), special education staff members, and the instructional support teacher) to address the needs of the student based upon his/her identified disability.  Goals, objectives and timelines are set throughout the year and accommodations are implemented by both the special education teacher(s) and the general education teacher(s).  An annual review is held to evaluate the effectiveness of these
accommodations and to review and establish further objectives.

IRR  - Inter-related Resource.  This is an educational setting that meets that needs of children that have an active Individual Education Plan (IEP).  We seek to serve all students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment; however, many students often need the support of teachers that are highly trained in unique educational techniques that address a student’s disability.  This is one level of support service that our school offers.   

IST – Instructional Support Teacher.  This staff member is our liaison between the general education and special education teachers.  The IST is an integral part of our Student Support Team and assists teachers with the overall management of student IEPs. 

ITBS - The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) measures the skills and achievement of students from Kindergarten through grade 8. Developed at The University of Iowa and backed by a tradition of more than 70 years of educational research and test development experience, the ITBS provides an in-depth assessment of students’ achievement of important educational objectives. Tests in reading, language arts, mathematics, social  studies, science, and information sources yield reliable and comprehensive information both about the development of students’ skills and about their ability to think critically.  For more information you may go to the Riverside Publishing website at: www.riverpub.com/products/group/itbs_a/home.html.

LEP – Limited English Proficient.  This is one term that is utilized in reference to children that demonstrate limited English proficiency and are serviced by our ESOL program.  

LEP-M - Limited English Proficient - Monitored.  This is one term that is utilized in reference to children that demonstrate limited English proficiency and are no longer serviced by our ESOL program, but yet are still being monitored for success.  

LSAC – Local School Advisory Council.  Parent and community support is an important component of successful education reform. Local school councils were created by law in Georgia to involve teachers, parents and businesspersons in local school issues focusing on student achievement. 
Every public school in Georgia has a local school council consisting of a minimum of:
• two parents elected by the parents, 
• two certified teachers elected by the teachers, 
• two businesspersons and 
• the principal. 
The 2004 Georgia General Assembly amended the school council law to provide flexibility in membership, chairmanship, meetings, elections and trainings. The changes also provide clarity that school councils are to focus on student achievement and school improvement.

NCLB - No Child Left Behind. On January 23, 2001, President Bush sent his No Child Left Behind plan for comprehensive education reform to Congress. At that time, he asked members of Congress to engage in an active bipartisan debate on how we can use the federal role in education to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged and minority students and their peers. The result, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, embodies the four principles of President George W. Bush's education reform plan: stronger accountability for results, expanded flexibility and local control, expanded options for parents, and an emphasis on teaching methods that have been proven to work. For more information you may go to: www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml.

OT – Occupational Therapy.  This service is offered under Services for Exceptional Children to those children that have active Individual Education Plans that demonstrate a need for occupational therapy to support their needs. 

PT - Physical Therapy.  This service is offered under Services for Exceptional Children to those children that have active Individual Education Plans that demonstrate a need for physical therapy to support their needs. 

PTA – Parent Teacher Association.  The Barnwell ES PTA plans its programs and activities to meet the needs of children and youth in our own school and community. Guidelines and program aides are offered by the National and Georgia PTA to help our units plan programs and projects. We select those which apply to our community and modify them to meet our own needs. Our Barnwell ES PTA is an integral support and partner to our students, staff and our overall achievement. 

SAC – Superintendent’s Advisory Council.  Comprised of parent representatives from each area council, this advisory group meets bi-monthly with the superintendent to discuss and advise on issues pertaining to the Fulton County School System.  

SASI – School Administrative Student Information.  This data system is used to monitor all areas of student information including, but not limited to, attendance, discipline, student placements, scheduling, state reporting information and testing information.

SEC – Services for Exceptional Children.  This is the overriding program under which students with identified disabilities are serviced.  Many services are available, such as: interrelated resource classes, speech for language processing and/or articulation, occupational therapy, physical therapy, etc.

SST – Student Support Team.   A Student Support Team (SST) is a group of three or more professionals whose responsibility is to assist the classroom teachers in a collaborative, data-based, problem solving process designed to identify a student’s instructional needs; effective and appropriate strategies for the general education classroom; and, continuous monitoring procedures.  The SST supports students who continue to experience academic, social, or emotional difficulties in their current educational setting after informal strategies have been implemented by the classroom teacher.

TAG – Talented and Gifted.  A comprehensive program of services to intellectually gifted students.  Students eligible for the gifted program will receive services through appropriate delivery models implemented consistently throughout the school system.