The Lincoln County School System was presented with the 2011 SSTAGE (Student Support Team Association for Georgia Educators) STAR Award for Promising Practices – Best School System. Receiving the state award on behalf of the school system were (l-r) Sherry Allen, Britt McKinney, Dr. Brian Campbell, Marie Echols, Howie Gunby, and Patty Arthur. The Student Support Team Association for Georgia Educators (SSTAGE) recently awarded the Lincoln County School System the 2011 SSTAGE Star Award for Promising Practices – Best School System.

System representatives were presented the award at the 2012 SSTAGE Conference held in Athens Wednesday, January 11.

In the fall of 2010, Lincoln County representatives gave a presentation at the SSTAGE conference on the implementation of RTI (Response to Intervention) in local schools and were subsequently selected as SSTAGE Best System Finalists.

Then, in the spring of 2011, three judges from the SSTAGE organization visited LCES, LCMS, and LCHS to get a closer look at the RTI process and interview teachers and administrators.

“The judges were very complimentary of our system and recognized that we were using the RTI process at all three schools to address the academic needs of students in grades K- 12,” said Dr. Brian Campbell, assistant superintendent for instruction.

After it was announced that Lincoln County was the statewide system winner, the local teachers and administrators were invited to make their presentation to state educators.

Representing Lincoln County at the 2012 state SSTAGE conference were Sherry Allen, assistant principal at LCES; Patty Arthur, assistant principal at LCMS; LCHS Principal Howie Gunby; Britt McKinney, special education teacher at LCHS; Marie Echols, system RTI coordinator; and Dr. Campbell.

Brittany Barden and Christie Mattison, teachers at LCHS, joined the team for the 2011 SSTAGE presentation.

After the Lincoln County educators made their presentation at the 2012 conference, they were guests of honor at a luncheon, where they were introduced to the audience and given a crystal obelisk.

Little Mill Middle School in Forsyth County received the Secondary Level Award, and Liberty Elementary School in Cherokee County, the Elementary Level Award.

In his remarks on the conference, Dr. Campbell said, “As I watched our team present, I was glowing with pride because our team did an incredible job of sharing the RTI process with all of the attendees.

“It was also very gratifying for educators across the state to come up to our team members after the presentation to ask questions and inquire more about our process. RTI is not easy to implement, but our teachers and administrators never gave up because they knew it was best for our students.

In conclusion, he said, “I am thrilled that a small, rural system with limited resources has been recognized above larger urban systems with more resource.”

According to Sherry Allen, “I can truly say that the experience of observing other Response to Intervention programs from around the state validated my belief that the Lincoln County School System is progressive and ahead of most schools in its implementation of the intervention process.”

Marie Echols agreed: “Our teachers have been constantly monitoring the progress of our students. Due to their efforts, the schools have been able to pinpoint the learning needs of all students.

“Students who need remediation for basic skills, repetition of content material, or enrichment quickly receive extra instruction to meet their needs,” she continued.

“Lincoln County Schools have been innovative in scheduling, and teachers have worked as a team to focus on student learning. These things, along with the flexibility of all involved, have made a real difference to our students. The SSTAGE recognition provides more evidence that we are on the right track.”

RTI calls for each student at LCES, LCMS, and LCHS to be screened three times a year to identify any skill deficits. Then, specific, researchbased interventions are implemented by the teachers.

A student’s progress is monitored during the intervention to determine if it is working. Based on the progress monitoring results, the intervention can continue or more intense educational interventions can be applied.

SSTAGE advocates for best practices by recognizing schools and systems that are leading the way in implementing Response to Intervention.

Through collaboration with the Georgia Department of Education, the winners of the SSTAGE Star Award for Promising Practices – Best School System will be featured on “Elluminate Live,” an online platform that allows schools to view the presentations and interact with the presenters.

The Lincoln County team is scheduled to make its online presentation in the spring. The system will be joined by SSTAGE finalists Ware County High School and the Clayton County School System.

Also, Principal Gunby and Dr. Campbell have been asked to be on a panel that will discuss RTI at the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders Conference in February.