PAGE Foundation Mission and History
Mission
The PAGE Foundation promotes world-class education for all of Georgia’s children through initiatives that recruit, develop, retain and recognize highly accomplished teachers.
History
The PAGE (Professional Association of Georgia Educators) Foundation was established in 1985 to prepare future generations of excellent teachers for the State of Georgia and to promote and honor academic achievement. Through its sponsorship of Future Educators Association of Georgia (FEA Georgia), the Student Professional Association of Georgia Educators (SPAGE) and PAGE Foundation Scholarships programs, the PAGE Foundation strives to help aspiring and experienced teachers achieve their career goals. The PAGE Foundation was among the first organizations in the state to provide leadership for the National Board Certification of Teachers (NBCT) program, the pinnacle of the teaching profession. The Foundation also sponsors several programs of academic excellence, including PAGE Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR), PAGE Georgia Academic Decathlon (GAD) and the PAGE Academic Bowl for Middle Grades. In offering their financial support to the Foundation, the 80,000 members of PAGE, along with contributing corporations, foundations and individuals, support the goals described in our mission statement.
PAGE Foundation Scholarships
PAGE Foundation Scholarships are given to qualified PAGE and SPAGE members who aspire to become teachers or to veteran teachers who wish to enhance their academic careers. Since its inception in 1986, the PAGE Foundation Scholarship Program has awarded more than $300,000 in scholarships to promote the teaching profession.
2001 brought the establishment of the first Honor Your Favorite Teacher endowed scholarship, given by an anonymous donor in honor of Betty J. Phillips, a Bibb County school board member and life-long educator.
Academic Programs of Excellence
The PAGE STAR (Student Teacher Achievement Recognition) Program honors Georgia’s outstanding high school students and the teachers who have been most instrumental in their academic development. For more than 50 years, the STAR Program has honored more than 22,000 high school seniors who have in turn chosen their STAR Teachers to share in this recognition. PAGE was selected in 1994 by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce to coordinate the statewide STAR program in association with the Chamber and the Georgia Department of Education. To obtain the STAR nomination, students must have the highest score on one test date on the SAT taken through the November test date of their senior year and be in the top 10 percent or top 10 students in their class. Each high school STAR Student is asked to name his/her STAR Teacher.In 2010, with 31 high school ties, the program recognized 510 seniors and 508 teachers (2 teachers were honored twice) in Georgia's public and independent schools. The program receives support from civic organizations and businesses at the local and region levels of competition. The competition culminates with an annual banquet at which all STAR region and local winners attending are recognized. Region winners are interviewed, and the State PAGE STAR Student and State PAGE STAR Teacher are announced. The 2010 competition had 15 regional winners, 6 of whom scored 2400 on a single administration of the SAT examination.
The PAGE Georgia Academic Decathlon (GAD) is an academic competition comprised of 10 events for high school students. The program is unique because each nine-member team is made up of “A,” “B” and “C” students. Students compete as a team as well as individually. In a typical Decathlon competition, students are tested in six content areas: economics, fine arts, language and literature, mathematics, science and social studies. In addition, the students amass points in three communication events: speech, interview and essay. “Super Quiz,” the tenth event consists of two parts-a written test and the oral relay-held before an audience. Winners of the annual GAD State Competition earn the opportunity to represent Georgia at the United States Academic Decathlon National Finals. Decathlon was first sponsored by the PAGE Foundation in 1992. In 2010 more than 200 students from 23 Georgia high schools representing 17 school districts and a guest team from the U.S. Virgin Islands competed at the state level.
In 1985 the PAGE Academic Bowl for Middle Grades, a scholastic competition in a quiz bowl format, became the first program sponsored by the PAGE Foundation. Each year middle school students from both public and independent schools throughout the state participate. The competition inspires students to excel academically, boosts student confidence and self-esteem through high achievement, stimulates a competitive spirit and fosters teamwork. In 2010, 153 teams from 67 public school systems and 28 independent schools representing 69 counties competed in the overall state competition.
The Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE), the parent organization of the Foundation, is a nonunion, statewide professional association of more than 80,000 teachers, administrators and support personnel members. PAGE provides professional learning for educators to enhance competence and confidence, build leadership and increase student achievement.
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PAGE Foundation
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