Wednesday, September 19, 2012
There are strong opinions on both sides of the Charter School debate. This is the opinion of seven former members of the Georgia Charter School Commission.
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Wednesday, September 19, 2012
What is best for Georgia students? That is the question that should always be front and center when discussing education reform. One-third of Georgia students do not graduate high school, so our education system clearly needs to be improved—for the benefit of our children, our families, our communities, and our economic future. Too often debates about education reform are centered on money and power. We wish to re-focus the debate toward what is best for students. On November 6, Georgians will vote on a constitutional amendment that would allow parents and other community members to start public charter schools—and to have the decision whether to allow these schools to open made by an independent and neutral observer. Charter schools are …
Monday, September 10, 2012
This letter to the editor was sent by a Georgia charter school parent who criticizes Georgia PTA's refusal to support the upcoming charter schools amendment.
(Editor's note: this letter to the editor was sent by Rae Anne Harkness.) I am a parent of two children who attend school in south DeKalb County. I have always paid my PTA dues, blindly believing that it was part of being an engaged parent. Last year I had the difficult choice of deciding where to send my daughter for middle school. I liked the local middle school magnet program, but was hesitant to send her there because of school-wide discipline issues. I worried even more because at 11 years old my daughter (who is a gymnast) is very physically fit, but also fully developed and subject to inappropriate comments from older boys. Our home middle school and high school have even more discipline problems. The high school has the lowest …
Friday, August 3, 2012
Awards recognize excellence in promoting science, technology, engineering and math education in Georgia.
Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology (GSMST) has been named a finalist in the first annual S.T.E.M. Education Awards. The S.T.E.M. awards were created by the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) and the TAG Education Collaborative (TAG-Ed) to recognize and celebrate schools, extracurricular programs, public-private partnerships, science agencies and post-secondary education outreach programs for outstanding efforts and achievement in supporting and promoting science, technology, engineering, and math education in Georgia, according to a recent press release. The Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology, is a charter school located in Lawrenceville and is open to Snellville students. “We applaud GSMST …
Rae Harkness
11:00 pm on Monday, September 10, 2012
1. Charter school applicants are NEVER for-profit management companies. All public charter schools are 501 (c)(3) non-profit groups governed by a board consisting of parents, teachers and/or community members. 2. Charter schools will not be placed in communities without the knowledge of the local Board of Education. Charters can only be approved by the state AFTER the local school board denies … more ›