Get Schooled

State Rep. Jason Spencer

Here is another perspective on the proposed charter school amendment to the state constitution which may come to a floor vote this week in the House.

State Rep. Jason Spencer, R-Woodbine, a physician’s assistant in Kingsland, wrote this letter to his constituents to explain his opposition to House Resolution 1162.

Active in the Tea Party movement in coastal Georgia, Spencer writes, “The charter school movement is predominantly isolated in the Atlanta metro area with some bipartisan support. Many of the rural school systems in Georgia could wither on the vine if this amendment passes.”

Spencer’s opposition to HR 1162 reflects the sentiments of other rural legislators that this is an Atlanta battle, and they don’t want their local schools to suffer in the crossfire.

While leading Atlanta area Republicans are supporting the amendment to allow the state to create charter schools and fund them, rural lawmakers worry that their already struggling schools …

Continue reading Rural lawmakers: Charter school amendment is Atlanta battle. We don’t want to get caught in crossfire. »

I just listened to my home voicemail and had a peppy message from “Rosie” of the Brighter Georgia Education Coalition urging me to call my legislator to support the charter school resolution.

There is apparently a full-court press under way to win the necessary margins in the Legislature to endorse this amendment and put it on the November ballot. The automated call explained that my legislator had not expressed support for HR 1162 and they needed that vote to “save charter schools in Georgia.” The call did not make clear if the recalcitrant lawmaker was my House rep or Senate rep.

This is one of the few robo calls that I have ever received on an education issue. The only other I can recall was for SPLOST.

“Rosie” gave a very basic explanation of HR 1162, saying the controversial resolution would “allow families to have more school options by protecting public charter schools.” She did not mention the core dispute over whether the broad amendment erodes local control of …

Continue reading Robo calls under way to push charter school amendment. I received one. »

The arrest of one LA elementary schoolteacher for alleged sexual abuse of students, abuse that reportedly took the form of repulsive fetishes, followed by the arrest of another teacher at the same school has led to the unprecedented removal of every adult in the building while the investigation proceeds. An entirely new staff will be assigned to the school.

The district leadership took the dramatic action after two longtime Miramonte Elementary teachers, Mark Berndt, 61, and Martin Springer, 49, were arrested last week.

Berndt  was charged with committing lewd acts on 23 children, including blindfolding children and feeding them his semen. Berndt is jailed on $23 million bail and could face life in prison if convicted. Springer was arrested on suspicion of fondling two girls in his classroom.

This is an extreme action but I think we all agree these are extreme circumstances and that parents in that school needed strong reassurance that their concerns and fears were being …

Continue reading Sex abuse charges lead LA to remove entire staff at school. Extreme action but this is an extreme situation. »

State Rep. Jan Jones

Among the most influential and dedicated supporters of charter schools is House Speaker Pro-Tempore Jan Jones of Milton, who represents District 46. She is the sponsor of the constitutional amendment that would resurrect the state’s ability to create charter schools, an ability lost in last year’s state Supreme Court decision.

She wrote this essay today to explain why she believes the amendment is vital.

By Jan Jones

Most people agree local school boards play a critical role in Georgia public education. Most people also agree, however, that local school boards should not have exclusive control over public education.

Businesses considering relocating to Georgia place a top priority on an overall educated workforce. Clearly, we have a state education brand to foster and protect in attracting jobs.

Our ability to do so was jeopardized in a controversial 4-3 Georgia Supreme Court decision last May striking down a 2008 state law.

The problem with the state …

Continue reading Rep. Jones: Proposed constitutional amendment affirms true local control — parents »

The governor keeps rolling out new scholarships with catchy names. In addition to the Zell Miller Scholarship, Gov. Nathan Deal today announced the launch of a new needs-based college scholarship program, the REACH Scholarship (Realizing Educational Achievement Can Happen).

The reach of REACH won’t be too extensive to start with as the scholarship will be a pilot program in three counties and will be funded by private donations. Students will receive $2,500 a year for use at Georgia private and public colleges.

Still, it’s a help for the college students who qualify, and answers critics who contend that Georgia has shortchanged needy students.

Here is the press release on REACH:

At Georgia Tech, Deal kicked off an aggressive fund-raising campaign by announcing the REACH Scholarship’s first corporate sponsor, AT&T, which donated $250,000.

“The REACH Scholarship continues our state’s ongoing commitment to providing access to higher education for all Georgians, regardless …

Continue reading Deal unveils a new needs-based scholarship but it has limited REACH »

On Thursday, I shared comments from teachers in Lowndes Couny regarding a new grading system that eliminated zeros and allowed students to retest until they demonstrated that they learned the material. It appears that the district is reconsidering its plan after widespread criticism, especially from its own parents.

I posted an explanation of the new grading policies from a parent’s guide produced by the district, which stated: Zeros are unacceptable. Teachers are to give your child an I (Incomplete) for work not turned in and are to insist that the assignment is completed. Zeros will not be used. If your child consistently scores below 70%, the teacher is to contact you and arrange for a conference.

As you might imagine, the Lowndes grading system has been getting a lot of attention in local newspapers.

An editorial in the Valdosta Daily Times said: These new guidelines may have been implemented with the best of intentions to ensure that all children do well, but …

Continue reading Lowndes school chief: We made mistakes in grading policies, but failure is unacceptable »

(Dean Rohrer NewsArt)

I interviewed Lisa Delpit, a MacArthur genius award winner and former Georgia State University professor, about her fascinating new book “Multiplication is for White People” and will share that interview in a longer column later this week.

Her new book seeks to disprove the widely held assumption that poor black children start life and school at a deficit. Author of “Other People’s Children,” Dr. Delpit  says schools underestimate their talents by focusing on what they cannot do and what they don’t know rather than what they can do and do know.

She points out that while more middle-class white children may come to school knowing their colors, black children often have greater situational skills and life skills.

(I often think about a woman I met who adopted a 4-year-old from a poor eastern European orphanage. The mother described taking the little girl to the grocery store for the first time and being shocked when the child, without any prompting, …

Continue reading If parents can’t or won’t work with children, is all hope lost? »

More than 200 APS parents took their fight against redistricting to the street Sunday. (Vino Wong/vwong@ajc.com)

Amid all the criticisms of public education, it is refreshing to read about more than 200 parents marching to preserve the enrollment zones of their Atlanta elementary school.

I also think that such potent public displays speak to district leadership and can influence final attendance lines.

Despite the oft-expressed contention here on the blog and in the Legislature that Georgians are unhappy with public schools, there are many satisfied families, as this story affirms.

Here is an excerpt of the AJC story:

Carrying blue and gold balloons, banners and signs, residents in the Loring Heights, Peachtree Hills, Brookwood Hills and Collier Hills communities marched along Peachtree Road, walking about a mile until they reached their beloved elementary school, E. Rivers.

One proposed redistricting plan calls for splitting up these intown neighborhoods and sending …

Continue reading Parents take to street for their beloved school »

The governor’s office disagreed with State. Sen. Jason Carter’s HOPE piece last week. Here is a response written by state Rep. Carl Rogers, R-Gainesville, who chairs the House Higher Education. (If you can, read the Carter piece as this was written in response to it.)

By Carl Rogers

When researchers say that Americans are falling behind on math skills, we can assume they must have tested Georgia’s state Senate Democrats.

A year late to the party, Senate Democrats have discovered that Lottery revenue can no longer cover the full scholarship that HOPE once offered to all students with at least a B average.

“According to the Georgia Student Finance Commission, by 2016 – in just four years – HOPE will pay for less than half the cost of college,” Sen. Jason Carter, D-Decatur, wrote in the AJC last week. So with Senate Democrats worried about the state of HOPE in four years, they have presented a curious solution: Spend loads more money now.

It’s difficult to even respond to such a …

Continue reading GOP: Senate Democrats have a plan for HOPE. It’s called bankruptcy »

I have been getting lots of emails from Lowndes County folks about their new edicts on grading: Students in grades 3 through 8 cannot be given “zeros” and must be allowed to retake tests until they pass.

As a teacher explained to me: One such policy that was recently implemented by our superintendent completely does away with student accountability. Please go to the Lowndes County Board of Education website and read about the grading policy that was started last week.  Teachers were sent a letter mandating that no grades will be given under a 70. Teachers are to reteach and retest each child until he passes an assignment  — all assignments.  This policy also states that no zeros will be entered in the gradebook.

Here are excerpts from the new grade guide:

All children will be given the opportunity to learn and redo assignments, especially if a child makes a  failing grade. Daily grades and test grades are included. If your child scores  below 70%, the teacher is to …

Continue reading No zeros in school any longer. But aren’t there well deserved zeros? »