Obama comes to Decatur, but school is out for week. Go to the beach or go to school to meet the president?
President Obama will visit City of Decatur Schools pre-k on Thursday. (My 14-year-olds attend Decatur schools and attended pre-k at the College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center that the president will visit.)
Oddly, Decatur schools are closed this week as part of the district’s balanced schedule calendar, which features a shorter summer and week-long breaks throughout the year. Many folks had vacation plans already in place and are out of town. (Some families went to Washington, D.C. Turns out that they’d have had a better chance glimpsing the president if they stayed in Decatur.)
Apparently, Decatur intends to reconvene its pre-k for the president’s visit. I’m not sure how many 4-year-olds from the pre-k classes can be rounded up Thursday. The quandary for parents may be: Go to the beach or go to school to meet the president? I would suspect most 4- and 5-year-olds would take the beach, but their parents may disagree.
College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center in Decatur also houses early learning classes for 3-year-olds and younger, and those programs are in session this week. So, the president will see children regardless of how many Decatur pre-k students give up a vacation day for his visit and remarks. And as one poster noted, the purpose of any presidential visit to a school is not for the president to see schoolchildren, but for the president to be seen.
According to the AJC:
Georgia’s pre-kindergarten program will get a turn in the national spotlight this week when President Barack Obama uses Decatur as a backdrop to promote an education initiative to give low-income preschoolers an earlier start on their schooling.
Although White House officials are mum on the details, several people briefed on the plans said Obama plans to address a proposal that would give more 3- and 4-year-olds from low-income families a chance to go to pre-k programs. On Thursday he will visit Decatur’s College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center.
College Heights’ website says the school serves 326 children through a partnership with City Schools of Decatur and Partners for Community Action, Inc. (Head Start Program).
Georgia is a fitting place for the announcement as the state was considered far ahead of its time two decades ago when it used lottery funds to launch a statewide pre-kindergarten program. In recent years, though, flattening lottery revenues and increasing enrollment have forced the state to reduce pre-kindergarten schedules and increase class sizes.
“Our pre-k program is still a national example. But certainly we can do more to increase quality and access,” said Mindy Binderman, the executive director of Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students, an advocacy group. “We have to be sure we don’t rest on our laurels.”
Steven Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University, said the president’s expected proposal has the potential to offer “a remarkable boost” to efforts to provide educational and economic opportunities for all.
“Well-designed preschool education programs could close the entire achievement gap between children from low- and high-income families at school entry and as much as half the gap permanently,” Barnett said.
After Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, the president is scheduled to travel to North Carolina, Georgia and Chicago to amplify some of the policies he lays out Tuesday. A White House official, briefing reporters in advance of the State of the Union speech, declined to “give away the secret” of any new education policy.
Details of Obama’s Thursday visit haven’t been released, but he’s expected to visit pre-kindergarten students at College Heights and swing by the Decatur Recreation Center. Courtney Burnett, the Decatur school system’s legislative liaison, said employees are scurrying to prepare for Obama’s arrival. “Everyone is very excited. This is a big honor for us,” she said. “It’s the first time we can recall a visit to a Decatur school by a president.”
State Sen. Fran Millar, a Dunwoody Republican and former chairman of the Senate education committee, said he’s optimistic that Obama’s proposal will mean significant changes to the early-childhood education system. “I firmly believe that early learning is critical for long-term success and believe investment in this initiative by the feds and states makes sense,” Millar said. “The president got this one right.”
Georgia initially opened pre-k to children from low-income families but quickly expanded admission to all 4-year-olds regardless of family income. But in recent years, legislators and Gov. Nathan Deal made unpopular changes to the program amid soaring enrollment and flagging lottery earnings.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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84 comments Add your comment
TampaGator
February 12th, 2013
12:23 pm
Perfect day for a sunny stroll on Clearwater Beach. Water is a bit cool, however.
Public education in current American society will not and cannot be fixed until bad parenting and bad student behavior is first addressed and then fixed. Private schools do not put up with poor student behavior and bad teaching. Simple. Like almost everything in America today…..public education has become ineffective because there is too much liberty and not very much responsibility….and with liberty comes responsibilty. Without responsiblity (students and parents respecting authority being one)….liberty is just a “word” misused and abused over and over again from the Constitution of the United States of America.
TampaGator
February 12th, 2013
12:28 pm
@A conservative voice….
“when he does something worthy of respect, I’ll give it some thought. When a person lies everytime he opens his mouth, in my humble opinion, that person is not worthy of my respect.”
Now….that is a post worthy of NO RESPECT. Seriously. Compare your level of intelligent thinking to that of buzzwax. Big difference…one due respect and one not.
Think People Please
February 12th, 2013
12:34 pm
What makes you all think this week was not planned. Both Decatur City Schools and The President of the USA group planned this week. You people need to give others the benefit of doubt. The doubt that you are smarter than a fifth grader. Well, may not!
xxx
February 12th, 2013
12:35 pm
“ ‘I firmly believe that early learning is critical for long-term success and believe investment in this initiative by the feds and states makes sense,’ (State Senator Fran) Millar said.”
===================================================
I fully agree. Furthermore, “early learning is critical” not only for the “long-term success” of the children involved in the early learning programs, but for the success of Georgia, itself – economically, educationally, and socially.
but only if you a low income minoirty. Too bad this program can be for all as it should be. By limiting acess to cetrtain voting blocs, this program should never see a penny.
Pres. Obama to Visit Decatur School Tomorrow While It Is Out on Break
February 12th, 2013
12:44 pm
[...] more: Maureen Downey, AJC Related Posts:Bank of America Plaza: A Towering Testament to Atlanta’s Ailing [...]
Warren Buffett
February 12th, 2013
12:44 pm
@retired It’s also worth noting that College Heights serves the entire City Schools of Decatur district, so looking at the stats on the entire district is exactly the right thing to do. It’s not a neighborhood elementary school.
Joe P
February 12th, 2013
12:47 pm
I feel sorry for the teachers who realize this guy is a complete failure as a President and will be required by the administration to attend and try and act like they support him. I’m looking forward to seeing who is selected as his backdrop. Only the top Obama Zombies will be given that opportunity. This guy should keep himself in Washington and actually do an honest days work. What a joke.
Brit
February 12th, 2013
12:52 pm
Thanks Warren Buffet. It’s a great school, my child attends and the breakdown directly reflects the district as a whole. @ retired, there’s nothing worse than a someone who uses strange Internet sources to prove his ‘point’. Both links list College Heights as an elementary school ( it’s not, it’s Pre-K only) and your second link states the highest grade as grade 5. Even the real elementary school in Decatur don’t go up to grade 5! Next time do a bit more research before lecturing people.
And yes, my child is going on Thursday because we’re home but there are plenty of families away at the beach etc.
Joe P
February 12th, 2013
12:54 pm
Angela- How many people do you think would have voted for your hero if they thought like you do in saying he couldn’t fix the problems we currently face in 8 YEARS!!! Wake up Obama Zombie!! His actions over the past 4 years have not only caused the issues we face but multiplied the problems we already faced 10 fold. $16.5 TRILLION in debt doesn’t concern you? Wow!! What planet are you from?
TechEd
February 12th, 2013
12:58 pm
With regard to scheduling the visit during a break, I don’t think it’s a stretch to expect that the President’s office would call the shots on when he would visit. He is the president after all (whether you like it or not), and the school should work with HIS schedule. That said, it’s ridiculous (and par for the course) for the school to expect teachers, students, etc. to drop all their vacation plans to make a nice showing for the president. Government institutions often inconvenience their employees/customers so someone else can save face and put on a good show. Nothing new here in this respect.
Shark Punch!
February 12th, 2013
1:04 pm
Somebody needs to tell President Obama that the election is over, he won, and can therefore stop campaigning and start governing. “My fellow Americans, cancel your plans so I can have another contrived photo op.”
jwc
February 12th, 2013
1:05 pm
Perhaps we can greet the President with the highly educated Senator wannabe Paul Broun who can tell the President how evolution, and perhaps gravity, is just a theory from the pits of hell and how women’s bodies work according to the Bible on accounta ’cause he’s a doctor. Now THAT’S a true indication of education in Georgia.
Teacher Reader
February 12th, 2013
1:10 pm
This is a waste of tax dollars. The president doesn’t need to waste airplane fuel to come to a closed school. He is acting like we aren’t in financial trouble. I look at the debt and fear for our future. He looks at it, shrugs, and keeps spending. I’d feel this way no matter who the president is and his party affiliation given our current economic climate. We don’t have this money to spend and he needs to stay home, if the school is closed.
dan_g
February 12th, 2013
1:15 pm
Yes, it stinks for people who are out of town but I, for one, am thrilled about the visit.
One of my kids is in College Heights and I think that is is great that she is going to (hopefully) get to meet the President even if I did not vote for him and don’t agree with many of his policies.
Whether you think that it is grandstanding or campaigning, It is a great thing that he is coming to celebrate a community that has schools that work and is constantly working to improve.
Just Sayin
February 12th, 2013
1:18 pm
Actually it kind of makes sense that he is coming to a closed school. I mean do you think a bunch of 3 and 4 year olds care. This way those of you in the community who are clogging this blog with your comments can actually go there and voice your opinions. I don’t know about you,but as a parent I don’t think I would want my baby (yes I consider 3 and 4 baby) at school on a day when half the dingbats of the city will come out, protest, and possibly try to prove a point by doing something dangerous. The responses on this blog alone are enough to let you know that there are a lot of people out there hanging by a thread.
Decatur Dad
February 12th, 2013
1:53 pm
Speaking as a Decatur parent who has not one but two children currently at College Heights, the amount of vitriol and self-serving misinformation in these comments is laughable (but sadly par for the course for AJC comment sections). First, the school is not closed this week. The Pre-K class is out for winter break, yes, but most of the school remains open since all the other classes including infants and toddlers are operating like normal. So for those railing at the sky about this inexcusable waste of taxpayer money and imposition on teachers and parents, you can settle down.
Second, EVERY parent, teacher, and child I’ve spoken to since we got notice the president was coming is beyond thrilled at the honor. Moreover, most of the teachers whose classes are in dismissal seem to be more than excited to help out however they can. No pre-K parents are being forcibly compelled to bring their kids in. It was presented as what it is: an opportunity to be in close proximity to a sitting president. Take it or leave it. Most folks (including many Republicans I know) see that as a great honor, even if they don’t necessarily agree with some of that president’s policies.
Angela
February 12th, 2013
2:22 pm
@resno2, I did not pull a race card the people did. Did you have the little of respect for Bush, Clinton, Kennedy, Ragen, etc.? Did you put any of these same remarks on Bush who can read a book upside down? Did you put this much blame on Bush when he bailed out banks, car manufactures, etc.? And, as for the race card, I teach in DCSS they have done me more harm than any of those of any other race.
@ db4freedom, Yes, I have looked at my pay check and it is over 30K short. Creditors ringing my phone for money I cannot give because I don’t have it. I have had to make a lot of adjustments in my life and life style. My health care and yours has been going up for many many years. This began before Obama was in office. Again, any actions he wanted to put in to place most if not all were stopped by the “Tea Party.”
@A Conservative Voice, Please be specific about all of these lies he is supposedly telling. I am sure that Romey whould have made a more HONEST President.
@ buzzwax, Okay, I stand corrected. However, they are still a part of the problem and have not been a solution to any of the problems.
@bootney farnsworth, Gee, I have missed your sarcasm(sp). Hugs!
River
February 12th, 2013
2:34 pm
A great irony is that College Heights was created/reopened in 2005, as one school administrator put it, “because the black part of the town needed something”.
Angela
February 12th, 2013
2:42 pm
@JoeP, I am on planet earth and if you think the PEOPLE really put Obama in office you are on your own planet.
Let’s stop being angry and stop being a part of the problem and be a solution to the problem. It is sooooooooo very easy to blame others for our down falls and mistakes, etc. We darling are on the same planet. And, if you think any other president is going to make your life any easier you are SADLY mistaken. You are responsible for your own destiny. That also, includes myself.!
Mike The Teacher
February 12th, 2013
2:58 pm
I would like to see Mr. President Obama visit Fayette County Schools instead. I teach children here and in each class of approximately twenty-five students, only one or two lack motivation. The vast majority of students, rich, middle-class, or poor, come to class eager to learn because they come from families that value education and respect the institution of learning.
Some of my students struggle financially and still work hard to succeed because I teach them that poverty has a cure: education. In fact, many families move here and live a lower standard of living than they could get elsewhere because they value the school system. Houses in our county often run 50% higher than surrounding areas. But a smaller house is a great trade for a bigger education, don’t you think?
Nevertheless, I understand the need for Head Start and other programs. If the cure to poverty is education, then education should be offered at an earlier age to people who are poor.
The biggest obstacle, of course, is what we call generational poverty. This isn’t the kind of poverty that is temporary from job loss, divorce, illness, etc. Generational poverty is a situation in which the child is poor, his parents are poor, and the generations before that were poor. Poverty is all they’ve ever known. They don’t understand how to escape it. In fact, you could give them a million dollars and you’ll create temporary wealth, but poverty will come back to them in a few short years (or less).
In conclusion, the truth is (according to this 18-year veteran teacher) that the only way people in poverty will escape it is if they not only get education at an early age, but if they and their families value the generous opportunity provided by the hard-working taxpayers who make up the majority of citizens. It’s a social issue. Most people who work hard and pay taxes don’t mind social programs that help the poor IF the people in poverty appreciate and use that opportunity to grow and become productive citizens themselves. In that way we all benefit. But if we put little children into pre-K classrooms for 3-7 hours and the remaining 17-21 hours are spent in a section of society that doesn’t appreciate education–or worse, resents education–then it’s money wasted.
It’s also a civil rights issue. People like MLK weren’t just fighting for one particular group of people. They were fighting for the poor, so when people in poverty (regardless of race) choose to live a life of ignorance by avoiding the voting booth and by avoiding education and hard work, they are dishonoring the memory of those selfless and brave civil rights leaders who gave everything they had in the name of service to their fellow human beings. I’m a huge fan of Rosa Parks and MLK Jr., and I choose to honor those heroes by working hard, treating others as fairly as I can, and by avoiding behaviors that are harmful to my fellow Americans. I also honor their sacrifices by engaging in learning and participating in elections.
I don’t have all the answers, but I do know that our educational problems in America have nothing to do with the school buildings, the school supplies, or the teachers. It’s a social issue.
Many educators have a wonderful heart, but a midguided notion that schools can shape society. On the contrary, it’s the society that shapes the schools. A school is a window into the surrounding community. The community gets the child for 70% of the day, and the school gets the other 30% (if that). If you want to know what a community is like, look no further than the school.
The tail cannot wag the dog. The dog wags the tail. The dog is society and the school is the tail. If the tail is wagging happily, that’s because the entire dog is happy. If the tail is drooping and low, it’s not because the tail has a problem. It’s the dog.
Mitch
February 12th, 2013
4:01 pm
As a “Talk Show” state, we just barely need schools at all. Facts and figures just slow us down. Evidence submitted in many of these blogs to our level of literance.
I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming...
February 12th, 2013
4:54 pm
Let’s see… call those who happen to support the president, “stupid,” “Obama Zombies,” “you people,” “wide eyed worshipers,” with their “head stuck in a kool-aide bucket.” Go on to refer to the president himself as a “lying politician,” “dictating”,” “threatening,” “pathological liar” and “complete failure.” And then wonder why we can’t get manage to work together to solve the major problems facing this country REGARDLESS of who is presently in the White House.
I don’t know about everyone else, but when someone refers to me in such unflattering terms because I happen to hold a differing view on a topic, I tend not to want to listen to anything they have to say. And if we can’t LISTEN, we can’t work together. And if we can’t work together, we ALL FAIL! Do you think the downfall of this country is only going to affect one party? It is going to affect us all! And no one person or one party has all the answers!
As to the topic at hand, given the opportunity I would definitely suggest making an effort to have a child meet the president. I can remember my elementary school class going to see President Ford years ago. I was just a wee thing, and knew nothing of politics, but I still remember the excitement, the waving flags, and the energy of the moment. THAT was a memory that lives with me, and is worth providing for your child if you can.
I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming...
February 12th, 2013
5:24 pm
@GC “When areyou going to report on the U.S. Dept. of Education study that showed these Pre-K/Headstart programs were at best worthless and generally harmful?”
I think such a topic would be very interesting. However, I certainly would never trust a “summary” of the study put out by the Heritage Foundation. The Heritage Foundation is an extremely biased think tank, and reports only a portion of the overall findings – the portion that supports their agenda. The actually offical report is much more complex and detailed. And very long… 346 pages long. There was very little in the official report that suggested an “overall harmful” effect… there were some negative impacts concerning specific target areas within specific subgroups. There were also some very positive impacts for specific subgroups, so no, the program was not completely “worthless.”
Perhaps, rather than completely dismissing the Head Start program based upon a biased, pithy one page summary of a 346 page report, we should discuss which subgroups benefited from the program, and if the program should be revamped based upon such findings.
GC
February 12th, 2013
8:07 pm
How about another summary from Brookings http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/brown-center-chalkboard/posts/2013/01/16-preschool-whitehurst
GC
February 12th, 2013
8:19 pm
From the executive summary in the full report:
In summary, there were initial positive impacts from having access to Head Start, but by the end of 3rd grade there were very few impacts found for either cohort in any of the four domains of cognitive, social-emotional, health and parenting practices. The few impacts that were found did not show a clear pattern of favorable or unfavorable impacts for children.
I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming...
February 12th, 2013
8:23 pm
Thank you. I much prefer the Brookings summary for it actually tries to address the findings in ways that are positive, and not simply suggest tossing out the baby with the bathwater. I do think that in light of the research, some changes need to be made in the Head Start program…perhaps a narrower focus on those subgroups that benefited the most.
I personally know of a teacher who went into Head Start, thinking she was going to help low-income students prepare for school by learing their ABCs etc. She was disillusioned to discover that most of her time was actually spent potty training her young charges, teaching them how to eat with cutlery and not their fingers, and getting them to vocalize and not just point to things they wanted.
GC
February 12th, 2013
8:39 pm
Good to be optimistic, but the Report didn’t show any lasting benefit for any subgroup.
Educator
February 12th, 2013
9:39 pm
Some of the postings on here are pathetic. Get your facts straight about City Schools of Decatur and College Heights before ranting off incorrect information. As an educator at College Heights I have yet to see any correct demographic information on your posts as well as any correct information about the structure of the school. Don’t assume anything and get the facts correct. Instead of pissing on anyone’s parade take a minute and recognize the teachers who have obviously created a high quality program which deserves to be recognized and honored. Have you never had a teacher impact your life or your child’s? Take a minute from your fierce and angry posts and see the big picture and the impact the recognition has on the teachers in this program who have worked so hard to create a program which is being distinguished as a model program. This is a big day for us if it was your son, daughter, granddaughter, etc you would want them to have this moment in time.
CSD Parent/Teacher
February 12th, 2013
11:02 pm
CSD teachers are not required to be there. You must have us confused with another (larger, local) system. However, I’m not sure you’d find many who are in town who would refuse the opportunity. Regardless of your political affiliation, the opportunity to see a sitting President is exciting.
I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming...
February 13th, 2013
6:22 am
@GC Good to be optimistic, but the Report didn’t show any lasting benefit for any subgroup.
Reading through the report itself (not the summaries you provided) it appears that there were lasting positive effects for a couple subgroups – children from high risk homes and black students, with the crossover of the two being impacted most. However, admittedly I only skimmed the 346 pages… so I may be mistaken. Still, I would suggest going to the original primary document before making any sweeping statements one way or the other.
Cassandra Olivier
February 13th, 2013
7:44 am
will he be going anywhere else and if not is anybody allowed at the school
GC
February 13th, 2013
4:08 pm
I guess you are saying the executive summary in the report itself is wrong. You probably ought to let the feds know their own summary of their report is wrong….
I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming...
February 13th, 2013
5:38 pm
GC Had to go for to snarky, did you? Nice. And here I thought we were having a pleasant conversation.
I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming...
February 13th, 2013
5:57 pm
Re: the Head Start report
A summary is just that… a summary. It condenses a lot of material down into a manageable blurb. However, in doing so, one loses a lot of the nuances. Nuances such as:
There were minimal impacts for the 4-year-old cohort in this domain, with two exceptions: at the end of the Head Start year, parents in the Head Start group were less likely to use time out11 as a disciplinary practice than were parents in the control group and at the end of 3rd grade, there was strong evidence of a large favorable impact on parental reports of the amount of time they spent with their child.
At the end of the age 4 year, there was a favorable impact on parenting, with parents of children in the Head Start group less likely to use an authoritarian parenting style (characterized by high control and low warmth) than parents of children in the control group.
Evidence of impacts on parenting continued in kindergarten, 1st and 3rd grades.
‒ At the end of kindergarten, there was suggestive evidence that parents of children in the Head Start group were less likely to spank their children and moderate evidence that these parents were less likely to use time out
At the end of 3rd grade, the most striking sustained subgroup finding was related to children from high risk households. For this subgroup, children in the 3-year old cohort demonstrated sustained cognitive impacts across all the years from pre-K through 3rd grade. …. This was in contrast to the impacts for children in lower and moderate risk households, for whom there were no impacts. Those children who started out with more familial stressors than their peers were found to have multiple positive impacts on the direct student assessments over time. Also, among the 3-year-old cohort, children of parents with no reported depressive symptoms experienced sustained benefits of Head Start in the cognitive domain through the end of 3rd grade and in the social-emotional and parenting practices domain through the end of 1st grade.
Among the 4-year-olds, the subgroups that demonstrated sustained benefits are children of parents who reported mild depressive symptoms, severe depressive symptoms, and Black children. Head Start children of parents reporting mild depressive symptoms demonstrated favorable cognitive impacts through the end of 3rd grade. This was in contrast to those with no, moderate, or severe depressive symptoms. However, favorable impacts were reported only at the end of the Head Start year for parents with severe depressive symptoms. In the parenting and social-emotional domains, predominantly favorable parent-reported impacts were sustained for children of parents with severe depressive symptoms. Black children experienced favorable impacts in the social-emotional domain at the end of kindergarten through 3rd grade as reported by teachers, parents, and the child self-report.
Finally, several subgroups experienced solely-or primarily-unfavorable impacts of Head Start that were sustained through 3rd grade. For the 4-year-old cohort, this included White children, who had unfavorable impacts in the social-emotional domain, and for the 3-year-old cohort, children of parents with mild depressive symptoms, who also had unfavorable impacts in the social-emotional domain. Many subgroups in both age cohorts experienced a mixture of favorable and unfavorable impacts, particularly in the social-emotional domain.
Personally, I find these types of findings of interest, because it suggests that, while the program overall may not have benefited the majority of the students enrolled, it was beneficial to certain subgroups, and perhaps THOSE are the students who should be targeted with such programs. In this way, the benefits of the program can be sustained for those groups, while cutting back on the overall expenditure on the program.