Why Georgia Needs to Win the 'Race to the Top'

The “Race to the Top” efforts are welcomed sign of a new era of expectations. We stand at intersection of opportunity and challenging the dysfunction of business as usual in Education. We have the opportunity to create and execute a vision for a well educated and prepared citizenry that is evidence of the best of who we are as a state and nation. The administration is challenging all of us to innovate, to think outside the box, and to try
new things all in the name of educational excellence.

This is not about the states’ ability to get more money to employ the same old strategies and expect different results. In the words of Dr. Howard Fuller said it best, if we allow the same people [and strategies] who raced us to the bottom to lead us in the “Race to the Top”, we are guaranteed to see the same kind of results. For Georgia, we are relegated to bottom five in SAT scores, we don’t know the true number of dropouts in our state, and we will keep lying to some students because as Secretary Duncan has said, “we dumb down our tests”, thus providing an unrealistic picture of academic success among our students.

New School Year Could Mean New School For Kids

Beginning July 1, a new day will dawn for Georgia parents and their children. For the first time, the state will have a uniform system allowing parents more power to choose the public school within their district that best fits their children's needs.

If there is space available and parents agree to provide transportation to the new school, a student can transfer. Districts are not prohibited from providing transportation to transferring students.

The US Department of Justice is Back

It was refreshing to read part of the decision made by the United States Department of Justice regarding Georgia’s Secretary of State’s office overzealous efforts during last year’s elections. For eight years, Georgia and other states that are protected under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act witnessed the Depart of Justice render anything but justice in most of the cases brought to its attention in the area of voting. Whether it was the infamous Voter ID issue or cases in other states where people were denied their right to vote, case after case the political appointees ignored the recommendations of veteran staff members and chose politics over protecting our constitutional rights.

2009 Legislative Session

The 2009 Session of the Georgia General Assembly ended like so many others in the past. Some left with a great deal of satisfaction, other left angry about the lost battles and fights they were never able to have. Although I had a session that many would consider quite productive, the feeling of just getting off the battlefield is one too familiar. Past sessions my battle scars were earned by standing up to the opposing party. It was to stop their efforts to weaken the political voice of the elderly, young and poor or to blast them for their policies that seek to exclude entire groups of people. This year my scars feel a little different. Perhaps they ache a little more because I wasn't expecting them to come from the same side.

What Swearing in of Barack Obama Means to Politics