NEWS & OPINIONS
Fundraiser special guests: Jeff and Jimmy Kemp
GCO is thrilled to have Jeff and Jimmy Kemp join us at our annual fundraiser on December 4, 2014 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. Jeff and Jimmy will be with us to share recollections of their father, the late Jack Kemp, and discuss why his legacy...
Breakthrough Ambassadors College Campus Tour
Visit Duke and UNC Chapel Hill on 11/23/14 - 11/24/14 with Breakthrough Ambassadors. The tour is open to parents and 10th - 12th grade high school students. Check out this fantastic opportunity through Breakthrough Ambassadors to visit UNC Chapel Hill and Duke for an...
Breakthrough Showcase – Business Community
Click the link to register for the event: secure.foropportunity.org/breakthroughshowcase
Save The Date: Reception and Annual Fundraiser
Join us at the College Football Hall of Fame on December 4, 2014 to celebrate the life and legacy of the late Jack Kemp. Register to Attend
10/16/14 EVENT: Hope for Failing Schools
Imagine taking schools performing in the bottom 5 percent of all schools in a district, where reading proficiency is 22 percent and math proficiency is less than 3 percent (no, that's not a typo!), and doubling and tripling those numbers in just two years time. That...
The State of Corrections in Georgia
Every Georgian is affected by the criminal justice system in some way. Whether it is paying taxes to fund the more than a billion dollars spent on prisons each year or knowing a loved one who has spent time behind bars, the justice system is becoming an increasingly...
The Gifted Education Foundation
Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) desires to see students flourish. As a way of realizing this vision, GCO supports organizations that have a similar heartbeat to see students succeed. One such organization is the Gifted Education Foundation (Gifted). This summer,...
Recommendations for Expanding Access to Quality Healthcare
This is the sixth entry in a series of posts highlighting GCO’s new report - Increasing Access to Quality Healthcare for Low-Income Uninsured Georgians. The first entry provided an overview of the report, the second looked at Georgia’s healthcare safety net, the third...
Fellowship Friday: Relationships Open the Door to Educational Attainment
Hidden beneath academic benchmarks, league tables, and other measures of success in education, are the relationships and personal traits that fuel positive and negative outcomes for students.
State Politics DO Matter
By Jacob Stubbs, GCO Legislative Intern While I was a government major as an undergraduate, I had never really encountered anything close to actual politics. This is not necessarily a bad thing, for I was quite interested in the philosophical systems that underlie the...
Georgia Considers Privatization of Child Welfare System
A bill to privatize most of the state's child welfare services was introduced this week by Senator Unterman (R-Buford). The legislation, Senate Bill 350, would require the Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) to develop a plan by January of 2015 by which...
School Choice – All Options Aren’t Created Equal
In a recent article addressing school choice alternatives – particularly the Georgia Tax Credit Scholarship program and its $58 million annual cap – some integral details regarding the execution of various school choice alternatives were somewhat blended together. We...
MEDIA MENTIONS
CENTER SQUARE: Kemp reopens parts of Georgia’s economy; some businesses can open Friday
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced plans Monday to reopen certain businesses across the state, rolling back part of the stay-at-home order scheduled to expire April 30. Gyms, fitness centers, bowling alleys, body art studios, barbers, cosmetologists, nail techs and...
WSAV – Georgia’s May primary could get postponed again
Humanitarian issues are the basis behind some concern that Georgia’s already postponed presidential primary election may get postponed a second time. The issue was brought up again after Governor Kemp’s order to shelter in place. Secretary of State Brad...
THE CENTER SQUARE – SNAP applications in Georgia jump sharply during COVID-19 crisis
Applications to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have increased by 79 percent in less than a week in Georgia amid the COVID-19 outbreak, state officials said. The health crisis, which has led to the social distancing requirements and...
THE CENTER SQUARE – Georgia Senate approves plan to expand Special Needs Scholarship program
A bill that could increase the number of scholarships the Georgia Department of Education awards to special needs students is on its way to the House for review. Senate Bill 386 would expand the eligibility requirements for the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship. The...
THE CENTER SQUARE – Higher tax incentives for adoption could result in Georgia revenue loss of more than $12M
Gov. Brian Kemp’s proposal to increase foster care adoption tax credits could result in a state revenue loss of $12.8 million over the next five years, according to fiscal researchers. Kemp wants the General Assembly to increase the annual tax incentive from $2,000 to...
MCDUFFIE PROGRESS – Georgia Education Savings Account debate comes in the midst of tax-credit scholarship court battle
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last week in a Montana school choice case that could change how public funds are used to support private religious schools in Georgia, while lawmakers are expected to push for more vouchers during this legislative session.......
THE CENTER SQUARE – Georgia Education Savings Account debate comes in the midst of tax-credit scholarship court battle
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last week in a Montana school choice case that could change how public funds are used to support private religious schools in Georgia, while lawmakers are expected to push for more vouchers during this legislative session.......
AJC – Parental paid leave makes inroads in Georgia after years of resistance
Three months of paid leave, maid service and a year of free diapers. Those are among the parental perks the Midtown software firm SalesLoft is using to lure top talent through its doors — and keep them there. SalesLoft is an outlier among companies in Georgia, which...
