NEWS & OPINIONS
Despite Guidelines, Many Georgia Students Not “College Ready”
Below is a guest blog by Dr. Eric Wearne of Georgia Gwinnett College and formerly with the Governor's Office of Student Achievement. Dr. Wearne currently leads GCO's College & Career Pathways working group. **************************** By: Dr. Eric Wearne What it...
Cage-Busting Leadership: Reforming Public Education from Within
Our team at GCO had the privilege of hosting Dr. Rick Hess this week. On Tuesday, Dr. Hess, who is an education scholar (and prolific writer) with the American Enterprise Institute, spoke at an early morning breakfast attended by a group of about 45 people that...
New Report: Increasing Employment Opportunities for Ex-Offenders
This week, Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) published its first report on ways to improve reentry for ex-offenders in the state. The report focuses on increasing employment opportunities for ex-offenders and offers six recommendations for the State of Georgia to...
Collective Impact “Knowledge Nuggets”
GCO’s Breakthrough Communities initiative is modeled, in part, on the collective impact framework developed by the Strive Partnership in Cincinnati, OH. Over the past few months we have participated in numerous opportunities to learn from Strive, most recently we...
MEDIA MENTIONS
Georgia considers restoring voting rights for ex-offenders
Georgia might be the next state to restore voting rights to past criminal offenders. The state’s Senate Study Committee on Revising Voting Rights for Nonviolent Felony Offenders held its first meeting Friday to discuss if it will take the step in criminal justice...
Georgia AG files legal brief protecting school choice
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr fears that if a Montana court’s restriction on school choice programs is not reversed, it will open the door for other state courts to enact similar laws. The Montana Supreme Court’s decision excludes religious schools from the...
More jobs in distressed areas could reduce Georgia’s poverty rate
More job opportunities for the poor could be the solution for poverty in Georgia, a free-market solutions advocate says. Georgia’s workforce and economy have shown promising growth, but new numbers released by the U.S. Census Bureau show poverty has declined in the...
DeKalb sheriff launches job training program for jail inmates
Some of the newest students at Georgia Piedmont Technical College reside in a high-rise less than two miles away. But the towering building is not one of luxury. It is the DeKalb County jail, and these nine inmates are the first to participate in a job training...
Georgia Gov. Kemp calls for state budget cuts
State agency officials in Georgia will have until Sept. 6 to come up with a plan to cut spending by 4 percent in 2020 and by 6 percent in 2021. Gov. Brian Kemp has instructed agency heads to submit amended budget proposals that reflect the cuts along with their 2021...
His college graduation was delayed by prison. Now a Perry student has a second chance.
Joshua Brown will tell you without much prompting that he served three years in prison for aggravated assault. He’s not proud of it. But he owns it. The Vidalia native, who lives in Perry, said his jail sentence was the result of a series of bad decisions. Two-thirds...
Best-selling author Tim Carney offers insights on America’s economic, cultural problems
America is in an economic and cultural crisis, as millions lack the tools that make a fulfilling life: A great education, stable job, and healthy relationships. The chief question, of course, is how to best connect our neighbors with opportunities that lead to a...
Successes During the 2019 Legislative Session
As the dust settles on another Georgia legislative session, we are pleased to report that the overall results for bills that GCO worked on to achieve passage were positive and encouraging. Education Opportunities Expand Once Again For starters, in the education...
