Education Promise Scholarships Should be a Winning Issue

by Buzz Brockway | Jul 27, 2022

Education Promise Scholarships Should be a Winning Issue

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a watershed moment for expanding educational options for Georgia students. For many parents and families, the pandemic was the crisis point that showed them, in stark reality, the dire need for a full menu of educational options – whether that be a traditional public school, a public charter school, virtual educational programs or home education.

You don t have to look far to understand why. During the worst of the pandemic and resulting school closures, many familes were forced into alternative ways of schooling for tthe first time ever. Families’ experience with how traditional public schools handled the shift to distance learning were mixed and inconsistent. Some schools and teachers excelled, ensuring students did not lose out on learning. Others threw their hands up –and the towel in — early. Kids have suffered as a result.

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Fixing things at the local level without government

by Randy Hicks | Jul 14, 2022

Fixing things at the local level without government

Inflation, recession , and stagflation are on the minds of most people.

A recent Wall Street Journal-NORC poll showed that most people think the economy is in trouble. More than 4 in 5 people, 83% of respondents, said the nation’s economy is “poor or not so good.” What’s more, a New York Times poll released this week found that more than 75% of registered voters believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.

At the same time, distrust of institutions is reaching an all-time high. Polling from State Policy Network and Morning Consult shows that trust in the federal government is down to 15%, with state governments faring only slightly better at 22%. News organizations, the educational system, and labor unions are at or below 20%. And President Joe Biden’s approval rating is at a net minus 12%.

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Local Nonprofit Breaking Down Barriers to Poverty | Peachtree Corners Magazine

by Corey Burres | Jul 7, 2022

Local Nonprofit Breaking Down Barriers to Poverty | Peachtree Corners Magazine

With gas prices soaring and supply chain issues driving up consumer prices, it’s not hard to imagine more individuals are struggling to make ends meet. Complicate those issues with a lack of education, medical issues, trouble within the home or other barriers to success and you find some families hanging by a thread. Some find themselves homeless.

The Peachtree Corners-based Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) is working to break down those barriers to ensure everyone has access to a quality education, fulfilling work and a healthy family life.

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WATCH: These powerful stories show why we need to share the Success Sequence each and every day

by David Bass | Jun 9, 2022

WATCH: These powerful stories show why we need to share the Success Sequence each and every day

Key Points

All young people — not just those who come from rich families — deserve to know this “secret to success”: get an education, work hard, get married, and then have children.
No matter the challenges young people face, there is a path to build a bright future — through the Success Sequence.
Institute for Family Studies has shared 3 powerful videos that show the face and opportunity brought by the Success Sequence.

The Success Sequence and its impact

“The choice of having children too early is one you’ll have to play catch up with for the rest of your life.”

“I wish that I had made some different decisions when I was young. Think before you act. Definitely be intentional about the decisions you’re making at that age, because they do have a lasting effect on your life.”

“Having to get food donated to us was the bottom of my life.”

Those are just a few of the powerful quotes contained in the narrative stories — called Straight Talk About the Success Sequence — in a series of new videos on the Success Sequence from the Institute for Family Studies.

The basic premise of this campaign is simple: All young people — not just those who come from rich families — deserve to know this “secret to success”: get an education, work hard, get married, and then have children.

As you know, the Success Sequence is a powerful and proven way for even the most disadvantaged men and women to avoid poverty and to have a shot at the stable, happy family life they really want.

The Success Sequence:
His Story

Part One: Men

The numbers prove it all

Statistics show that 97% of young people who follow these steps are not poor later in life, and fully 85% of them enter the middle class.

Can it really be that simple? That’s what’s so great about the Success Sequence: The answer is simple, but the key is to get the information to young people at the right time.

No matter the challenges young people face, there is a path to build a bright future — through the Success Sequence.

It’s organizations like the Georgia Center for Opportunity that are bringing the truth of the Success Sequence to young people every day. Whether it’s GCO’s work to expand educational options for all students, bring career opportunities to the impoverished, or bringing relationship enrichment classes to local communities, we are on the front lines. The Institute for Family Studies recognizes this.

The Success Sequence:
Her Story

Part Two: Women

“The Success Sequence is only effective as a concept if it’s shared in practical ways with young people,” said Brad Wilcox, senior fellow at the Institute for Family Studies. “On-the-ground organizations like the Georgia Center for Opportunity play a key role in this. Our young people deserve to know about their potential to take hold of the American Dream.”

Please share these important videos on social media, with your friends and family, and with young people in your life who need to hear this important message. We need to spread the word on the Success Sequence so that other young people don’t face the same struggles in life faced by Scott, Stephanie, and Caylie and Carlos.

The Success Sequence:
Their Story

Part Three: Cohabitation

The U.S. Department of Education has approved Georgia’s request to waive several testing and attendance measurements

by Buzz Brockway | Jun 7, 2022

The U.S. Department of Education has approved Georgia’s request to waive several testing and attendance measurements

Key Points

Georgia’s request to waive several testing and attendance measurements for the 2022 school year was approved by U.S. Dept. of Education
This move locks in the learning loss that took place during the COVID-19
American Relief Package Act requires at least 20% of funds be spent on recovering learning loss

Georgia’s request approved

The U.S. Department of Education has approved Georgia’s request to waive several testing and attendance measurements for the 2022 school year. “Our goal is to establish a new baseline, rather than compare your schools’ performance to pre-pandemic norms,” said School Superintendent Richard Woods.

The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take:

“By doing this we are locking in the learning loss that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Buzz Brockway, vice president of GCO. “This means for some students, they will never recover from the pandemic learning loss they experienced, nor are they expected to recover. This ignores the millions and millions of dollars Georgia’s school districts are being sent via the American Relief Package Act, which requires that at least 20% of those funds be spent on recovering learning loss. What will local districts do with that money? Is giving up best for students? Georgia’s parents should march in loud protest to accepting that pandemic learning loss is the new norm.”

An epidemic of teen depression (and what to do about it)

by David Bass | Apr 27, 2022

An epidemic of teen depression (and what to do about it)

An epidemic of teen depression (and what to do about it)

Key Takeaways:

In the last 10 years, the number of teens identifying as having “experienced persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness” doubled.
School connectedness was a key barometer of how well teens fared mentally.
Teens tend to be more isolated than their peers of past decades, more reliant on social media and smartphones to create a type of “pseudo community.”
GCO’s priorities is to offer relationship enrichment classes in local communities and schools.

Full Report: Click Here

Nothing in life can replace genuine community

The United States has a teen depression problem. And it’s only getting worse.

That assessment is based off a new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released in April. It found that 44% of teens “experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” in the most recent 12-month period. What’s more, 20% of teens “had seriously considered attempting suicide” and 9% “had attempted suicide.”

What’s truly eye-opening is when you compare these statistics with the reported mental health status of teens a decade ago. In 2009, for example, just 26% of teens reported having consistent feelings of sadness and despair. That means in roughly the last decade, the rate of teens who feel this way has nearly doubled. Rates of teens attempting suicide (from 14% to 19%) or committing suicide (6% to 9%) also increased during that period.

The COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened the problem, as teens have been more isolated than ever. The CDC survey was of 7,700 teens conducted in the first six months of 2021, when the young people were still mired in the worst of the pandemic school shutdowns and social isolation.

“These data echo a cry for help,” said CDC acting principal deputy director Debra Houry in a statement. “The COVID-19 pandemic has created traumatic stressors that have the potential to further erode students’ mental wellbeing.”

Importantly, the CDC report found that school connectedness was a key barometer of how well teens fared mentally. “Youth who felt connected to adults and peers at school were significantly less likely than those who did not to report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness,” the study concluded.

What’s interesting about this anecdote from the CDC report is the emphasis on community and positive social relationships in maintaining good mental health. Today’s teens tend to be more isolated than their peers of past decades, more reliant on social media and smartphones to create a type of “pseudo community.”

As a recent article in The Atlantic points out, “Compared with their counterparts in the 2000s, today’s teens are less likely to go out with their friends, get their driver’s license, or play youth sports.”

It goes without saying that the pandemic only worsened these problems. What’s more, our nation’s public discourse has continued to deteriorate and today has never been more toxic, in large part fed by a culture drenched in social media.

The Success Sequence provides an outline of how to reverse the cycle of poverty in our communities. GCO uses this as a framework for much of our work.

Again to quote The Atlantic, “Outwardly, teens are growing up slower; but online, they’re growing up faster. The internet exposes teenagers not only to supportive friendships but also to bullying, threats, despairing conversations about mental health, and a slurry of unsolvable global problems—a carnival of negativity. Social media places in every teen’s pocket a quantified battle royal for scarce popularity that can displace hours of sleep and makes many teens, especially girls, feel worse about their body and life. Amplify these existing trends with a global pandemic and an unprecedented period of social isolation, and suddenly, the remarkable rise of teenage sadness doesn’t feel all that mysterious, does it?”

Solutions to this problem are not easy, but we know from our work at the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) that nothing in life can replace genuine community. That community ranges from a good school to a healthy family life to thriving relationships to meaningful work. Teenagers need this just as much as adults — perhaps even more so as they pass through these key years of development.

One of GCO’s priorities is to offer relationship enrichment classes in local communities and schools. That includes students in middle and high school. Joyce Mayberry, vice president of GCO’s family team, “Teaching young people the dynamics of healthy relationships is so important, now more than ever. We’re seeing the devastating results of a loss of meaningful relationships, but it’s not too late to reverse course. All it takes is a direct investment in sharing the tools and approaches that work with young people.”

The bottom line is this: A key way to combat this epidemic of teen depression and poor mental health is through real community, where teens experience relationships face-to-face with friends, family, and broader society. That’s also one of the best ways to break the social media addiction — substituting real relationships for fake ones in a virtual world. Ultimately, it all loops back to community.