by David Bass | Sep 27, 2019
Breakthrough 2019’s Education Panel – Building Student Networks
The first step in the Success Sequence is to get a good education. On Wednesday, September 11, attendees at Breakthrough 2019 heard from an outstanding panel describing how schooling is key to expanding opportunities for the impoverished in Atlanta and across Georgia.
Philip Ross, of Bright Futures Academy, shared with us how he serves his 80 students in one of the most crime-ridden zip codes in the nation. Beyond the basics of a sound education, the goal is to prepare students for the workforce with solid soft skills. “The practical life skills are paramount to success for these young people. If you don’t know how to dress for an interview, shake a hand, and carry on a conversation with a peer in the workplace, you are not going to climb the ladder. You might not even get on the ladder,” Philip said.
Ana Rector, of Youth Entrepreneurs, shared an exciting statistic: 30 percent of her graduates go on to start businesses of their own and employ others. Her organization’s chief goal is to encourage students to think entrepreneurial—even if they don’t launch a business, that type of thinking will benefit them and their future employers. “Most of our magic happens outside of the classroom—that’s where we believe students learn and thrive, and they really figure out where they fit in the world,” Ana said.
Jim Hollinsworth, of the Path Project, noted that since his organization’s founding in 2010, the graduation rate in the troubled neighborhoods they serve has jumped from 45 percent to 90 percent. “The biggest challenge we see for students to graduate is simply having people who believe in them,” Jim shared.
There is a lot more about Breakthrough 2019 yet to come. Stay tuned for more videos and recaps in the near future. And be sure to sign up for our newsletter to get updates as they become available.
by David Bass | Aug 27, 2019
Education designed for everyone and every learning need
Every day we are greeted by options—from the many products available through local grocery stores to the millions of apps available on smartphones. So, why would we expect anything different in education?
As Georgia’s schoolchildren head back to class this month, it’s a question worth pondering: Should education be a one-size-fits-all issue? For many students, their locally zoned and assigned school is indeed the best option. But other families need alternative options to help their children succeed.
Students in poverty
Think of students like those in Atlanta’s 30314 zip code, one of the poorest and most crime-ridden areas in the country.
This small slice of Atlanta accounts for six out of every 10 murders in the city. In just this one ZIP Code alone, about 40 percent of people live below the poverty line. And the median household income is just $25,000 a year.
While we all want to see public schools improve in this area, that cause will take years if not decades. Meanwhile, more and more students will fall behind and, in many cases, into a life of crime.
For students in the 30314, we can’t afford to wait another day, another week, another month, or another year. They need options right now—options like Bright Futures Academy, a school specifically designed to give kids a solid shot at getting the good education they need to thrive in life and succeed as adults.
Students with special needs
Or take the example of students with special needs. In many instances, local schools are ill-equipped to handle the unique needs of these students. That was certainly the case for Cammie Alkire and her daughter, Savannah, who has had severe learning disabilities from an early age.
Cammie calls Savannah “her million-dollar child” because that’s how all of the medical care and therapies have cost over the years.
Although the Alkires support the local public school system (Cammie is a graduate of Forsyth County Public Schools), they weren’t willing to subject Savannah to another year of bullying in order to qualify for Georgia’s Special Needs Scholarship.
Today, Savannah is enrolled in a small private Christian school that’s meeting her unique needs. But the Alkires struggle each month to meet the cost of her care entirely on their own.
“These are the kids who fall through the cracks. They get bullied. They turn out to be cutters. They are emotionally and mentally struggling, but not screaming loud enough to hear. And our government refuses to extend any type of financial help to these parents,” Cammie shared with us.
A way forward
Every child is different. That’s why we come alongside families to support the best possible choices for their children, rather than pigeonhole them into only one choice.
by David Bass | Aug 20, 2019
Foster families in Georgia need better educational options—here’s how to help them
Gina McCarn will be the first to tell you that being a foster parent is tough. But well worth the effort.
The trouble is, not everyone sees and acknowledges the sacrifices that foster families make. Take the world of education, for example. One of Gina’s foster sons, Michael*, has been in upwards of 20 schools during his educational journey.
Michael suffers from dyslexia and dysgraphia. He has experienced trauma, neglect, and abuse that have also contributed to his learning challenges.
The local public school simply wasn’t a great fit for Michael. The McCarns needed other options.
Hope for Michael
The McCarns’ local public school flagged Michael for reading challenges in the first grade, but they never put interventions in place because he didn’t have a parent advocate. When the McCarns met Michael in third grade, he wasn’t able to read even at a basic level.
Fast forward to today: Thanks to a local private tutor specializing in tutoring dyslexic learners, Michael is thriving. He’s grown from a kindergarten to second-grade reading level. However, he still needs all the help he can get.
“We’re just continuing to lose more time as more years pass,” Gina says. “He’s a really smart kid who can’t advance right now because he doesn’t have what he needs.”
Families like the McCarns are sacrificing so much to foster and adopt children. The least we can do is pull out all the stops to ensure they have most educational options possible.
Solutions for foster families
A big way that Georgia can do that is by updating the Special Needs Scholarship Program to waive the one-year residency requirement for foster families, treating them with the same respect we give to military families currently in the law.
Foster families like the McCarns would also benefit from an Educational Scholarship Account (ESAs), which are an innovative way for parents to pay for non-public educational options for their children. Right now, the McCarns must cover the entire cost for Michael’s specialized tutoring. An ESA would provide a much-needed lifeline to defray the expense.
ESAs empower parents to direct the money the state would have spent on their child to things like tuition, tutors, adaptive technology, therapy, and curriculum to truly customize an education that best meets each child’s needs.
For families like the McCarns, the help can’t come soon enough.
*Not his real name to protect his identity and safety.
by David Bass | Aug 8, 2019
Some food for thought as kids head back to school
Many Georgia students return to the classroom this month. For most, the last days before school begins are an exciting time to squeeze in that last bit of summer fun and get stocked up on school supplies.
But for students in poverty, a new school year often brings levels of anxiety that most folks are unaware of.
For some perspective, here are some barriers to success that far too many Georgia students face:
- Vocabulary
Kids in poverty hear fewer spoken words than their affluent peers—setting in motion huge differences in vocabulary attainment and academic achievement that follow them the rest of their lives.
- Hunger
Kids in poverty often come to school hungry. In Georgia, more than 500,000 children experience hunger and are more likely to have lower math scores, be held back a grade, and lag behind language, motor skills, and behavior.
- Lack of enrichment
Kids in poverty are more likely to lack enriching opportunities in music, art, and theater than affluent kids. In fact, 70% of Georgia school district leaders say poverty is the most significant issue limiting student learning.
- Language barriers
Kids in poverty are more likely to come from homes where English is not spoken. In Atlanta, 7% of students do not speak English at home—creating another obstacle to overcome at school.
Knowing each child experiences education differently is a mandate for our education system to be malleable. Children of all backgrounds and experiences must have equal access to quality public education as well as individualized education options.
by David Bass | Jun 3, 2019
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 arena we collaborated with key legislators to put into action House Bill 787, which had been approved by the legislature in the previous session. This new law creates equitable facilities funding for charter schools—allowing them to receive funds for their facilities on par with those given to traditional public schools.
Job Licensing Reform
On the employment front, our team successfully worked to pass a key piece of occupational licensing reform legislation. Now, people who get behind on their student loan payments won’t risk losing their occupational licensing—helping to ensure that more Georgians will be able to get a good job and keep it after completing their education.
Removing The Welfare Cliff of Healthcare
On welfare reform, we worked with Governor Brian Kemp’s administration to move forward healthcare waivers for Georgia. This crucial step toward full welfare reform would remove built-in benefit cliffs while adding work requirements for public assistance. Ultimately, this helps our fellow Georgians break free from governmental dependency and lead renewed lives of dignity and purpose.
We Are Just Getting Started
While we are proud of these successes, there’s still much work to be done in the next legislative session, particularly in the educational arena. Unfortunately, lawmakers fell short of passing Educational Savings Accounts (ESAs) this year. However, the good news is that we came closer than ever to success—and we’re optimistic that ESAs will become a reality next year. In fact, the high level of co-sponsor support from Governor Kemp’s floor leaders signals that this important issue will likely return for consideration in the next legislative session.
When it comes to ESAs, the stakes are high for thousands of Georgia students and their families. Not only would ESAs help parents like Katie Gonzalez—a mother of seven adopted children, including six with special needs—they would offer much-needed flexibility and assistance to students from low-income families, those adopted from foster care, children of active duty military stationed in Georgia, students with an Individualized Education Program, and those with a documented history of being bullied.
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead to 2020, GCO will continue to work toward implementing common-sense reforms on not just ESAs, but also in welfare and occupational licensing to ensure that every Georgian has the opportunity to flourish through a great education, steady employment, and healthy family life. The bottom line is that we are optimistic that the legislative successes coming out of the 2019 session will translate into passage of more key legislation next year.
by Jonathan Butcher | Feb 21, 2019
By Contributing Scholar: Jonathan Butcher
As a teacher, Julie Young knew her grandson was going to need help outside of the classroom. He had been diagnosed with dyslexia, and he struggled to “retain anything he saw on paper,” Julie said.
Julie and her family live in Arizona, where students with special needs are among the children eligible for education savings accounts. Julie applied for an account and saw results almost immediately.
She used the account to enroll him in occupational therapy, and “within a matter of weeks, I noticed a huge improvement,” Julie says. “His OT helped him memorize his multiplication tables by using silly songs. Every day he made gains in areas that never seemed to stick before,” she says.
With an education savings account, the state deposits a portion of a child’s funds from the state education formula into a private account that parents use to buy education products and services for their children. Lawmakers in six states have enacted such laws, including Georgia’s neighbors: Florida, Tennessee, and Mississippi (Nevada and North Carolina legislators have also passed legislation).
The accounts are distinct from private school scholarships because parents and students can select multiple learning options simultaneously. It’s not unusual for account holders to find a personal tutor for their child, enroll their student in education therapy services, and pay for instructional materials to be used at home. Research from Arizona finds that approximately one-third of account holders use education savings accounts for a set of learning options. More than 40 percent of Florida account holders do so.
Parents want to be able to challenge their students and are prepared to customize their child’s learning experience. One Arizona mom explained that doctors had diagnosed her son as being on the autism spectrum, and despite special services in a district school, he had not learned to talk. After using an account to select a speech therapist of their choosing, “Nathan has learned to talk and he loves learning to spell and even reading books… He’s using complete sentences and even asking and answering questions on a regular basis.”
In Florida, a mom of three adopted children and two biological children uses an account (called Gardiner Scholarships) for her adopted daughter, Elizabeth, to buy instructional materials for use in the home. In an interview, the mom said, “I could reinforce what was and wasn’t happening in the classroom.” Today, Elizabeth has returned to a district school, and her mom says she “wouldn’t be where we are without the intense therapies that I was able to do because of the Gardiner scholarship.”
Now Georgia lawmakers are considering a proposal that would make accounts available to children with special needs, students from low income families, adopted children, students in active duty military families, and children who have been bullied in school.
Experiences from other states demonstrate that students from all walks of life can benefit from the accounts. Arizona lawmakers enacted the nation’s first law in 2011 for children with special needs but have expanded student eligibility since. By the 2015-2016 school year, approximately 40 percent of account holders were children that met other eligibility criteria: 15 percent of account holders were students previously assigned to failing schools; 11 percent were children from military families; 8 percent were adopted students; and 6 percent were Native American students living on tribal lands.
As for Julie, an education savings account has allowed her to set new goals for her grandson. “My grandson understands his limitations,” she says. “He has a long road to go before all of his basic skills are mastered, but I feel confident that so long as we can… [meet] his individual needs, he will succeed in anything he chooses to do.”
Every Georgia parent or loved one wants to have the same vision for success for their child. The education savings account proposal puts these aspirations within reach for thousands of students across the state. Every family wants to have an opportunity like this.
