by gaopp | Apr 2, 2014
Too often, parents in Georgia who have access to great school choice options fail to take advantage of them because many parents do not know that they exist. This is a constant dilemma that the school choice movement faces. To help address this, we partnered with all-girls charter school Ivy Preparatory Academy in Norcross to host a School Choice Lunch & Learn last month. Most of the parents, surprisingly, knew of their individual school choice options for their students. Some shared stories of how their pursuits were failed attempts because they lacked charter school options in their districts or because the financial assistance they were eligible for from the special needs scholarship left them with a remaining tuition balance far beyond what they could afford.
Though we have choice options (i.e. public school transfers, special needs scholarship, tax credit scholarships, and charter schools), this event helped to confirm for me that Georgia still has a long way to go to ensure that families are not limited in access to quality education because of their lack of income or the zip code in which they live.
“Georgia still has a long way to go to ensure that families are not limited in access to quality education”
Together, we can make a difference in the school choice movement and expand available options for students in need of better education or learning environments. I am so proud of those who attended and shared their personal stories and challenges in pursuing school choice. These parents also expressed their strong desire to stay engaged in the movement because they know too well how it feels not to have access to viable choice options and they want to remove these barriers for generations to come. Will you join them in this movement?
If you are interested in learning more about school choice or would like to become an advocate, please visit the Georgia Parents Alliance.
by Kimberly Sawatka | Mar 28, 2014
This week the Atlanta Science Festival offered a variety of events scattered across the city to indulge the curiosity of students young and old. As a self-admitted nerd, I was delighted to attend an event last night with the company of my 9 year old brother.
Prompted by his 3rd grade studies of space, my brother and I took full advantage of the festival by attending an open house at Agnes Scott College’s Bradley Observatory. The evening was hosted by the Astronomy Department, and visitors were able to learn about moon phases, view a planetarium show (my favorite part!), and tour the telescope tower amongst other science activities.
As we worked our way through the activity stations, I was thrilled to see my brother enhance his knowledge of the cosmos through such a fun community-based event. It is not every day that a student gets to engage professionals who work in unique areas such as astronomy. My brother really seemed to benefit from the opportunity to ask the professors as many questions as he could. Likewise, conversations with the undergraduate tour guides were a highlight for me. Hearing one student’s aspiration to work for NASA and another student’s study of life in space, I secretly hoped this experience planted a seed of interest in my brother.
Beyond looking through a telescope, my evening at the observatory emphasized the continuing need to spark interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). In the context of the College and Career Pathways initiative, this is particularly vital as America’s economy becomes more rooted in technical and specialized industries. Events such the Atlanta Science Festival are incredibly important as they not only offer early exposure to the careers of the future, but also facilitate partnerships that benefit schools, businesses, and families alike.
(If you would like to take part in Atlanta Science Week yourself, don’t miss Exploration Expo at the Georgia World Congress Center!)
by gaopp | Mar 27, 2014
This week GCO’s Eric Cochling spoke at a “2014 Legislative Roundup” event hosted by the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, their summary is included below:
Good enough on some levels but not good enough across-the-board.
That was their analysis of the 2014 General Assembly from Eric Cochling and Kyle Wingfield at our sold-out policy breakfast on Wednesday, March 26. Cochling is vice president of public policy at the Georgia Center for Opportunity and Wingfield is the conservative voice on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial pages.
“You saw a lot of excitement about certain ideas whether it was welfare reform or new school choice concepts coming through that made it through a chamber with vast majorities voting in favor of it but then it goes on to die in the other chamber,” Cochling said. “I would characterize the session as some positive things happened but many missed opportunities for a truly conservative policy movement forward.”
“Thirty-seven constitutional amendments were introduced and two will be on the ballot this fall,” Wingfield said. “Several would have been very good and would represent great progress for Georgia. They are not going to be there and the prospects of getting them on the ballot I would argue will only get worse in future years.”
Issues discussed in this YouTube video include criminal justice reform, federal balanced budget constitutional amendment initiatives, child welfare and foster care, transportation investment, tax credit scholarships and school choice, state income tax and pension reform, and Medicaid expansion and improved access to health care for all Georgians.
This content is courtesy of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, and can be seen in its original form HERE.
by Kimberly Sawatka | Mar 10, 2014
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.
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Over the past several months, the Georgia Center for Opportunity’s College and Career Readiness working group has focused on big-picture concepts relating to “college readiness”. Presentations by administrators from Georgia Gwinnett College, as well as from the Foundation for Educational Success, which creates and administers programs on non-cognitive variables, have helped shape our discussion so far.
Most recently, the working group turned its focus towards “career readiness” issues. Early on in the group’s work, panelists supported the ideas coming from Mike Rowe’s foundation, and his theory that American education has not been serving great numbers of American students:
“A trillion dollars in student loans. Record high unemployment. Three million good jobs that no one seems to want. The goal of Profoundly Disconnected is to challenge the absurd belief that a four-year degrees the only path to success.”
To continue its research in this area, this month the panelists heard from both state-level and national experts on various needs and approaches specific to Georgia.
Matthew Gambill, Executive Director of the Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education, spoke to the group and answered questions. The idea of considering CTAE courses as academic credits; the need for more (and more well-supported) career academies across the state; and the idea of trying new advisement approaches to strengthen school counselors’ relationships with individual students were all topics of conversation.
The group also heard from Bob Lerman of the Urban Institute and American University. Dr. Lerman has spoken on MSNBC about the need for apprenticeship programs in the U.S., and is a founder of the American Institute for Innovative Apprenticeship.
Dr. Lerman talked about the relative strength of apprenticeships in Georgia compared to other states, noting the Georgia Youth Apprenticeship Program. He also argues that the Common Core State Standards, because of their one-size-fits-all approach, especially in high school, set up the possibility, or even the probability, of crowding out career-based programs with their focus on college readiness. Ultimately, while Georgia is actually doing some work to promote education and training for careers, Dr. Lerman felt that some opportunities exist in the state for improvements, including getting local businesses more involved in the process of partnering with schools and setting up apprenticeships; keeping the standards for entry into apprenticeship programs high (as a point of comparison, Teach for America, which is rapidly growing and has a good reputation among academically strong students, has a very high bar for entry); and making sure students are getting good counseling, especially in 9th and 10th grades.
Both speakers independently echoed some of the ideas the working group has been hearing in the context of college readiness – that individual relationships with students matter; that students are seeking more and more specific choices and options in their educational careers; and that big, sweeping programs intended to solve every problem for everyone of Georgia’s nearly 2 million students might just be too big.
by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Feb 7, 2014
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 thought we’d take a minute to unpack some details about school choice and public funding of education.
First, the Tuition Tax Credit program is not a voucher program; rather, it simply allows individuals and corporations to donate money to Student Scholarship Organizations (SSO’s) that award scholarships to kids to attend private schools. A large number of these kids come from poorer families. Individuals or corporations contributing to SSO’s are eligible to receive dollar-for-dollar tax credits against their Georgia income tax liability for that year.
Second, those scholarships can only be used for private schools, not for homeschooling and not for charter schools. In fact, charter schools ARE public schools. So for what it’s worth, when a child leaves a traditional public school in order to attend a charter school, by definition, all the money being used to educate that child is still being spent by a public school.
Finally, it’s important to know that when a child leaves a traditional public school, the school no longer has the financial burden associated with educating that child. Additionally, the child rarely takes all of the money with him/her; a portion of the money – how much depends upon the program – stays at the original school. Typically, the amount the school keeps is not greater than the amount that is lost, but it hardly matters because they are keeping some portion of the money designated to educate a child who is no longer there. That means that on a “per pupil” basis, the school does have more money after a child leaves to take advantage of one of the state’s school choice programs.
Given the span of time in which the tax credit cap was met, it is apparent that Georgians are eager to exercise choice when it comes to seeking the best educational options for their children. As previously discussed, this high demand is no surprise but there are still many Georgia students in need of the opportunities presented by programs like the tax credit scholarship.
by gaopp | Feb 6, 2014
By Dr. Danielle LeSure, GCO’s Director of Education Policy
Amazingly, over 600 students, parents, teachers, and school leaders crowded the Capitol in the middle of a snow storm to cheer for school choice options—charter schools, public school transfers, special needs and tax credit scholarship programs— on Tuesday, January 28.
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- Students have their photo taken to share their support of School Choice through social media.
After touring the Capitol and visiting with legislators, students were greeted by never ending snow flurries. While waiting for the rally to start on the steps of the Capitol, Governor Nathan Deal (GA) announced the closing of all state government buildings. Georgia Center for Opportunity’s Vice President Eric Cochling approached the crowd of students that were dancing to the song “Happy” from Despicable Me to deliver the news and lead everyone in a cheer. From the streets surrounding the Capitol you could hear voices shouting “more school choice, more school choice.”
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- Eric Cochling addresses the crowd at the rally and leads the cheers of “More school Choice!”
Though we were unable to hear from our scheduled speakers Governor Deal and actress Keshia Knight Pulliam who are strong supporters of choice, we did get to hear from those who benefit most from school choice—Georgia students. As they left, their footprints in the snow symbolized Georgia’s journey in the school choice movement. While we have many options in Georgia, there are still over 5,000 students on waiting lists for charter schools and many more students longing for a better option but private school costs are not affordable for their parents.
Georgia does not stand alone in its efforts to increase support for school choice. During the week of the rally, there were over 5,500 events nationwide celebrating school choice options. This is a record high according to an article by National School Choice Week.
- Two students showcasing the signs they prepared for the rally.
If you are or know of a parent who needs more information about choice or would like to become an advocate please visit the Georgia Parents Alliance. Together, we can continue to make a difference!
