by David Bass | Feb 5, 2019
The Georgia legislature is back in session, and school choice is likely to be a front and center issue. As we look to build off past school-choice successes in Georgia, a key priority will be to see Educational Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) become a reality.
Along these lines, a new national poll from EdChoice has some great news: Americans pick ESAs as their preferred K-12 educational choice option. This news comes at a great time for parents across Georgia who desperately need more options for their children.
ESAs are an innovative way for parents to pay for non-public educational options for their children (kids like Seth). ESAs allow 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.
These new survey results show that ESAs have the highest support among K-12 educational choice options (including majority support among public school teachers). Support for ESAs has risen from 64 percent in 2013 to 74 percent in 2018. In addition, the survey reveals across-the-board growing support for other school-choice options. Here are some of the highlights:
- Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of respondents support school vouchers, compared to one out of three (30 percent) who oppose them.
- Two out of three Americans (66 percent) express support for tax-credit scholarships, compared to about one in four (24 percent) who oppose them.
- Six out of 10 Americans (61 percent) say they support public charter schools, while 29 percent say they oppose charters.
- Compared to two years ago, nearly twice as many parents say they have taken on another job or changed jobs in order to support their children’s K-12 education.
The entire team at Georgia Center for Opportunity will be hard at work in 2019 to see ESAs pass in the state legislature. The time is ripe for Georgia to become the seventh state nationally to make ESAs available!
by David Bass | Jan 29, 2019
It may surprise you to learn that data from the U.S. Census data show that just 2.4 percent of those who work full-time year-round live in poverty. In contrast, 14 percent of those who did work—but not full-time, and not year-round—were in poverty, and fully 32 percent of those who did not work at all lived in poverty.
Surprisingly, these numbers are nothing new. Economist Lawrence Mead noted in his book From Prophesy to Charity: How to Help the Poor that the poverty rate in 2009 for those who worked at least a 35-hour work week for 50 weeks of the year was just 3 percent. Mead summarizes: “The lion’s share of adult poverty is due, at least in the first instance, to low working levels.”
Clearly, the key to escaping poverty isn’t merely raising wages, as important as that might be. It’s full-time (or close to full-time) work. And one of the key ways to help our neighbors escape poverty is straightforward and simple: help them get job training, land a stable job, and advance into higher paying positions over time.
To this end, we are proud of the impressive results flowing out of our workforce initiative, Hiring Well, Doing Good (HWDG). By breaking down the key barriers to full-time employment—lack of education and job skills—HWDG connects local employers and community leaders with job seekers to provide valuable training that leads to stable, good paying jobs that lift people out of poverty and break the cycle of generational poverty and government dependency.
We believe that the best solutions to problems are at the local level. And we believe that the reason HWDG is the most effective job placement program in Georgia is because it moves beyond political grandstanding and offers a real solution to the core problem—the need for sustainable jobs.
In our booming economy, there’s little reason for those who want to work to remain mired in poverty. Job initiatives like HWDG give motivated individuals a second chance and much-needed on-the-job training to get a solid job that leads to a life of dignity and thriving.
by Kimberly Sawatka | Jan 24, 2019
This week marks National School Choice Week, a program that began in 2011 and has rapidly grown across the country highlighting the benefits and need for more school choice options. Lt. Gov. Duncan is leading the state’s celebration at Atlanta Youth Acadamy in Southeast Atlanta by talking with students and parents yesterday about the importance of education, and how remaining focused on expanding school choice opportunities to students statewide is one of his top priorities.
“One of the most important things I can do every day as Lt. Gov. is remember one of the best gifts we can give a child in this state is a quality k-12 education,” stated Lt. Gov. Duncan as he spoke with a classroom of fifth graders and parents. “I want parents to know that and want them to see when we make laws, or adjust things in the laws, and create new policies we realize it is centered around the kids.”
The school is located near the federal prison, and the students’ median household income is about $23,000 a year. Fighting to overcome the neighborhood statistics, 62 percent of the students participate in Georgia’s tax credit scholarship program, and 100 percent of the students have graduated and gone on to postsecondary education.
The tax credit scholarship program has been wildly successful reaching the program’s cap within a matter of days for consecutive years. Lawmakers expanded the program last year by doubling the cap to $100 million starting in 2019.
A quality education is key. It provides a primary path for breaking cycles of poverty. GCO has played a crucial role in bringing real educational choice to upwards of 250,000 students and counting through Tax-Credit Scholarships, Special Needs Scholarships, and charter schools. As we move forward in the legislative session, we will continue to fight to expand Georgia’s current programs and to create education opportunity by pushing for the adoption of Education Scholarship Accounts.
Our work isn’t done until all of Georgia’s children can access the educational options that allow them to achieve the American Dream.
by gaopp | Dec 12, 2018
On December 5th, some of the nation’s most innovative researchers, policy experts, and community-based practitioners lead a series of discussions at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on solutions that are unlocking human potential in Georgia and around the country, enabling individuals and families to flourish.
Georgia is at a crossroads. We are enjoying the rewards of a growing economy and vibrant communities that make Georgia one of the country’s most popular places to do business and raise a family. However, hundreds of thousands of seemingly invisible men, women, and children are facing barriers that prevent them from achieving their dreams and reaching their potential, including the stain of a criminal record, being trapped in a welfare system that discourages work and family formation, and being ill-prepared for work or college as a student. The challenges are multi-dimensional and pose threats not just to individual well-being, but also to continued economic growth, opportunity, and mobility.
GCO takes over the Mercedes-Benz Stadium with Breakthrough!
Dr. Robert Lerman, Institute Fellow in the Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population at the Urban Institute discusses innovative measures to educate today’s students and the positive results they garner.
Jamie Lord leads the conversation about Education to What Degree: The Promise of Education Innovation with special guest interview Jack Harris, President of Junior Achievement, and panelists Ben Scafidi, Director of the Education Economics Center; Tyler Thigpen, Co-Founder and Head of School at the Forest School; Anthony Flynn, Executive Director and COO of 100 Black Men of Atlanta; Dr. Robert Lerman, Institute Fellow in the Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population at the Urban Institute.
Randy Hicks and Bellhops CEO Luke Marklin talk about the importance of dedicated employees and creating an atmosphere of loyalty.
GCO’s Joyce Whitted leads the panel discussion on Healthy Families: Incubators of the Next Generation, with Brian Amero, Henry County Superior Court Judge; Julie Baumgardner, President and CEO of First Things First; Brad Wilcox, Director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia; and Erin Norman, Senior Solutions Consultant at Heart+Mind Strategies
The Delta SkyClub at Mercedes-Benz Stadium never looked so good.
Anthony Flynn, Executive Director and COO of 100 Black Men of Atlanta chats about the importance of educational choice for students to have every opportunity to succeed.
It was wonderful to have such a great group of sponsors in attendance at Breakthrough. We really enjoyed the time with our friends and the opportunity to make new ones.
GCO’s Bill Rogers leads the panelist in the conversation about “Business! Mankind was my Business.”: How Some Georgia Companies are Bringing Solutions and Hope to Disadvantaged Communities with panelists Greg Beadles, COO, AMB Sports and Entertainment; Chris Clark, President and CEO of Georgia Chamber of Commerce; Rodney Bullard, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at Chick-Fil-A and Executive Director of the Chick-Fil-A Foundation.
Eric Cochling and panelists Dave Derocher, Managing Director of The Other Side Academy; Stacey Howell, Executive Director of Every Woman Works; Phillip Hunter, Executive Director of Georgia Works!; and Lloyd Martin, VP of Manufacturing and IT for CKS Packaging, Inc., discuss A Bolder Bottom Line: Work as the Most Effective Antipoverty Intervention and exactly what that looks like for their businesses.
by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Oct 15, 2018
The mandate from Georgia voters is clear—by an overwhelming margin, they want lawmakers in the General Assembly to pass legislation expanding school choice in 2019. That’s the finding of a new poll released by the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO).
The survey found that nearly seven-in-ten (67 percent) voters say it’s important for the state legislature to enact policies that expand school choice in the next legislative session, and that support extends across party, racial, and geographic lines. Of all school choice measures available in Georgia, the Tax Credit Scholarship Program garnered the most support.
Underscoring the bipartisan nature of school choice, the survey found strong support for school choice regardless of political affiliation—75 percent of Republicans, 65 percent of Independents, and 62 percent of Democrats. Support is strong across racial and geographic lines as well: 70 percent of African-American voters and 66 percent of white voters support school choice, while voters in Augusta (76 percent), Atlanta (68 percent), and Savannah (65 percent) are also supportive.
These new survey results come on the heels of the General Assembly’s move this year to expand the Tax Credit Scholarship Program to serve tens of thousands of additional students in need of options. In 2019, lawmakers could take up legislation to make Georgia the seventh state to enact Education Savings Accounts, an innovative way for parents to pay for the education their children need.
With the 2019 session of the General Assembly a few months away, elected officials would be wise to pay attention to the voices of more than two-thirds of Georgia’s likely voters—and voice their support for school choice, too!
by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Oct 12, 2018
Peachtree Corners—A new poll released by the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) has found that a significant majority of likely Georgia voters—to the tune of 68 percent—support school choice for families across the state.
Ahead of the 2019 legislative session, nearly seven-in-ten (67 percent) voters say it’s important for the state legislature to enact policies that expand school choice in the next legislative session, and that support extends across party, racial, and geographic lines. Of all school choice measures available in Georgia, the Tax Credit Scholarship Program garnered the most support.
Underscoring the bipartisan nature of school choice, the survey found strong support for school choice regardless of political affiliation—75 percent of Republicans, 65 percent of Independents, and 62 percent of Democrats. Support is strong across racial and geographic lines as well: 70 percent of African-American voters and 66 percent of white voters support school choice, while voters in Augusta (76 percent), Atlanta (68 percent), and Savannah (65 percent) are also supportive.
“School choice has long been, and continues to be, a winning issue,” said Randy Hicks, GCO’s president and CEO. “No matter who’s leading under the Gold Dome in 2019, Georgians recognize its importance for creating a better tomorrow for every child, but particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds who need help the most.”
The survey was conducted by WPA Intelligence. Interviews were collected from September 19-23 among over 600 likely voters in Georgia. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percent.
Get more details about the poll here: GCO Poll Memo
