Clik here to view.
Shortage of school psychologists in Georgia threatens academic and mental...
Matthew J. Vignieri is a school psychologist in Hall County and co-chair of the Advocacy Committee of the Georgia Association of School Psychologists. In this essay, he discusses an issue that gets...
View ArticleClik here to view.
More school boards join fight against governor’s state takeover district....
My AJC colleague Ty Tagami has a good news story on an emerging bi-partisan effort by school boards to fight Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed constitutional amendment for an Opportunity School District....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gov. Deal comes out swinging today against opponents of his Opportunity...
My AJC colleague Ty Tagami was downtown this morning to hear Gov. Nathan Deal defend his Opportunity School District. Here is Tagami’s account: By Ty Tagami Gov. Nathan Deal told Georgia educational...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gov. Deal spares no words in making case today for Opportunity School District
I’m not sure if Gov. Nathan Deal delivered a speech today on his education policies or a manifesto. I understand now why he ran over his allotted 30 minutes after receiving a copy of his remarks. Pour...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Is HOPE Scholarship lifting middle-class students while leaving poor kids...
Georgia has thousands of low-income students who cannot afford college because they don’t qualify for the HOPE Scholarship or its more lucrative offspring, the Zell Miller Scholarship. HOPE pays for 70...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Georgia teacher group to governor: Stop creating divisions. Support our efforts.
I think we now have a formal declaration of war over the governor’s campaign to push the Opportunity School District. It’s a war of words but those words are coming fast and furious, including the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Note to governor: Opposing state takeover doesn’t mean you support failing...
Georgia educator Bryan Stephens sent me a note about the governor’s comments Thursday about teacher raises and the Opportunity School District; Nathan Deal’s comments sparked a lot of controversy. I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Opponents launch TV attack today on governor’s Opportunity School District
The first TV ad opposing the proposed Opportunity School District airs today. The 30-second ad is the handiwork of the Committee to Keep Georgia Schools Local. Members of the group include the Georgia...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Are Georgians willing to gamble on casinos for HOPE Scholarship?
Tommy Dortch is former state director for U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and chairman emeritus of 100 Black Men of America, Inc. In this piece, he endorses a ballot referendum to allow casino resorts in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Proponents of Opportunity School District and state takeover unveil their TV ad
Opponents of the Opportunity School District rolled out their first TV ad Tuesday. Today, proponents responded in kind, delivering a new TV plea to voters to approve the OSD. Both sides are escalating...
View ArticleClik here to view.
DeKalb joins growing list of Opportunity School District opponents as battle...
The battle against the governor’s Opportunity School District went into high gear this week with the rollout of another TV ad this morning and a spurt in school boards opposing the controversial...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Georgia PTA: Opportunity School District doesn’t engage parents; it...
Statement today from Georgia PTA president Lisa-Marie Haygood on Gov. Nathan Deal’s recent comments on his state takeover plan, which voters will decide in November: Thank you for coming today. I am...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Georgia colleges ‘purge’ between 20,000 and 30,000 students a year over...
Hala Moddelmog is president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber. Alicia Philipp is president of the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. In this column, they tackle a topic we discussed recently on the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
State school board endorses governor’s Opportunity School District
At its meeting today, the appointed Georgia Board of Education endorsed Gov. Nathan Deal’s Opportunity School District. (Under Georgia law, the governor appoints the state school board with consent of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Most school chiefs dodge Opportunity School District debate. Not Steve Green...
Very few district superintendents have attacked Gov. Nathan Deal’s Opportunity School District, following the example of Gwinnett school chief J. Alvin Wilbanks. Last week, Wilbanks said while he has...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pass the Opportunity School District. Then, pass real school choice.
Atlanta attorney Glenn Delk has been urging greater school choice in Georgia for 25 years and has done legal work for charter schools, most of it pro bono. In this piece, he defends and endorses the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New class-action lawsuit: Opportunity School District ballot question...
A class-action lawsuit filed today goes after Gov. Nathan Deal, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp over the language in the Amendment 1 “Opportunity School District” ballot...
View ArticleClik here to view.
If governor wants to help failing schools, Opportunity School District isn’t...
As he has shown in the past, former Pelham City, Ga., superintendent Jim Arnold is not one to hold back. He demonstrates that again today in this essay on the governor’s proposed Opportunity School...
View ArticleClik here to view.
At five-year mark, is Common Core delivering on promise of improved academics?
The debate over Common Core State Standards has subsided in Georgia, which rebuffed efforts to jettison the nationally developed framework for what students ought to know in math and English. Despite...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Opportunity School District: An assault on neighborhood public schools
U.S. Congressman Hank Johnson contends the Opportunity School District — Amendment 1 on the Nov. 8 ballot — is a corporate takeover of local public schools and a power grab by the governor. Johnson, a...
View Article