Get Schooled

By Jeff

July 26, 2007 11:11 AM | Link to this

I’m glad the GOVERNOR had the CAJONES to step up and do the right thing for GEORGIA, instead of catering - as usual - to Metro Atlanta.

Something many of you in Atlanta don’t seem to realize is that this state is FAR LARGER than just the 50 mile diameter or so that makes up Atlanta. In fact, I would dare say that most of you haven’t even seen Central or South GA other than what you can see from the Interstate while going to TN, AL, SC, FL, Jekyll, or Savannah. I can honestly claim to have lived at some point in ALL of GA’s North/South zones, INCLUDING living for a time in the heart of Atlanta (Emory University).

The GOVERNOR of GEORGIA is supposed to look out for the needs of the ENTIRE State of Georgia, not just Metro Atlanta.

He has done is job and deserves a big ATTA BOY!!

By Middleschoolteacher

July 26, 2007 11:47 AM | Link to this

If Perdue feels that the language arts program is not needed or is unfair, why not just eliminate that budget allocation? What good will it do to buy $1200 worth of language materials that will probably sit in a closet in each elementary school? What a waste of money, in my opinion!

Why can’t Perdue and the Republican leaders leave the education budget out of their power struggle? And we thought the Democrats were bad at getting along and being effective - little did we know.

Finally, I taught in a brand new classroom in South Georgia. When I moved to the Atlanta area, I taught 28+ students in a trailer while paying higher taxes.

By Elaine

July 26, 2007 11:52 AM | Link to this

Jeff,

Your point is made and well-taken.

And not unlike the Pre-K topic from yesterday, once a program is started, regardless of its effectiveness or fairness, or “worthiness,” people feel immediately entitled to it and are outraged if it’s ever stopped. Even if the money is sorely needed elsewhere.

This is why we must be so careful when we begin any new intiative with public dollars. This is people’s tax money, and this is children’s education, we must be frugal and effective.

By jim d

July 26, 2007 12:04 PM | Link to this

OK Jeff,

I’m not too sure the Gov. hasn’t overstepped his authority on this one though.

He has authority to veto the budget but I’m not sure he has unilateral authority to modify it to that extent once it has been passed by the legislature and signed by none other than himself, in essence accepting the proposed budget.

By thomas

July 26, 2007 12:26 PM | Link to this

OH, THESE PEOPLE OUGHT TO JUST STOP IT!!!

First off, I am an advocate of foreign language instruction. I used and taught Spanish in school.

But the elementary language program was only in a few schools. In addition, with the exception of a few middle class parents, who wanted foreign language instruction as some sort of cute gimmick, NOBODY ELSE CARED. You know what I mean, the kind of cutesy thing, like violin lessons.

I am telling you from experience. Nobody, not teachers, administration, parents, or STUDENTS, really care about some foreign language classes. Especially not at the elementary level. The adults at the elementary schools have bigger fish to fry- like trying to teach reading and make AYP. The don’t want to deal with scheduling another special for Spanish classes. They don’t want another teacher/program to deal with. The classroom teachers don’t care anything about specials to begin with (except for the fact that it gives them a planning period), much less a foreign language class. In fact, most teachers will scream ENGLISH ONLY if their students try to speak another language in their presence.

As for this $1,200— KEEP THE MONEY. DO NOT SEND IT ANYWHERE. I WILL TELL YOU THIS. THE MONEY WILL BE WASTED AND MISAPPROPRIATED BY THE LOCAL SCHOOLS. THIS IS A FACT.

WE HAVE SOME LOWDOWN, SELFISH PEOPLE WORKING IN OUR SCHOOLS. THEY WILL SPEND THIS MONEY, JUST LIKE ALL THE OTHER MONEY HOW THEY WANT.

This is what makes me so angry. You’ve got lowdown principals, APs, media specialists, clerks, and other support personnel (like “literacy coaches” and counselors) who do what ever the h__l they want at these schools. They spend money on whatever THEY want, not what will really make a difference for students. And teachers and students get dimes or nothing. A TEACHER CAN’T GET A SHEET OF PAPER FOR THEIR STUDENTS.

This $1,200, if it is really spent on “foreign language materials”, will be wasted because NOBODY IS INTERESTED IN SPANISH OR FRENCH AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL. You can’t even buy books in Spanish because even Hispanic children can’t read in Spanish. And you know a classroom teacher sure in the h__l is not going to use some FL materials to teach Spanish, French, or German. They barely have time to teach social studies or science. AND THEY WOULD LOSE THEIR JOBS IF THEY TRIED BECAUSE “IT IS NOT IN THE GPS.”

By sweettea

July 26, 2007 12:26 PM | Link to this

Well, he can ignore metro Atlanta all he want and see how he fares in the next election.

Better yet, perhaps the rest of GA should just separate themselves from metro Atlanta if they hate it so much. That way they can figure out how to fund their schools (and the rest of government) without us - Best of Luck on that!

I have no sympathy for a single underfunded school system until they raise their millage rate to at least 18.0. If the citizens of a county don’t give a rip about education, why is it fair to drain resources form people who are willing to pay for it?

If rural GA cared about education. I’d feel for them. They have demonstrated repeatedly, however, that for the most part, they couldn’t give a rip. Well, I take that back - they do fund football pretty well.

By Jeff

July 26, 2007 12:30 PM | Link to this

jim:

I’ll agree that the measures he took to do this were of questionable legality.

My point, however, that it is about time a Governor (or State Superintendent of Education, for that matter) stood up to Atlanta and declared that ALL of GA would have EQUAL access to education services, stands.

Note that I truly do mean ALL areas of GA - from Suches and Chatsworth to Donalsonville and Ludowici.

By mum

July 26, 2007 12:32 PM | Link to this

Could it be that the people who understood the value of early foreign language instruction were mostly in metro Atlanta? It’s funny that when you look at middle class people from other areas of the world, they can converse in English AND their own language. Why do we have to be so backward? That’s why you can usually tell the American tourist in a foreign country, they’re the ones yelling in English because they think it will make the person understand. People typicaly respond kindly when you make the effort to speak their language. Funding the materials and not the teachers makes absolutely no sense, except to show that our esteemed Governor didn’t even stop to think. Anyway, this program has always been laid on the chopping block with a last minute reprieve due to lobbying by parents.

By Jeff

July 26, 2007 12:39 PM | Link to this

sweettea:

Don’t wish for what you would regret happening.

There is already considerable thought outside metro ATL for creating political boundaries to reflect the social and economic division already present.

TRUST me, metro ATL would hurt FAR more than the rest of GA if such boundaries were ever created. Atlanta thinks that you are the center of the universe. The rest of GA barely knows you’re there. (Other than the sports teams, much of GA can not name one single thing in Atlanta other than possibly the Capital and Hartsfield.)

By jim d

July 26, 2007 1:18 PM | Link to this

Jeff,

I agree with equity but still have to ask, if the legislature (which represents the entire state) has passed a budget, have they not spoken for the entire state? or should the Gov. be allowed to act as king and do as he damn well pleases?

By Middleschoolteacher

July 26, 2007 1:28 PM | Link to this

Jeff, just for information sake, how many different rural communities in Georgia have you lived in for an extended amount of time? Please note this is not an attack on what you are saying, just an effort to see what experiences you have for your opinions. Are they (the words you love)research-based?

The crucial issue for me in this debate is will we continue to have elected officials who use the education budget for a power struggle? Is either side in the debate (governor and legislative leaders) really concerned about the education budget or one foreign language program? I think not - just another way to show they are powerful. For crying out loud, can’t they just get along!

By catlady

July 26, 2007 1:28 PM | Link to this

jim d : He has authority to veto the budget but I’m not sure he has unilateral authority to modify it to that extent once it has been passed by the legislature and signed by none other than himself, in essence accepting the proposed budget.

Sonny’s version of “signing statements”? We have trickle down revisions now.

By Truth Filter

July 26, 2007 1:38 PM | Link to this

The issue at hand here is not whether the Governor has the power to line-item veto. He does. The issue is whether he can reallocate money that he has vetoed. The legislature says he can’t.

sweettea: Perdue can’t run for Governor again. He’s term-limited. Rumors are he may run for something else though…

By sweettea

July 26, 2007 1:41 PM | Link to this

Jeff, do you really think that rural GA could survive without metro Atlanta money? Well, perhaps we should give it a try then if it is so popular.

Valdosta would make an excellent new capital of GA.

By Jeff

July 26, 2007 1:56 PM | Link to this

middleschool:

Communities I’ve lived in: Cartersville, Suches, Atlanta, Albany, Warner Robins, Leesburg

Communities I’ve worked in: Cartersville, Acworth, Kennesaw, Woodstock, Atlanta, Marietta, Covington, Calhoun, Fairmount, Jasper, Suches, Cuthbert, Macon

Communities I’ve interacted with (did something other than a random stop for shopping, such as attend an event of some type): All of the above, plus: Ringgold, Canton, Ball Ground, Rockmart, Cedartown, Rome, Ludowici, Brunswick, Darrien, Warrenton, Butler, Donalsonville, Blakely, Lumpkin, Thomasville, Camilla, Moultrie, Fitzgerald, Nashville, Nahunta, Perry, Forsyth, Athens, Cumming, Sandersville, Montezuma, Monticello, Dahlonega, Blairsville, Hiawassee.

And I’ve been THROUGH even more than that. The only part of GA that I have very little experience with is extreme east central and south east (what georgia.gov labels as “Region 7”) GA. I’m one of those guys that no matter where someone is from in GA, I know roughly where it is at because more than likely I have been near there doing SOMETHING at SOME POINT in my life.

Oh, and for those trapped in Atlanta but wanting an escape: Try the Regional Cities. (Macon, Rome, Albany, Augusta, Valdosta, Savannah, etc) Most of them offer many of the same things as Atlanta, without having to deal with Atlanta. (Hence the proof of my earlier claims that the rest of GA does not need Atlanta.)

By Jeff

July 26, 2007 2:00 PM | Link to this

sweettea:

GA survived for more than 200 years without Atlanta….

By distorted

July 26, 2007 2:03 PM | Link to this

$1200 per school is stupid. If the state won’t fund foreign language for all schools then what is the point? Big issue would be the lack of available teachers to teach foreign language. This is a waste of money as it is allocated. People need to be more aware of what is going on in schools. Business leaders are giving money to politicians and schools, but do you know what goes on behind the schoolhouse doors. Do you know why students are not prepared for college? Parents spend thousands on remedial courses. Look into the new “one diploma” Georgia will implement soon. Will all students really receive the same diploma? Does your school system have a no-zeros policy? What reading and/or math program is your system using? Read some reviews on those programs. Why do Georgia students score poorly on the science and social studies graduation test? Check out science and social studies instruction in elementary school? Does instruction match up with standards? Probably not!

By mmm

July 26, 2007 2:15 PM | Link to this

Excuse me, but elementary school is the most appropriate age to teach a foreign language at.

By JW

July 26, 2007 2:32 PM | Link to this

distorted: “Why do Georgia students score poorly on the science and social studies graduation test? Check out science and social studies instruction in elementary school? Does instruction match up with standards? Probably not!”

Pardon me distorted, but I think you might want to check those science and social studies scores at the elementary level. If I remember correctly, they are usually extremely high even though elementary teachers have little time to teach those subjects due to the emphasis on math and reading (AYP/NCLB issues). The drop off occurs beginning in middle school (6th grade). To me, this indicates a possible problem with the standards rather than inadequate instruction at the elementary level. What do you think?

By holdingAJCaccountable

July 26, 2007 3:05 PM | Link to this

JW I feel your pain. It’s not “inadequate instruction” it’s inadequate time, and those who blame the elementary teacher need to acknowledge the dynamics of that.

It’s not the elementary teachers that put the high school social studies and science teachers behind the eight ball, it’s the public school system itself, that puts more emphasis on AYP and NCLB than it does on well rounded, educated students.

That the law of the land is a bill that was justified largely in part by an education secretary (Rod Paige) who presided over a “Houston Miracle” that in reality had over two dozen schools caught cheating is dumbfounding.

What’s going to be the next justification for NCLB? We need it so Al-Qaeda won’t invade the public schools?

By Tony

July 26, 2007 4:15 PM | Link to this

This is another example of an educational issue that should be decided and funded at the local school system level. If a community wants a specialized program, let them fund it through their taxation. Unfortunately, the state also imposes rules that become restrictive on public schools such that school systems can not implement instructional programs like this because of penalties in funding that will be imposed. Computer instruction and foreign language instruction in the elementary levels do not earn FTE credit and schools are penalized in that manner should they attempt to enact such programs.

I agree with Jim D that the governor has overstepped his bounds by rerouting the funding, though. The legislative process is supposed to work in such a way that compromises can be part of the process. Even with line item veto, I don’t think the process allows you to redirect an allocation, only cut it from the budget.

By sweettea

July 26, 2007 4:36 PM | Link to this

Jeff, yes GA did survive without Atlanta,

… as a penal colony.

By Jeff

July 26, 2007 4:46 PM | Link to this

sweettea:

Atlanta did not come to dominate the political scene in GA as it now does until the 1960s and 70s. GA was founded as a colony aroung 1650 and became a state in 1788. That’s 300+ years of GA without Atlanta, and nearly 200 years as a STATE without Atlanta.

By distorted

July 26, 2007 5:01 PM | Link to this

No it is not the fault of teachers, but school system administrators for implementing the “newest fix” to meet AYP. Science and Social Studies are forgotten about because in most cases they do not determine whether or not a school or system makes AYP. A lot is hidden from the public. I just hope people will open their eyes and take a real look at what is going on in each and every school in Georgia.

By Tony

July 26, 2007 5:03 PM | Link to this

sweettea - Georgia was never a penal colony.

By sweettea

July 26, 2007 6:43 PM | Link to this

I did some research, and I stand corrected. Y’all are right. :-^ Georgia was originally conceived as a debtors or penal colony by Oglethorpe, but it never actually became one. That it was a penal or debtor’s colony is apparently still a common misconception.

I fault my 5th grade history teacher - Dernit, I clearly recall learning in school that it was a penal colony. For some reason that was one of the little factoids that stuck in my head. I had weird visions in class of all these people in black and white striped jail uniforms working farms in GA, and that impression stuck with me.

I’m a science guy so I don’t spend much time on history b/c I never could stand it - particularly state history. My fault for not knowing more about GA. It would still have been an excellent comeback if it had panned out for me!

Well, back to the issues. Re foreign language. That should be a locally funded and decided undertaking. However, it is a shame that more local governments don’t see the value in it.

Re school funding, my thoughts stand… don’t come to metro Atlanta for free money if you aren’t willing to tax your rural butts at the same rate we do.

As for Perdue… well, he’s even dumber than I am… Perhaps I should run for governor.

By Chris

July 26, 2007 6:51 PM | Link to this

Jeff, That is a bit misleading. Atlanta has been an important city since the 1860’s. When it served as a major supply point during the civil war and in 1868 became the capital. But it is irrelevant of when it became an important city. Now more than half of the state’s population live in the metro area. I know you want to diminish the impact of the metro area to support your backing of the Governor for ‘standing up’ for the rest of the state, but Atlanta is pretty much the only thing that differentiates Georgia and Alabama anymore.

Also the mid-sized cities (Macon, Savannah, Valdosta, Athens, etc.) have problems of their own including high crime rates, less economic opportunities (In certain industries), and while they do have a lot of the same features that Atlanta has, there are a whole lot of things that aren’t found anywhere else in the state. But it is silly to blather about Atlanta or the state seperating from each other. At the end of the day, I find your arguement a bit petty. Yeah, lets celebrate that the Governor decided that the cost of serving some of the children of Georgia would be to serve ‘none’ of them and waste millions of dollars while he is at it. I don’t see how in anyone’s book it could be a good thing. If the program is bad, then cancel it, don’t spend any money on it. Taking what by Bridget’s blog looks to be a decent program, and deciding to throw the money in the trash rather than spend it how the legislature intended is idiotic at best and criminal at worst.

By Jeff

July 27, 2007 8:47 AM | Link to this

Chris:

You obviously don’t know Alabama very well either. (And I’ll admit, my own knowledge of AL is quite limited, mostly to one weekend trip involving appearances at functions - I was a speaker - at Auburn and UA, with a hotel stop in Birmingham between those two days.)

The biggest thing that makes GA - OUTSIDE Metro Atlanta - so great is that we know that life doesn’t have to go at waro speed. Yes, it takes some getting used to when you first leave Atlanta, but overall it is SOOOOO much better.

All we want as far as education goes is equal treatment. After all “separate but equal” is ILLEGAL, according to Brown v Board. The division in funding between Atlanta and Rural GA is much like the very conditions that led to Brown. “Atlanta” is analogous to “white”, and “Rural GA” is analogous to “black”. Just as the county had a moral - and, after Brown, legal - imperative to fund each equally, so too does the state have the moral imperative to fund both Atlanta and Rural GA equally.

By Chris

July 27, 2007 10:34 AM | Link to this

Jeff:

I spent the first half of my life in west Georgia. I know plenty about Alabama and was mostly using the state as an analogy for the differences between the old and new South. From my perspective of living on the border of the two states, culturally, economically, and geographically, Alabama and Georgia have quite bit in common. I have family and friends in both states and really can’t tell much of a difference when I am in Carrollton or Anniston.

Better is a subjective term, and what might be better for one person might not be for another. I happen to like both. I don’t think urban or rural is intrinsically better than the other. They are completely different.

Also who exactly was the Governor standing up to? The primary opposition came from Republican leaders in the House and Senate who are primarily not from Atlanta. Of the ones mentioned in the article, only one is from the metro area.

I also don’t agree in the analogy between this program and Brown v. Board of Education. The equal part in separate but equal does not mean identical. It means equal opportunity. From the state’s guidelines, every elementary school in Georgia can apply for the program, but there is a lot of work involved in securing grants, hiring teachers and providing foreign language instruction to every student at the school.

As far as I know, only 29 elementary schools participated in the program last year. These were schools that were following the state’s guidelines of 30 minutes of foreign language instruction every day. I would be interested in seeing where exactly these schools are, and how successful the program is in lasting proficiency in a foreign language.

At the end of the day, if the program is open to every Elementary school on a voluntary basis, I don’t see why it should be torpedoed if it is working. Schools that don’t want to participate don’t have to join the program. It’s not something being dictated to the local systems.

By Jeff

July 27, 2007 10:41 AM | Link to this

Chris:

From Bridget’s article, it appears that the program was in 29 schools IN METRO ATLANTA. In other words, it was NOWHERE outside Atlanta.

And that is WRONG. If Atlanta can have it, so can Grady County. (Yes, there is a Grady County!)

By Chris

July 27, 2007 11:08 AM | Link to this

Jeff:

Umm, I think you are getting two different parts of the article confused. Bridget said Parents in Metro Atlanta would be the most effected, but did not say where the schools were. I have done a little digging and found that when the program was started, one school was selected in each of the state’s congressional districts. I do not know how many of those schools are still in the program, but did find that at least one school in Columbia and Richmond counties participate in the program, so it is clearly not only a program in metro Atlanta.

By Bridget Gutierrez

July 27, 2007 11:16 AM | Link to this

No, Jeff. That was 29 schools statewide. I don’t have a list of the schools, so I don’t know how many were in metro Atlanta.

If you’re interested, here’s a more detailed article about the fight over the program, which AJC government reporter James Salzer wrote about earlier this year:

AJC Main Edition Date: Monday, 1/29/2007 Section Name: News Section Letter: A Page: 1 Headline: Language classes may be cut at schools Dek Head: Perdue wants to kill pilot program at elementaries, split up funds; backers vow to fight Byline / Source: JAMES SALZER / Staff Email: jsalzer@ajc.com

Gov. Sonny Perdue is proposing to kill a more than decade-old elementary school foreign language program next year, despite calls by supporters for more language skills in an increasingly global economy.

Mothers with children taking the classes in Japanese, French and other languages say they won’t let the program go down without a Capitol fight.

The mothers and supporters of the elementary school foreign language pilot program, which is in about two dozen schools, a number of which are in the metro area, are organizing to fight Perdue’s proposal to cut all $1.6 million in the state budget to fund the classes.

It’s a program that has been on the chopping block, off and on, for several years because critics say it only helps children attending the 2 percent of elementary schools that receive foreign language grants.

Supporters of the program say that with the economy becoming more global by the day, and metro Atlanta’s international population mushrooming, the state should be looking at ways to provide foreign language classes to all Georgia elementary school children; it shouldn’t be cutting what little is available.

“It’s amazing we are still having to fight this battle in 2007,” said Cathy Flynn, whose third-grade daughter is learning Japanese as part of the program at Roswell’s Mimosa Elementary School. “I want my children prepared for the 21st century. I don’t want them to be left behind.”

Supporters of the program, which was started in 1993, cite statistics that show students who take four years of foreign language in high school perform far above average on the college-entrance SAT. They say foreign language classes help students perform better on other tests, too, in part because learning another language helps develop English-language skills as well.

However, opponents have said the program was a pilot and never was meant to be a permanent fixture in the state budget. A 2003 state report recommended ending the program, saying it was inequitable and that the state never thoroughly evaluated it.

Perdue wants to take the $1.6 million and spread it around to the state’s 1,284 elementary schools.

“A pilot program is to try something out and see if it works,” said Dan McLagan, the governor’s communications director. “I guess we see some value in it, and we’re taking it statewide.”

Under Perdue’s plan, that would give each school about $1,200. Corinne Barnes, Douglas County schools’ foreign language coordinator, said that wouldn’t be enough to fund a foreign language program at any school. And she said the money would be spent by school media centers without a mandate to spend it on foreign language materials.

It would cost the state about $85 million to replicate the pilot program at each of Georgia’s elementary schools.

House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) has been a supporter of the pilot program in the past. However, Richardson said he’s not sure how important it is to teach foreign language in elementary school.

“I had a child that had that, and I don’t know it particularly helped him one way or the other,” he said. “I would listen to the experts as to why we’re doing it.

“I think it’s probably more important that we get them to read the English language and do math and social studies.”

The pilot program has a strong supporter in House Appropriations Chairman Ben Harbin (R-Evans). Stevens Creek Elementary School in his home county of Columbia, outside Augusta, receives one of the foreign language grants.

“Everything about it has shown if we teach these children a foreign language in their early years, it not only helps them in conversation in that language later on, they are better learners in general,” Harbin said. “It is a great program, and I still think the answer is not to do away with it but to find a way to get this into other schools.”

Harbin all but promised he would work to make sure the program gets funded next year.

“I didn’t see this [cut] coming. It’s disappointing,” he said. “We ought to be making sure this program is something we can do statewide. We ought to be looking to expand it.”

By Jeff

July 27, 2007 11:22 AM | Link to this

Chris:

When our nation was formed, a delicate balance was created. This balance is seen in the bicameral nature of Congress. You see, there were those who wanted representatives to be apportioned based solely on population - which would have given heavily populated states such as New York a MAJOR advantage in the direction of the new nation. Then there were those who wanted it solely with each state having an equal number of representatives. The more populated states (rightfully) pointed out that this would violate the “one man, one vote” principal they were subscribing to. (In other words, if State A has 50 people and two reprensentatives, each representative represents 25 people. HOWEVER, if State B has 250 people and 2 representatives, each representative represents 125 people.)

The same controvery now swirls in GA education policy. Metro Atlanta gets most of the money simply because of its population. This is NOT right. The kids in Rural GA should have the SAME opportunities as those in East Cobb. Otherwise, “separate and unequal” arises, the very thing that Brown v Board said was ILLEGAL.

By Jeff

July 27, 2007 11:43 AM | Link to this

Comments from the article (Thanks Bridget!!)

a) which is in about two dozen schools, a number of which are in the metro area

b)and metro Atlanta’s international population mushrooming

c) “It’s amazing we are still having to fight this battle in 2007,” said Cathy Flynn, whose third-grade daughter is learning Japanese as part of the program at Roswell’s Mimosa Elementary School. “I want my children prepared for the 21st century. I don’t want them to be left behind.”

d) A 2003 state report recommended ending the program, saying it was inequitable and that the state never thoroughly evaluated it.

e) “I think it’s probably more important that we get them to read the English language and do math and social studies.”

By Chris

July 27, 2007 11:52 AM | Link to this

Jeff:

You are completely fighting the wrong argument here. Brown v. Board was intended to stop institutionalized discrimination. Segregating schools that would otherwise be the same by an artificial means. At the end of the day, the lions share of a school system’s funding comes from the local community. APS has more students than some cities in Georgia have residents.

Is economics becoming a new dividing line? Yes. Is there an obligation to transfer wealth from populated, higher income areas to less populated, lower income areas? That is a political debate that has been ongoing in this country for decades.

This program is not about giving more money to metro Atlanta and neglecting the rest of the state. I found a list of schools that were participants in 2003. There were 15 school systems representing 26 schools:

APS (2 schools)* DeKalb (2 schools)* Dougherty (2 Schools) Fulton (1 school)* Gwinnett (1 school) * Columbia (2 schools) Douglas (3 Schools)* Catoosa (1 school) Cherokee (2 schools)* Decatur City (2 Schools) * Forsyth (2 Schools)* Richmond (1 School) Taliaferro (1 School) Whitfield (1 School) Sumter (3/Only 1 staffed)

Of the 28 counties considered part of the Atlanta Metropolitan area, only 6 have schools in the program, 8 if you include the Decatur and Atlanta systems.

So of the 15 sytems, Metro Atlanta accounted for 8, which given the population of the metro area at 5 million of the states approximately 9 million citizens is proportional.

There is a funding gap in metro and rural school systems, but how much of that is due to a disparity in state and federal funding (which is believe are generally based on the number of students) and how much is based on local tax bases, SPLOST and Millage rates?

By lynn d

July 27, 2007 4:00 PM | Link to this

What has always bothered me about this program is that there is never been the fiscal or political will to expand it. Research consistently shows that the earlier a child is instructed in a second language the better.

Parents at my children’s school have felt so strongly about this issue that they funded a Spanish teacher for several years from PTA funds.

Is it fair, that simply because a family lives in a certain district that the state subsidizes foreign language for some students and not others?

I also know that some systems dropped this program because they couldn’t afford it in the middle school where there was no state money.