Q: Are Georgia charter schools subject to the No Child Left Behind guidelines? — Betty Stephens, Monroe
A: "Absolutely. They are public schools," Georgia Department of Education spokesman Matt Cardoza told Q&A on the News in an email.
Q: In the June 30 AJC, a picture of former President Reagan's new statue in Budapest was shown. Isn't it also true that there is a statue of Vladimir Lenin in Fremont, Wash.? If so, what's the background and why Fremont? — Don White, Atlanta
A: The cast bronze sculpture of Vladimir Lenin in the Seattle neighborhood was created by Emil Venkov, a Slavic artist, according to the Fremont Chamber of Commerce. The 7-ton statue was installed in Poprad, Slovakia, in 1988. It came to the U.S. when Lewis Carpenter, an American veteran teaching in Poprad, found the sculpture on the ground during the collapse of communism in 1989. He mortgaged his house to acquire the sculpture and brought it back to Issaquah, Wash., according to the chamber. Carpenter died in 1994 and the statue is owned by his family, who placed it in the artsy neighborhood of Fremont temporarily with plans to eventually find a permanent home for it. The chamber says on its website: "We believe it is the only representation portraying Lenin surrounded by guns and flames instead of holding a book or waving his hat. The sculptor, while fulfilling the requirements of his state commission, was nevertheless able to express his vision of Lenin as a violent revolutionary; not just an intellectual and theoretician."
Lori Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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