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TODAY'S ISSUE
Grayson frosh heads for college as national essay winner
By Terry E. Manning
President, Button Gwinnett Chapter, SAR
Special to GwinnettForum.com

AUG. 19, 2003 -- Grayson High School graduate Melissa McLane heads Friday for Jonesboro, Ark., to enroll at Arkansas State University. She takes with her a $7,500 cash award as the national winner of the Knight Essay contest sponsored by the Sons of the American Revolution. Melissa was presented with the award at the national conference of the Sons of the American Revolution in Chicago in July.

This followed her winning the Georgia Society's contest, for which she received $500. The Button Gwinnett Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution of Gwinnett County sponsored Melissa as the winner of their local chapter contest, for which she won $200.

This is the third consecutive year in which the student sponsored by the Button Gwinnett Chapter has won the Georgia Society award.

The essay topic was "The Constitution Was Written To Secure the Blessings of Liberty." Her four-page essay evidenced an outstanding degree of research, originality, and understanding of the events of the Revolutionary War.

Melissa is a graduate of Grayson High School with a 4.0 grade point average. She has been named an Outstanding Student of America and received a Georgia Certificate of Merit. She was a National Certificate of Merit semi-finalist and was on the National Honor Roll.

Other school activities included participation in Beta Club, Key Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, National Honor Society, and Symphonic Band, often as an officer in these organizations. Until 1999, she shot archery competitively and won the state championship five times and the national championship once.

Melissa plans to major in biology and be accepted at medical school to become a surgeon. She dreams of becoming a missionary surgeon in a third-world country. She has been active locally in youth groups at the Providence Baptist Church.

The Knight Essay Award, established in 1988, was originally named in honor of former President Calvin Coolidge, a SAR member, who won an SAR essay contest while a student at Amherst. Its name was changed to the George S. and Stella Knight Essay Contest in 1995. The award is to encourage patriotism in young people and to ascertain their ideas and ideals of the present.

The contest is open through local Sons of the American Revolution Chapters to high school juniors and seniors. The essay must be original and not more than 500 words. The Essay Committee of the National Society, Sons of the American Revolution, designates the essay topic each year. Interested participants for the 2003 essay contest should contact Dr. James Fisher of Dacula at 770-338-0495 or e-mail (jafdacula@aol.com), who is chairman of the Knight Essay Committee for the Georgia Society of the SAR.

The Button Gwinnett Chapter serves the communities of Gwinnett and adjoining counties. Activities include a variety of programs to promote the patriotic, educational, and historical interests resulting from the American Revolution. Meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at Ryan's Restaurant in Lawrenceville.

Men and boys who are interested in documenting their lineage to their American Revolutionary ancestors, and in joining an active group with similar interests, are encouraged to contact me at 770-564-8822.

ELLIOTT BRACK
Figures confirm: If you see one today, it's two tomorrow
By Elliott Brack
editor and publisher
GwinnettForum.com

AUG. 19, 2003 -- Predicting the future growth of Gwinnett comes off glibly, but so close to accuracy when Wayne Hill tells people: "Where you see one person today, you will see two tomorrow."

Gwinnett's current population is estimated by the ARC on April 1, 2003, at 658,200 people, making Gwinnett the third most populated county in Georgia. That puts us ahead of Cobb at 630,600 people, and on target to surpass DeKalb County (691,300) and be the second in population in Georgia. Fulton County, which many of you know was formerly three counties, now has a population estimate for 2003 at 850,200 people.

Gwinnett may have been through its most explosive growth, but what is on the way? You get an indication if you look at current figures from the county's Forecasting and Research Division.

This compilation of numbers shows that Gwinnett grew by 29,083 people in 2000, and 28,090 people in 2001, then 26,030 people in 2002. Projected for 2003 is growth by 25,513 people. Notice the direction? Looks like slower growth, right?

Even if it is, most of us in Gwinnett probably won't recognize slower growth, because of all the mass of us out here. While we grant that the growth is slowing, still we have a tremendous amount of people living in Gwinnett, as we zoom toward a million people.

What year for a million? The projectionists tell us that the year 2018 will show us with 1,011,628 people. But you might not want to bet on that year, for in general, the projections have usually lagged behind the real growth in the past.

Look at it another way, which dates back to what Wayne Hill talks about. When the actual count, the census, was taken in 2000, we had 1,378 residents per square mile in Gwinnett. But look to 2018, the year we are supposed to pass a million residents: that year, Gwinnett will have grown to 2,337 persons per square mile. And by 2030, the projections are that Gwinnett will rub shoulders with 2,711 persons per square mile, doubling our population per square mile in the 30 years.

One anticipated change: much of the growth will come from us, rather than from people moving into the county. Right now, depending on how you count it, Gwinnett had 7,775 live births in 2002, records at the Probate Court show. However, the County's Health Department shows a much higher figure of 11,202 live births, but in 2001, to Gwinnett residents. (The apparent discrepancy may result in some Gwinnett residents giving birth in other counties, but calling Gwinnett home.)

But any way you look at it, our "under four years of age" figure is rising. A total of 47,731 Gwinnettians in 2000 were birth to four years of age. By 2020, that's projected to be 64,920 and by 2030 70,666 residents will be four or under. One thing for sure: that speaks to more and more classrooms for Gwinnett schools.

The greatest rise in population, however, will be in the older category. In 2000, Gwinnett's population 65 and older was 32,020, or 5.4 percent of its population. By 2030, it's projected to rise to 21 percent, or 247,000 people! Either older people will be in better health, or there will be a lot more senior facilities!

Remember: it won't be any less crowded. Where you see one today in Gwinnett, you'll see two tomorrow.

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FEEDBACK
8/19: No Child Left Behind has problems contained in it

Editor, the Forum:

When I attended school some 37 years ago 60 percent meant you failed. Yet the headline above appeared in a recent Atlanta Journal Constitution article regarding "Adequate Yearly Progress" as required by the federally mandated "No Child Left Behind NCLB) Act."

So are we failing? I think not. Unlike those that wish to blame computer glitches and poor attendance in our public schools for failure, I believe we are dealing with a faulty law, poor testing and an inability to successfully track transient students.

Unfortunately I fear the recourse taken by many school systems will be to force lower performing students to drop out, as a way to raise test scores and improving attendance. The real affect of this type of action will be one that will haunt us for years to come. One that will cause just the opposite of what NCLB is supposed to accomplish. One that may create a sub-culture of illiteracy and a poorly trained work force.

The problem, as I see it, only worsens with future generations. As this group of people would, according to statistics, have children at an earlier age, earn less income per household, have larger families, a higher percentage of single parent households, and even add to welfare lines. The problem becomes more compound when you consider the children of these people would more likely be attending Title 1 Schools where they may be forced to drop out in the name of test scores.

Are there viable solutions? I believe so. What it will require is that we use testing as a tool, not as a measure of punishment to children from lower income families. Use it as a tool to recognize change must be made, not just an opportunity for students to change schools but real change, changes in our approach to education, changes in our attitudes and an understating that all children do not learn the same things in the same time or in the same way.

I don't see where moving children from a failing school to one that is making the cut now as being productive for the school systems, or helpful to students. All that I see this doing is moving the problem from one school to another and possibly affecting even more children. What we must do is find the key, the key to learning for individual students. We must then apply that knowledge, thru whatever means possible to keep these kids in school and provide them with a true education, one they can then use to end the circle of poverty and illiteracy.

A 60 percent progress rate in Georgia, while commendable, is unacceptable. We must strive for a 100 percent success rate. Since we are showing improvement, we should continue on our current path, making necessary adjustments, before bailing out of what some consider failing schools.

We should scrap the provisions of NCLB that are proving detrimental to children and embrace those proven to work.

-- Jim Dumond, Buford