|
Gainesville shows how schools can arrive
at achievement
By
Dr. Holly Robinson
Senior vice president, Georgia Public Policy Foundation
Special to GwinnettForum.com
MARCH 20, 2007 -- Two recent reports highlight the ongoing and
intense interest in the state of education across the nation. One,
from the federal Commission on No Child Left Behind, includes 75
final recommendations for reauthorization of the five-year-old No
Child Left Behind Act. The other, from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,
finds that schools are failing students and putting this nation's
future competitiveness at risk. Both focus on how to build upon
the foundation of school reform and improve student achievement.
Robinson |
The U.S. Chamber report mirrors that goal, and warns that, "Without
real leadership in education reform, our economic future and prosperity
are at risk."
The Chamber's report card, "Leaders and Laggards: A State-by-State
Report Card on Educational Effectiveness," can be accessed
at www.uschamber.com/icw/reportcard/default.
Georgia is one of 10 states to earn a D overall. The state got
A's for data quality and its 21st-century teaching force; B's for
rigor of standards - the new Georgia Performance Standards - flexibility
in management and policy and a C for return on investment. But it
got D's for academic achievement; academic achievement of minorities
and low-income students; post-secondary and workforce readiness
and "truth in advertising about student proficiency."
Its D average notwithstanding, Georgia does boast systems whose
results demonstrate student achievement through rigorous standards
and sound management principles, keys to success are in both reports.
Among them is Gainesville's public school system, which has gone
from shining example to state model. A dozen schools around the
state are piloting the successful "Gainesville model"
with its goal of "Creating a Culture for Success."
Gainesville City Schools is a Title I district with 74 percent
poverty and a 75 percent minority student population. Some 63 percent
of Gainesville Middle School seventh- and eighth-grade students
are in accelerated courses, taking the same End of Course Tests
as high school students. Of these students 92 percent met or exceeded
standards.
Other results:
- 91 percent of all students in grades one, three and five met
or exceeded standards on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests
(CRCT) in Reading and Math.
- 98 percent of third-graders and 95 percent of fifth-graders
passed the writing assessment.
- 70 percent diversity participation was received in high school
unit courses at Gainesville Middle School.
- Gainesville High School "college prep" average SAT
scores are 29 points above the national average of 1020.
The schools achieve these results through a system of specific
academies from pre-kindergarten to graduation that provide choice,
allowing them to choose from among elementary themed academies,
creates accountability and empowers professionals.
Tracking pre- and post-test progress provides a roadmap for success
and accountability for parents and teachers. Not only is Gainesville
standards-driven but its accountability model guarantees that all
children are taught all standards when the classroom doors are closed.
Sound management principles include the school board and superintendent
performance accountability plan, which provides students and families
with options for choice and acceleration and is clearly working:
More than six in 10 middle-schoolers have embraced the option of
taking high-school courses.
Gainesville leads its students all the way up to the vital post-secondary
focus that the U.S. Chamber laments is lacking in so many schools.
By implementing high school academies, the system's model completes
the academy plan and connects rigor, relevance and relationships
to high student academic expectations and career needs.
Gainesville represents just one of the success stories in Georgia.
As lawmakers, policy-makers and school systems continue to embrace
the innovative programs available to provide the state's students
with challenging, viable choices in education, the rising tide of
academic achievement in Georgia will help ensure that no child -
and no worker - will be left behind.
Excited, we can barely wait for tomorrow's
arrival of spring
By
Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
MARCH 20, 2007 -- We're excited. The Weather Bureau tells us that
Spring arrives tomorrow at 8:07 p.m. We can't wait.
Brack |
It's a great time to stop, look around you, and especially if you
can, look out the window. From where I sit on the second floor,
you can see the bare limbs of the trees that surround me, and note
that there are the beginnings of tiny leaves on these limbs. In
another week or two, we won't be able to see very far, as those
leaves will spring out in growth, adding a wall of green between
us and the sky.
Their color will sparkle, signaling to us that indeed, the colder
cycle has turned, that the warmth is coming. Indeed, it's a sign
that life goes on.
About the most color we've seen lately has been in the many pansy
beds which welcome you at office parks, with their profusion of
color. We're so thrilled by their continual colorful shows. They
told us weeks ago, indeed, to hang on, eventually better weather
with all its attendant nuances, would be coming.
Other signs abound. This coming week should be the start of the
most colorful season of the year, with forsythias first bright yellow,
then turning to green; the red bud trees moving from pink to green,
and the snowy Bradford pear trees now white with color also finally
turning to green. We noticed the blooms on the pear trees virtually
covering the street after a windy morning last week.
Forsythias in bloom |
The daffodils have already brightened us with their color, as have
the camellias for weeks now. The various strains of camellias bloom
at vastly different times. We have a few bushes which usually put
forth their magnificent flowers by the first part of December, in
front of the cold weather. Another will pick up the flowering a
few weeks later, while still others wait until late February or
early March to put out their best flowers. It allows you to have
their beautiful blooms for nearly three months, though sometimes
the colder weather of January often turns their pink and white and
red flowers an ugly brown, as the frost socks 'em hard.
Talk of greenery, have you noticed that some of the lawns that
have been a dull brown all winter are showing signs of life? Pretty
soon, we'll hear the hum of the lawnmower clipping away on the taller
shoots of grass.
About that time, we'll also notice the greening of the crepe myrtle,
in preparation for their bright blossoms of summer.
Already we've noticed one tiny bush, less than a foot high, which
is in bloom with more than a dozen baseball-size roses on its small
limbs. We've not had a whole lot of luck with roses over the years;
some tell us that you must give them much more attention than we
have done. But every now and then, some of our rose bushes will
jump forth and show us their character in blossoms, to our delight.
All these signs of the coming warm season we greet with happy anticipation.
Yes, you can surely put us down in that book of Warm Weather Lovers.
We rue the day when it get colder, knowing full well our toes will
be cool until the spring arrives.
We can barely wait until tomorrow!
 The
public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com
to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is Wheeler/Kolb
Management Co. The company evolved from the name change of Hudgens
Management Company in November, 1991. Tom Wheeler and Tom Kolb have
been principal owners since 1985. Wheeler/Kolb has offices in Duluth
and has 28 employees. More: www.wheelerkolb.com
Consolation on changes
that are headed for Jackson County
Editor, the Forum:
Waiting for the light to change at the corner of Five Forks Road
and Sugarloaf Parkway, I saw the familiar scene that has driven
my friends to Jackson County: a small frame house on a wide lot
with a flowering pear, a wooden fence, and deep green grass. A massive
"for sale" sign sits on the corner.
Across the street, an auto parts store in the middle of a huge
parking lot, backed by a row of two story retail shops, all empty.
Yes, this picture also includes the proverbial empty lot, scraped
to the bone, waiting for the bulldozer and cement truck to arrive
and begin building something.
All of this criss-crossed above with massive power lines and poles,
and underpinned by black asphalt and white parking lines. I keep
wondering, "Why is this necessary?" but I never get a
really good answer.
My only comfort: it's all headed toward Jackson County.
-- Emily Powell, Lawrenceville
Suggests reasons traffic
lights are timed the way they are
Editor, the Forum,
It makes me wonder if our politicians make sure that the traffic
light stays green too short of a time, in order to make sure that
traffic is always bad, and to make sure that the taxpayers are always
willing to fund road projects.
The next time that you cross Georgia Highway 316 at Collins Hill
Road imagine in your mind what would happen if just 10 more seconds
were allowed for your passage. Imagine what would happen if you
synchronized the lights at Collins Hill, Georgia Highway 20 and
Hi-Hope? It is not rocket science!
My opinion is that smarter control and synchronization of lights
would go a long way towards getting traffic moving, saving time,
conserving fuel, and eliminating or delaying road construction.
-- Wayne Buchheit, Dacula
Dear Wayne: Wow! You give us new insight on traffic
lights. But usually for me, it's the other way: I wonder why some
lights are timed so that the cross street stays on what seems
forever, and the more trafficked street gets a shorter light.
--eeb
Feels namesakes would
rue the day for Button name
Editor, the Forum:
I suspect a significant number of children will grow up despising
the name Elliott Brack because he was the crazy man that suggested
to the child's parent they consider the name "Button"
for their newborn. It's a great name for a two year old child, but
it loses some of its cuteness on a 40 year old adult. I suspect
there is a reason you do not find too many people named with Gwinnett
in their name and probably an even better reason why only one appears
to have been named Button Gwinnett.
-- Patrick Malone, Snellville
Dear Pat: We would somewhat agree with you, and
assume that most readers can see that some suggestions are sardonic.
You may also recall that my suggestion that the Gwinnett hockey
team be named the Buttons didn't get very far either. Most realized
how headline writers would shorten that name! -eeb
Suwanee
offers smooth jazz concert series again
The Suwanee Smooth Jazz Concert Series begins this spring where
it left off in the fall, with two area jazz favorites taking to
the Town Center Park stage with free performances. Electric violinist
Ken Ford and Brian Clay & Kompani will kick off the 2007 concert
series at 7 p.m. Friday, April 6.
The Concert Series was so well-received last year that it has been
extended for 2007. The series will bring jazz performers to the
Town Center stage the first Friday of each month, from April to
October.
Ken Ford, whose touring schedule includes dates in Miami, Dallas,
Washington, and Bermuda, is well-known locally for his soulful and
funky sound and electrifying stage presence. He is a founding member
of the DeKalb Youth Pop Orchestra and a former member of the DeKalb
Symphony Orchestra and African American Philharmonic Orchestra,
where he was promoted to concert master before leaving.
Brian Clay and Kompani have captivated audiences throughout the
Atlanta area with live performances and a blend of smooth grooves
and urban rhythms with inspirational vocal arrangements. This ensemble
band featureing keyboardist-composer-singer-songwriter Brian Clay
and lyricist-singer-songwriter Pamela Best.Kompani takes its audiences
on a varied musical journey that includes original songs that range
from the laid back to sultry to urban contemporary.
Concertgoers are advised to bring blankets, chairs, picnics, and
friends to the concert. Alcohol may not be brought into Town Center
Park. Food, beer, and wine will be available for purchase, with
vendors set to open at 5:30 p.m.
Sign up open for 5th
annual Tribble Trot 5K race
Sign up now for the fifth annual Tribble Trot 5K Race sponsored
by Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation. The race begins Saturday,
April 14 at 8 a.m. at Tribble Mill Park in Grayson. Runners will
take on a 3.1-mile paved course that winds through the wooded terrain
of the park.
The pre-registration entry fee for entries received by April 6
is $15. Registration after this date and on the day of the race
is $20 per person and begins at 7:15 a.m. All registered racers
will receive a t-shirt. Ages 8 and up are eligible to participate
in the race.
To register for the race, visit www.gwinnettparks.com,
click on the Play, Live, Learn logo, and follow the simple registration
steps.
Rabbit
Hill Park soccer complex gets new lights
Nighttime practices and games just got brighter for kids who play
soccer at Rabbit Hill Park in Dacula. On February 12, new light
poles and fixtures were energized at the youth soccer complex area.
The new lights, which replaced temporary generator-run lights,
are designed to control sky-glow, a form of light pollution, and
also minimize the impact of bright light to the surrounding neighborhoods
by focusing more light on the fields. Funding for the project was
provided by the 2005 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).
Rabbit Hill Park, opened in 2002 and operated by Gwinnett County
Parks and Recreation, has a total of five youth soccer fields, one
multi-purpose field, a one-mile paved multi-purpose trail, and a
pond.
Top 25 businesses
vie for Chamber's Pinnacle Award
In support of National Small Business Week, the Gwinnett Chamber
of Commerce and HavenTrust Bank will honor Gwinnett's top 25 small
businesses of the year at the Pinnacle Small Business Awards Dinner
on April 25 at the Atlanta Hilton Northeast at 6 pm. From these
25 businesses, Gwinnett's overall Small Business Person of the Year
will be selected and announced that evening.
The awards were formerly known as the Small Business Person of the
Year Awards. This year's black-tie optional celebration recognizes
both emerging companies as well as companies that have exhibited
a substantial history as an established business.
The winner will be selected from more than 300 nominations as Gwinnett's
Top 25 Pinnacle Small Business Award winners, based on steady and
above average growth and profitability, growth in number of employees,
contributions to the community, overcoming adversity, original entrepreneurship
and other factors. The companies in the finals are:
Category 1-10 employees:
Crescent Resources,LLC
CTR Partners, LLP
Rocket IT
Sanders Financial Management, Inc.
Virtual Properties Realty, Inc.
WeathersDesign.com.
Category 11-149 employees:
A. L. Grading Contractors, Inc.
Ace Truck Body & Trailer Repair, Inc.
American Painting and Renovations, Inc.
Anderson Insurance
Aqua Terra Bistro
Atlanta Flooring Design Centers, Inc.
Cypress Care, Inc.
Hire Dynamics, LLC
Lloyd Bennett & Company
Metals & Materials Engineers
Moore Stephens Tiller LLC
Redpepper
Staffing Resources, Inc.
Studio 93
Tara Fine Jewelry Company, Inc.
Winmark Homes, Inc.
Wolverton & Associates, Inc.
Category 150+ employees:
C2 Education Centers
Canvas Systems.
Century Park to open
senior housing in late summer
Century Park Associates of Chattanooga, Tenn. announces that Garden
Plaza Senior Community, a 150-unit apartment home retirement community,
will open in late summer. The facility is being built in Lawrenceville
near the Georgia Highway 316 and Collins Hill Road Exit.
The property amenities include an enclosed swimming pool/spa with
Fitness Center, dining services, beauty/barber shop and many other
such features. The apartment homes will be leased on a monthly basis
to seniors aged 55 and older. Special pre-construction leasing rates
are available prior to opening.
A sister company of Life Care Centers of America operates nearby.
Century Park operates over 40 independent and assisted living communities
in 19 states.
This community offers studio or one and two bedrooms facilities.
For further information contact Rob Pollard at 770-236-8333, or
via email at rpollard@centurypa.com.
- An invitation: What
Web sites, books or restaurants have you enjoyed? Send us your
best recent visit to a restaurant or most recent book you have
read along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus
what book you plan to read next. --eeb
Waynesboro's
Beau Jack became lightweight champ twice
Sidney
"Beau Jack" Walker (1921-2000) was one of the greatest
lightweight boxers of the 1940s and 1950s. Noted for his swarming
style and high punch volume, the 5-foot-6-inch, 133-pound Jack boxed
a record 21 main events at Madison Square Garden in New York and
twice held the New York Boxing Commission world lightweight title.
Walker |
Born in Waynesboro, Sidney Walker was reared in Augusta by his
grandmother, Evie Mixom, who nicknamed him "Beau Jack."
As a youth, he shined shoes at the corner of Ninth and Broad streets.
Needing additional income, he began fighting at age 15. Jack won
repeatedly despite his small stature. After winning a fight at the
Augusta National Golf Club, Jack began shining shoes there. Members
of the club, including the legendary golfer Bobby Jones, befriended
him and provided funds for his formal boxing training.
Jack entered the professional ranks in 1940, quickly amassing an
impressive win-loss record. On December 18, 1942, before a capacity
crowd at Madison Square Garden, he captured the lightweight title
with a third-round knockout of Tippy Larkin. In May 1943 Jack lost
the championship to Bob Montgomery via a 15-round decision. He reclaimed
the belt in a rematch, only to lose it again to Montgomery in March
1944. Jack fought for the title once more, in July 1948, losing
to champion Ike Williams on a sixth-round knockout. The bout marked
the beginning of a bitter rivalry between the two lightweights,
who faced off three more times. His skills eroding, Jack lost the
first match, managed only a draw in the second, and lost by a technical
knock-out in the third. His final match with Williams, held August
12, 1955, in Augusta, was also the last of Jack's career. The bout
was Jack's 113th or 118th, depending on the source, and he is credited
with as many as 88 victories.
After retirement Jack operated a drive-in barbecue stand near Augusta,
tended a small farm, and refereed wrestling matches in South Carolina.
He later moved to Miami. His ring earnings depleted, Jack returned
to shining shoes, operating a shoeshine concession at the famous
Fontainebleau Hotel. He also tutored boxers at the Fifth Street
Gym. Despite his poverty, he maintained that he deserved no pity:
"I've been to the top of the mountain. I was champion of the
world. I've worked hard all my life, and I'm happy doing what I'm
doing."
Jack died in Miami on February 9, 2000, of complications from Parkinson's
disease. He was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in
1979, and he is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Here's a suggestion
on being sure you get your way
"If at first you don't succeed, try it again when nobody's
looking."
-- Atlanta traffic reporter Art "Madman" Mehring,
via Marshall Miller, Lilburn.
Send your thoughts, 55-word short stories, pet peeves
or comments on any issue to Gwinnett
Forum for future publication.
===========================================
MORE: Contact Gwinnett Forum at: elliott@gwinnettforum.com
© 2007, Gwinnett Forum.com. Gwinnett Forum
is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible
social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett
County, Ga. USA.
|
