A recent poll of parents

nationwide reports that the majority would choose to send

their children to public school even if private or

church-related schools could be attended at government

expense.

As a public school

official, I take that news as public support of our

national and local commitment to educating all our

children. When asked which factors they would use to

select a school, the most important factor, chosen by 98

percent of respondents, was teacher quality.

Student discipline and

curriculum were named by 89 percent. It is quite

interesting that these two factors were rated as having

the most impact on parents' choice of schools, because

they are also key factors in our local school system.

As the Board of Education,

the system staff and I look at school improvement issues,

these same factors are vital. Choosing the best teachers

possible is so important that we purposely avoid hiring

marginal teachers even if it means having a slightly

larger class.

It is our belief that an

effective teacher is better for the students in a larger

class than a poor teacher is for a smaller one. We

continually address student discipline and safety needs,

and our recent curriculum alignment was a system-wide

effort to make sure we are teaching students what they

need.

One of the more interesting

aspects of the findings of this poll reveals again this

year, as in the past, that the closer respondents are to

the schools they are asked to rate, the higher the grades

they assign them.

This means closeness in

involvement more than just proximity. It has been proven

time and time again that involvement breeds awareness,

awareness breeds support, and support then breeds more

involvement, which fosters an ever-growing cycle of

improvement. It is easy to criticize from afar, yet that

kind of uninformed criticism is, more often than not,

unjust and unfounded.

Citizens who become

involved in public schools by visiting, volunteering,

mentoring, attending athletic and performing events, and

even by voicing concerns at board meetings will almost

always lend themselves to being part of the solution

rather than the problem.

Coweta County has been

fortunate in recent years in the vast ways in which the

citizens have become involved in our school system.

Business-school partnerships, adult mentors for students,

attendance and input at public hearings and board

meetings, and the passage of the special purpose local

option sales tax are just a few of the ways in which

Coweta citizens have proclaimed their awareness and

support of our schools.

Everyone involved may not

always agree on the particulars, but even the

disagreements usually have the best interest of students

at heart. Our public schools in America have always been

a controversial topic. Nothing gets the average American

more willing to state his or her opinion quicker than

bringing up the topics of religion, money, or how to best

educate our children.

We as educational

professionals do not claim to have all the answers. With

our society changing as rapidly as it is in this age of

population shifts and information explosions, we don't

even know all the questions yet. But we are trying, and

we continue to need and appreciate your support and

involvement.

Gallup's recent poll is

evidence that Americans still support the concept of

public education for all. Thanks to your involvement in

our community, Coweta County is a place where good

schools continue to be a great investment.