Among the councilmembers are

two from Sandy Creek High School, and the only ones from Fayette County

- junior Megan Smelley and senior Kamila Triche.

The second of four meetings

has been scheduled for Monday, Jan. 26, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Emory

University. The agenda is still being formalized.

During the group's first

meeting in November at Zoo Atlanta, no topic was off limits. The students

engaged in thoughtful discussion on the "No Child Left Behind"

Act, rewards and consequences for schools making and failing to make AYP,

and the Georgia High School Graduation Test. They also talked about "big

picture" issues such as diversity and tolerance in Georgia's

schools, dropout prevention, and raising SAT scores.

"The students are amazing.

They were open, honest and eloquent," said Cox. "Every decision

we make at the state level has a direct effect on them so it makes perfect

sense to listen closely to what they have to say."

The meeting concluded with

the students receiving a homework assignment: Cox asked them to meet with

fellow students, school administrators and members of the community to

get input concerning the HOPE scholarship, educational funding issues,

and testing and bring it to the Jan. 26 meeting.