“Words matter” – that’s what several of the dozen or so educators and parents gathered in a downtown Atlanta boardroom had to say Thursday in a bid to persuade the Georgia Professional Standards Commission not to change the state’s rules for training K-12 teachers.

The commission had on its agenda a slew of proposed revisions, removing words like “diversity” in favor of less politically fraught verbiage like “differences.”

For example, one change for elementary school educators would call on them to get to know the “unique contexts of children and families,” rather than their “diverse cultural contexts” under the previous rules.

But the speakers’ words did not sway the commissioners, who voted unanimously to approve the changes without discussion.

“History remembers white supremacists,” shouted one speaker as the commissioners voted.

Commission Chair Brian Sirmans said the changes came at the request of the University System of Georgia and are intended to clarify language that had picked up unintended negative meanings over the years.

“These proposed rule amendments are not intended to redefine or remove the care preparation providers place on meeting students’ needs or prescribe the way (education preparation providers) choose to meet the program standards,” he said. “We still expect EPPs to prepare educators who are well-equipped to address the learning needs of all students that they may encounter and who are well-prepared to meet the students where they are within a positive and welcoming learning environment.”

But speakers including Sarah Hunt-Blackwell, First Amendment policy advocate with the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, said they view the changes as more than a mere swapping of words.

“I’d like to remind the commission, most of you educators, that words matter,” she said. “As such, we cannot be simplistic in believing that these amendments merely replace one word with another. Changing language does change intent. Replacing the word ‘diverse’ with words like ‘different’ and ‘unique’ implies that there is a norm, a sameness, which excludes those who do not fit in.”

Ruth M. Youn, second-generation Chinese-Taiwanese-American writer and parent who lives in metro Atlanta, said she felt like she did not fit in at school as a child. Although her teachers were well-educated and her schools were well-resourced, she said her heritage, language and physical appearance were not welcome and her peoples’ history in the U.S. was never discussed.

“I was not only minoritized, but I de facto learned to adopt negative mentalities towards communities different from mine,” she said. “There’s a pervasive misconception that teaching about diversity perpetuates racism and divisiveness in the classroom. I argue that by pretending that diversity does not exist, by not equipping educators to teach in a culturally sustaining way, we inevitably create entire cohorts of educators and therefore student populations who are uninformed, ill-informed, and potentially racist, even if they do not realize it.”

Christopher Andrews, a DeKalb County educator who has worked in social studies and science classrooms in middle and high schools, said his latest assignment was in Georgia’s most diverse middle school, and his diversity, equity and inclusion training came in handy to help him make connections with children from different religious and social backgrounds.

“A lack of intentional DEI training would have left me vastly unprepared to serve students from diverse backgrounds and ability levels, ultimately ignoring the essence of who they are and failing to equip them for the real world around them,” he said.

The changes, which are set to go into effect July 1, would apply to positions including elementary education and reading and literacy specialists, who teach up to grade 12, as well as educational leaders like principals and superintendents.

They follow another controversial change last month, which stripped the definition of diversity from teacher training rules.

Some teachers complained not only about the changes, but about what they described as a streamlined process that skipped over opportunities for them to weigh in. Commissioners said they received a record amount of emails about last month’s changes, but admitted to ignoring or filtering them.

Others said requiring in-person access to a mostly-digital meeting in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday prevented many interested parties from weighing in.

“As I stand here speaking in front of you all and those who are with us virtually, there are parents here across the city of Atlanta, across metro Atlanta, who cannot be here because they’re picking up their children from summer camp, from summer programs, from summer school,” said Jason B. Allen, national organizing director for the National Parents Union.

Fights over CRT, DEI

School board meetings across the country have seen heated debates in recent years over so-called wokeness in the classroom as some white parents accuse teachers of trying to make students feel guilty about their race.

In 2021, the Cherokee County School District hired Cecelia Lewis, a Maryland principal, for a new position as an administrator focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. But Lewis, who is Black, would from the offer after a group of white parents rose up against the decision, with many arguing without evidence that Lewis planned to bring critical race theory to the county.

Once a niche academic term, critical race theory has become a catch-all for lessons on race that put U.S. policy in a negative light or make connections between past discrimination and current inequality.

Following the first wave of outcry, the Georgia Board of Education a resolution against a list of opinions members found unpopular, including that the United States is a racist country or that anyone ought to be made to feel bad for things people belonging to their race did in the past.

Last year, Gov. Brian Kemp bills aimed at keeping ideas like critical race theory out of schools and strengthening parents’ rights to review classroom materials.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Education ruled that proposed book bans in Forsyth County may have created a environment for some students and ordered the district to come up with a plan to fix things.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John McCosh for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com. Follow Georgia Recorder on and .

It’s the time of the year when young men and women turn their tassels, toss their caps into the sky and dream about a bright future.

But one group of graduates from Georgia’s class of 23 stands out from the rest.

“The thing that makes us want to do it, those of us who have taught there, the reason we love it so much is that they’re the best students we’ve had,” said Georgia State University Perimeter College geology professor Polly Bouker. “I’ve worked 23 years in higher education, and this has been my absolute top experience.”

On May 5, Perimeter College graduated its first class of students who earned their associate’s degrees while incarcerated, part of Georgia State University’s Prison Education Project. The nine graduates from Walker State Prison in Rock Spring earned their degrees in general studies, taking classes in a variety of subjects. According to the college, three graduated with GPAs above 3.9 and the rest were above 3.7.

Bouker began teaching the students in January 2022. Her class included 12 people, the nine graduates and three others who started later. Their ages range from 35 to 61.

At first, Bouker would send a flash drive with video lectures and homework assignments to the prison, but she said the men impressed her with their dedication and curiosity. She said they would often send questions with their homework that demonstrated they were thinking hard about the material.

“Normally, if you’re teaching about minerals to students, they’re just thinking about ‘what do I need to know to pass the test’ and not ‘how does it relate to something bigger?’” she said. “They definitely were thinking about the bigger picture, why things work the way they do and not just taking for granted what I told them.”

She said she was so impressed that despite a three-hour commute each way, Bouker has been driving to the north Georgia prison nearly every week to hold classes in person. She’s worked with prison administration to be able to bring in rocks, minerals and fossils as well as microscopes to aid in the students’ lessons. Last fall, she began working as the program’s site coordinator as well.

The Georgia Department of Corrections describes Walker State Prison as a facility that provides a pro-social, programmatic environment for change to those offenders who voluntarily request to participate in the program.

Without access to the internet, the students peppered Bouker with questions about all sorts of science and technology subjects. One student interested in particle physics wanted to know all about the CERN Large Hadron Collider, while others were fascinated with Ghat GPT, the advanced AI chatbot.

The students also ask questions about their prospects once they get out.

“They’d make comments on some of that homework they were sending to me before I met them face-to-face, things like ‘I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I really find this fascinating. Do you think someone like me could ever work as a geologist if I majored in geology when I get out of prison?’ And what he meant by someone like me is, is there any chance I could get a job with my history?”

“And of course I don’t know the answer to that, but I said, ‘I don’t think geology is going to be any harder than anything else. There are going to be biases, but you should do what you think you want to do.’”

Hurdles

Research links educational attainment with a lower recidivism rate, but previously incarcerated people face hurdles in enrolling into college, said GSU Prison Education Program Director Patrick Rodriguez.

“If our students are able to obtain an education while on the inside, then when they come home, they will be better equipped to face the challenges they will ultimately face on release,” he said. “Our policies in Georgia lay out clear challenges for housing, education and some government benefits. These issues are pressing considering the high rates of incarceration in Georgia. I am excited to continue working towards a Georgia that supports formerly incarcerated people, and I do believe that we can get there.”

Rodriguez is also the co-executive director of the Georgia Coalition for Higher Education in Prison, whose advocacy includes the Beyond the Box initiative, a push for better education access for formerly incarcerated people.

Among all the other questions on a college application is one asking about the student’s criminal background. If they tick the box indicating they have been convicted of a felony, they are subject to further questioning.

Rodriguez, who served about five years on drug-related charges before graduating from Kennesaw State University, said his application process was lengthy and difficult to navigate and involved reliving experiences from his past and collecting a large number of documents.

“All of this was to convince Kennesaw State University that I was able to continue an education,” he said. “I feel as if my academic history and who I am as a person did not count for anything. There was a spotlight on a crime that I committed years ago, and all I wanted to do was to complete my degree so I could be a productive citizen of Georgia and realize a goal I had set for myself years before.”

Many other potential students stop in their tracks as soon as they get to that question and never complete their applications, said Lawrenceville Democratic state Rep. Gregg Kennard, author of a bill seeking to remove that question from applications in Georgia.

“We know that just that question is deterring a lot of folks from attending higher education, so we want to remove that barrier, the stigma, and get as many of our high schoolers into seeking a four-year degree as possible,” he said. “If you look at our prison population statistics, only 1% of the population reflects four-year degree holders. So you get one of our young people into a college with a four-year degree, it almost eliminates them from ever being under correctional control.”

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Kennard said he feels positive about the bill’s chances.

“It’s got bipartisan support, the bill has three Republican sponsors and three Democratic sponsors,” he said. “It did get a hearing. We want to bring it back to the Higher Education Committee next year and hopefully get it through.”

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John McCosh for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com. Follow Georgia Recorder on and .

If he’s re-elected this November, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he’ll push for a state budget with $65 million dedicated to fighting pandemic learning loss, hiring new guidance counselors and recruiting teachers.

In a Monday speech outlining his top education priorities for next year’s legislative session, Kemp said he will aim to increase the number of counselors treating students’ mental health issues.

“In speaking with school administrators, teachers and staff, one of the top concerns I consistently hear is the mental health needs of our students. While we have made key investments in this vital effort over my first term, we can and must do more,” Kemp said in remarks at Statham’s Dove Creek Elementary. “Counselors in schools across our state today do much more than just assist students with issues they may be facing psychologically. They are undeniably a critical asset to the overall health, well being and long-term success of our future leaders.”

In 2020 and 2021, Georgia schools provided one counselor for every 419 students, according to the American School Counselor Association. That’s close to the national average of 415 students per counselor, but a far sight off from the recommended 250 students per counselor.

An extra $25 million could help to close that gap, said Stephen Owens, education policy analyst at the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.

“I think that’s a great, I would say, first step, because the pandemic specifically highlighted that we can’t just educate kids’ brains if they’re dealing with mental health issues, if their bodies aren’t taken care of,” he said. “It showed just how much we need that social-emotional learning, mental health professionals. I’m never going to complain about $25 million dollars being added into the budget for school counselors, but hopefully, that isn’t treated as the job is completely finished.”

Kemp’s K-12 budget proposal also includes a $15 million grant designed to help recruit paraprofessionals, workers who assist teachers in the classroom and otherwise help students in a variety of ways, advance to become full-time teachers.

“We currently have more than 9,000 paraprofessionals with four-year degrees working in our schools, but the cost and length of time required for these hard-working Georgians to become certified educators is a major obstacle for many,” he said. “To help these parapros offset their significant certification costs, my budget proposal for next year will include $15 million for a $3,000 reimbursable grant program. These funds will help get more teachers in the classroom, and assist Georgians already passionate about (helping) our students achieve career success.”

Owens applauded the idea.

“I think it’s a good read that there are financial barriers to keep from people being in the classroom in a paraprofessional role,” he said. “And when you consider just how helpful parapros can be as a way to rethink the teacher pipeline, these are folks in the classroom, if they can be set up that way, kind of in a grow-your-own program, to become teachers, that just makes everything better because they know the context. They live in the communities. We don’t have to maybe set up tax credits to get folks from UGA to move down to rural Georgia, maybe we could invest in the people who are already there in the classroom.”

Kemp cited state data showing the number of third graders reading on grade level dropped to 63% from 73% from 2019 to 2022, which he said was the result of pandemic learning loss, and said he will direct another $25 million to grants aimed at getting these students back on track.

“Schools with students in this category may apply for these grants to leverage additional tutoring services, non-traditional staff, or supplement existing learning loss services,” he said. “By working with our local school systems and providing targeted funds to bring these kids back up to grade level, I’m confident that we can lend a helping hand to the students who need it the most.”

The governor also listed several proposals he said will strengthen schools’ ability to keep students safe, including updating state law to include intruder alert drills, providing voluntary anti-gang and school safety training for new and current teachers, assigning the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security agency to review school safety plans and recommending continuing education and training updates for all school resource officers every two years.

“These reforms will make our schools safer, but also strengthen the state-local partnership to improve communication and sharing of best practices when it comes to improving school security,” Kemp said.

Kemp’s Democratic opponent, Stacey Abrams, released her slate of educational in June.

Her K-12 priorities include increasing the state base salary for teachers from $39,092 to $50,000 and raising average teacher pay from $62,500 to $73,500, which her campaign says will shift Georgia from 21st in the nation in teacher salaries to the top 10.

Abrams has also called for programs to help paraprofessionals earn their teaching certification while they work by expanding existing programs and grants. Her platform also includes partnering with colleges and universities to recruit students to teach in rural areas.

Next year’s legislative session is set to begin in January featuring lawmakers elected this November.

One major change that could come out of the 2023 General Assembly was not mentioned during Kemp’s remarks, but a powerful group of state senators is set to hold its second of three meetings Friday to discuss changes to the long-running Quality Basic Education formula that how the state’s share of education dollars are disbursed.

“We still have this kind of giant hole in the way that we fund schools by the fact that we don’t have any additional funding to educate students living in poverty,” Owens said. “And so I’m hoping that the Senate study committee, who has shown interest in that exact mechanism, can bring this more to the forefront as a way to really set up our funding system to do right by Georgians for the next 30 years of this formula.”

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John McCosh for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com. Follow Georgia Recorder on and .