Savannah Listening Session
The Joint Senate and House Education Committees will be holding their next Listening Session  in Savannah on November 19, 2013 in the auditorium at Savannah Tech, which is located at 5717 White Bluff Road, Savannah, Ga.  Below is the schedule:

3:00 – 4:00 p.m.                Meet with area school  superintendents
4:00 – 5:00 p.m.                Meet with area school board members
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.                Town Hall meeting with educators and the community

Recap from Albany Listening Session
PAGE attended the Listening Session in Albany at Darton College on Thursday, November 7th and presented the final results of our 2013 Education Policy Survey as well as economic data from the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute’s "Schoolhouse Squeeze" report.  You can view these results by CLICKING HERE<http://page.affiniscape.com/associations/9445/files/2013%20Education%20Policy%20Survey%20Results.pdf> and read GBPI’s report by CLICKING HERE<http://gbpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Schoolhouse-Squeeze-Report-09232013.pdf>.  GBPI has also released a new report titled “Cutting Class to Make Ends Meet” which discusses the impact of funding cuts on education throughout Georgia.  CLICK HERE<http://gbpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Cutting-Class-to-Make-Ends-Meet-Final.pdf> to read this article.

The Albany Listening Session saw the largest variety of topics discussed as well as the the first session where Common Core was barely mentioned.  When Common Core was mentioned, the speakers were in support as they do not want to burden educators with having to learn and adapt to another set of standards.  Tift County was represented by several teachers, administrators, and a police officer to discuss issues with the aging Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula, support for Common Core, and the need to properly fund education in order to decrease the burden on the criminal justice system in Georgia.

Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education was also a popular subject.  A student from the area spoke about the need for continued funding for these programs by describing to the legislators the success she has had in the program at her school.  She also thanked the committees for their commitment to these programs.

Other speakers ranged from the President of the PTO at Rainey Middle School encouraging parents to stay involved in their child’s education, a school nurse encouraging legislators to prove the funding and support they need to do their job properly, and a board member for Bright From the Start encouraging legislators to support Pre-K programs through funding  and reducing class size.

PAGE member Sarah Nisinger spoke representing Georgia Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) in Dougherty County with the message that education is the equalizer when it comes to poverty levels.  Proper funding of education is necessary in order to give foster children and all children living in poverty the opportunity to succeed.

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