The mission of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education is to inform and influence Georgia leaders through research and non-partisan advocacy to impact education policies and practices for the improvement of student achievement.
Click here for the Partnership's 2007 Annual Report: Convene - Connect - Commit.
Founded in 1990 by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Economic Developers Association, the Partnership consists of business, education, community and government leaders who share a vision of improved education. Working to be Georgia's foremost change agent in education, the non-profit, non-partisan organization takes lead roles in efforts to shape policy and reform education.
It consistently advocates a reform framework based on (1) high educational standards for all schools, (2) monitoring progress toward achieving standards, and (3) accountability for all components of the public education system.
The Partnership recognizes that the way to ensure success at the state level is to research issues and influence policy, while encouraging communities to design their own school improvement strategies at the local level. The Partnership is committed to ensuring the future prosperity of our state by giving every Georgian new options and opportunities to succeed.
Major accomplishments since the Partnership's inception include:
Leveraging $30 million in state, private, and local matching funds to turn 51 local school systems into models of academic excellence. Each system participating in the Next Generation School Project succeeded in raising student achievement results. In 2002, the project narrowed its focus to reform models that involve specifically adding time to the school calendar, whether it is lengthening the school day, extending the school term, or adding weekend or other special sessions for students who are at risk of failure.
Advocating successfully for such educational reforms as a lottery-funded statewide pre-kindergarten program; a constitutional amendment calling for appointed school superintendents and elected school boards; and an amendment allowing school systems to hold local referendums to establish sales tax funding for school construction purposes. The Partnership provides non-partisan information for educational policies that ultimately became law.
Raising private and public support for scholarships directed to teachers seeking national board certification. The Partnership donated $1 million to help establish the schoalrship program. This incentive along with legislated pay increases for educators earning the certification leveraged the increase in the number of Georgia teachers achieving National Board Certification from 111 teachers in 2000 to 2,115 in 2006. Georgia now ranks near the top in the nation on this important indicator of teacher quality.
Strategically enhancing education through collaboration with statewide businesses to provide advocacy, influential policy change, performance management and leadership skills, and systemic financial support.
Boosting school improvement by taking a lead role in 2002 in the development of one of the state’s most successful programs – the Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement. The institute has trained and continues to train, equip, support and inspire hundreds of education leaders to drive change for student success in their local systems.
The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education continues to look for ways it can provide catalytic leadership to maintain positive momentum and instill public confidence that education in Georgia is on the right track. Its ongoing and new strategies include –
The Bus Trip Across Georgia, which began in 1993, annually showcases model schools and educational programs that result in outstanding student achievement. Business, education, government and civic leaders board buses for the tour to observe educators in action improving learning opportunities for their students. Bus Trip XIV video - courtesy of Georgia Public Broadcasting.
The Education Policy Forums, first conducted in 2002, have become a regular election-year program. Partnering with the Georgia School Boards Association, the Partnership conducts education policy briefings for local school board and state legislative candidates. Expert speakers cover a wide-range of educational topics that provide the participants with a firm non-partisan foundation on which to make future decisions.
2004 saw the Partnership intensify its efforts at engaging the business community in the educational process. Partnering with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Economics of Education program and publication were created. Updated in 2006, the message was and is clear: education in Georgia must be improved if the state is going to remain competitive for economic development and subsequent prosperity. The initiative uses state and national data and research to underscore the impact on individuals and communities if higher educational levels are not achieved. It also provides strategies for community leaders to get involved in improving education by addressing issues of early learning, high school completion, and teaching quality – all factors that if not addressed can have a detrimental effect on quality of life issues and the business environment.
The Georgia Partnership publishes works that focus on topical issues as a way to inform education stakeholders for their own advocacy purposes. The annual Top 10 Education Issues to Watch targets the key educational policy issues facing Georgia specifically and the nation in general. In January 2007, the Partnership released the first in a four-part Gap Analysis series of reports. The first report: Georgia's Unfinished Business in Teacher Quality, generated considerable interest and has been widely circulated within and outside the state. Work is underway on the second report which will examine Secondary Education Reform. The newsletter Teacher Connection, up until December 2007, was published three-times a year for teachers and outlined current research for the profession and addressed how it can impact their classroom practice. The newsletter is no longer published. These items are available on the Home Page under Partnership Products.
The Partnership is in the planning process (early 2008) for an exciting new initiative - the Education Policy Fellowship Program - a national professional development program that provides leaders with the knowledge and networks to advance the core issues of education policy. Stay tuned for more information on EPFP as well as the recruitment of the first Georgia class of fellows.
The organization’s leadership and resources are constantly being engaged in a wide-range of issues designed to reform the state’s educational system. There are few more important bedrock issues than education when it comes to the quality of life for all Georgians. The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education is making a difference every day.
