Georgia Magazine - October 2016 - 5

Corn mazes: a bump er crop of fall fun, page FROM THE EDITOR October is the time of year when some might be a little uneasy about visiting a cemetery. But the spirit of Historic Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta is one of beauty, not dread. In the mid-1800s when Oakland was founded, graveyards weren't considered macabre; they were enjoyed as tranquil gardens, meant for communing with nature rather than the dead. Today, thanks to the work of the Historic Oakland Foundation, Oakland is so much more than a cemetery; it's a museum of Atlanta's past as well as its third-largest green space. See "Landscape of remembrance" on page 24 to find out why Oakland truly is a treasure in the heart of the city. Speaking of treasures, discovering a hidden one is a timeless thrill, and nowhere is that more evident than in the pastime of geocaching. Perhaps best described as a digital scavenger hunt, geocaching involves using GPS devices to reach a set of coordinates and then attempting to find the "cache," or treasure box, hidden at that location. It's an easy and affordable way for people of all ages to venture outdoors and test their navigational skills. See "Treasure hunters" on page 26 for pointers on how to get started on your own geocaching adventure! Finally, turn to page 38 to add a little "Southern sweetness" to your menu, with recipes featuring sorghum. Long a staple of Southern cooks, sorghum is coming into its own lately, as Southern chefs rediscover their culinary roots. And be sure to check out our Calendar on page 10 for information about the Blairsville Sorghum Festival as well as other fall events. Enjoy! Laurel George Editor October 2016 34 The op-ed piece titled "Opportunity School District ballot initiative goes before voters" by Tom Willis in our September issue [see page 29; bit.ly/osd916] generated a passionate response from our readers-both supporters and opponents of the ballot initiative. Below are two letters that are representative of the feedback that we received about the piece. The Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) is Georgia's largest association for teachers, representing more than 91,000 educators, administrators and school support personnel. Brooks Coleman represents the 97th District in the Georgia House of Representatives and is chairman of the House Education Committee. He has 31 years of experience as a teacher, principal, curriculum director and assistant superintendent with Gwinnett County schools. September 2016 www.georgiamagazine .org 01_Cover_SW_0916.indd 1 8/12/16 12:47 AM An opposing view on the Opportunity School District (OSD) ballot initiative ... I was surprised to find a political opinion piece on the state school takeover amendment in the September issue. Readers will likely not notice the small designation of "Another view ..." at the top of the page, indicating that the one-sided advocacy for the Opportunity School District (OSD) amendment, Amendment 1, on the ballot on Nov. 8, is an opinion piece and not a news story. Your readers deserved to learn about both sides of this issue and why so many education advocates strongly oppose this power grab by the governor's office. Space does not allow me to share the scope of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators' (PAGE) opposition. I recommend that readers visit our website for a special report on the OSD at pageinc.org. Here are just a few of the highlights: The OSD erodes fiscal transparency and accountability at the expense of local control and access to locally elected officials. The OSD superintendent would be appointed by the governor, has no responsibility to the local community or local board of education and would operate More online at www.georgiamagazine.org schools around the state from an office in Atlanta. The state takeover plan represents bureaucratic expansion and overreach as it unnecessarily sets up another education agency accountable only to the governor and outside the Georgia Department of Education. Similar takeover plans in other states have not been overwhelmingly successful. The OSD allows direct takeover of up to 100 schools which have been "determined to be failing through any governance model allowed by law." The index Georgia uses to determine failure has changed multiple times since its inception, and the measure of "failing" could change at any time. The index is based largely on standardized test scores, a methodology under intense scrutiny as an appropriate and accurate measure of student learning. Besides the ability to close a school or fire all staff, another takeover option is conversion to a state charter school that could be operated by a for-profit charter-management company. Most importantly, the OSD does nothing to address why a school might be struggling to meet achievement benchmarks. The schools iden5 http://www.bit.ly/osd916 http://www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.pageinc.org http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - October 2016