From the President

Dr. Emily Felton

Teachers must inform policymakers and community members about these burdens and about how the cuts are impacting students.

We’ve Got Strong Data to Support Our Case; Now Let’s Share It

Georgia public schools have lost billions of dollars of financial support in education over the past few years. According to a recent report by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, school districts are coping with cuts by shrinking the school calendar, increasing class sizes and furloughing teachers. Specifically, the GBPI finds that 71 percent of school districts have cut the school calendar from the standard 180 days, almost all school districts (95 percent) have increased class sizes since 2009 and 82 percent of all districts are furloughing teachers this school year.

Each time a student is added to a class, there are more papers to grade, more discipline issues, more parents to contact, more emails to answer, more parent conferences to schedule and less time for individual instruction. Furlough days mean that teachers have less time for planning, students have fewer days of instruction and parents must miss work or find and pay for additional childcare.

Teachers must inform policymakers and community members about these burdens and about how the cuts are impacting students. Two reports issued by GBPI in 2013 supply us with the information we need to have these critical conversations with everyone who will listen—policymakers, community leaders, parents, business partners, etc.

We also need to let community members know what they can do to help. Our citizens must participate in the development of our children; it truly takes a village to raise a child. Mentors are so important, especially for young males. Business involvement is critical as well. Business support has been invaluable in helping fill some gaps created by funding cuts.

As educators, we must also strengthen the bond between teachers and parents. Research shows a strong link between parental involvement and student achievement. We must communicate on a personal level to help parents understand how the funding cuts are impacting their children’s schools.

Initiating these conversations may be challenging, but our struggles in recent years and the specific district-by-district data provided in the GBPI reports give us a strong foundation for conversations with our communities. Let’s tell everyone who will listen that taking money away from education is taking money away from investing in our students. After all, teachers still make all other professions possible.

Make plans now to join me on Tuesday, Feb. 18, for PAGE Day on Capitol Hill—and be sure to invite your state and local representatives. n