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ATLANTA, December 7, 2004 – Sixteen of Georgia’s top educators and policymakers returned yesterday from the United Kingdom, where they studied UK best practices on school financial decision-making as part of a new partnership developed by the British Council USA and the state of Georgia.
Designed to foster mutually beneficial relationships between education professionals in Great Britain and the United States, the program establishes partnerships between policymakers and practitioners involved in school governance and education technology in the two countries. The returning US delegation includes Georgia Department of Education State Superintendent Kathy Cox, Georgia State Representative Jan Jones and Georgia Teacher of the Year Chase Puckett.
“This was an eye opening trip for the entire Georgia team,” said State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox. “While schools in England and the United States share the goal of improving student achievement, we have two very different ways of getting there. Georgia can learn a lot from England’s time tested school reforms, while teaching our new friends what we’ve learned about embracing diversity and closing the achievement gap.”
Also traveling with the group was Brantley County School Superintendent Dr. William A. Hunter who said Georgia’s students will ultimately benefit from the international collaboration. “The UK has integrated very creative ideas into their schools as they have pursued a priority - raising standards,” he said. “As Georgia seeks to lead the nation in school improvement, we can learn much from the British Council that can make our journey more fruitful and more rapid. State Superintendent Kathy Cox should be commended for her foresight in studying the best practices in the UK”
In early 2005, a team of British education policymakers and practitioners will visit Georgia in order to continue the international dialogue on local autonomy in school financial decision-making. Later phases of the program will bring additional UK educators to the United States, where British teachers and administrators will gain expertise in education technology by studying its innovative applications in Georgia.
“Through partnerships like this one, the United Kingdom and the United States are fostering sustainable bilateral networks in education policy,” said Andy Mackay, director of the British Council USA, the United Kingdom's international organization for educational and cultural relations. “The program taps best practice in two areas that are of vital importance to educators in both countries, school governance and the use of technology in the classroom.”
Participants in the first phase of the program included:
- Kathy Cox – State Superintendent, Georgia Department of Education
- Stuart Bennett – Chief Deputy State Superintendent, Georgia Department of Education
- Scott Austensen – Deputy State Superintendent, Georgia Department of Education
- Dr. Martha Reichrath – Executive Director, Governor's Office of Student Achievement
- Dr. Howard Woodard – Executive Project Director, Statewide Student Information System, Georgia Department of Education
- Jan Jones – Georgia House of Representatives
- Kimberly A. Quinn – Information Systems Manager, Georgia Department of Education
- Dr. William A. Hunter – Superintendent, Brantley County School System
- Steve Dolinger – President, Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education
- Mike Campbell – Executive Director of Government Relations, Cobb County School System
- Dr. Holly Robinson – Senior Vice President, Public Policy Foundation
- Dr. Willie Wiley – Principal, Spirit Creek Elementary School and President-Elect, Georgia Association of Middle School Principals
- Phil Dockery – Principal, Indian Creek Elementary School and President, Georgia Association of Elementary School Principals
- Patrick (Pat) Blenke – Principal, Duluth High School and President-Elect, Georgia Association of Secondary School Principals
- Sadie Dennard – President, Georgia School Boards Association
- Chase Puckett – Georgia Teacher of the Year
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ABOUT THE BRITISH COUNCIL USA: An arm of the United Kingdom's international organization for educational and cultural relations, the British Council USA increases recognition of the wide array of learning opportunities available in the UK and facilitates educational cooperation between the US and UK. The organization also showcases British creativity by introducing the American public to high-quality, groundbreaking artistic achievement, and highlights the UK's scientific innovation in disciplines ranging from biotechnology to planetary science. Through its work, the British Council USA endeavors to promote an image of the UK that is up-to-date, vibrant, in the vanguard of new thinking and fully representative of the country’s geographic and cultural diversity.
CONTACT: Stacy Hope
(202) 588-7849
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