Welcome to the GA Partnership for Excellence in Education’s Impact! page. The organization has been making a difference in Georgia public education circles since 1992. Much of that work has been behind the scenes in arranging partnerships and working tirelessly to improve student achievement. We take great pride in the Impact! our efforts have made and continue to make.
Here we share the words of associates and community members who have seen us in action. The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education is grateful to everyone on this page who graciously took the time to offer their kind words about our work. These comments energize us and help us stay focused on the important work ahead – improving student achievement in Georgia and making our state a national leader in public education.
Kevin Greiner
President and CEO Gas South
Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education Board Chair, 2015-2016
The former Georgia Partnership Board Chair reflects on his two-year tenure, talks about the impact of the organization and looks at the challenges yet to be faced.
Education Policy Fellowship Program
The Class of 2016
Two Fellows from the Class of 2016 – Brian Pauling, President and CEO, 100 Black Men of America, Inc., and Mike Carnathan, Senior Principal Planner, Atlanta Regional Commission – share their views on the impact and value of the program both from professional and personal perspectives.
Ernie Lee
Georgia’s 2016 Teacher of the Year
Windsor Forest H.S., Savannah-Chatham County
Each year the new Georgia Teacher of the Year takes a seat on the Georgia Partnership’s Board of Directors. The “teacher voice” is essential in the organization’s work. Here, Ernie underlines the impact of the Partnership from his teacher perspective.
National Advocacy Organization of the Year
Data Quality Campaign bestows honor
The Data Quality Campaign, a Washington, D.C.-based national, nonprofit organization leading the effort to bring every part of the education community together to empower educators, parents, and policymakers with quality information to make decisions that ensure students achieve their best, has named the Georgia Partnership its “Flashlight Award” winner for “its outstanding work in promoting and protecting effective data use in the service of students.” Details.
Dr. Beheruz Sethna
President Emeritus and Regents’ Professor
The University of West Georgia
Georgia Partnership Board member and an expert at statistical analysis, reviews the organization’s 2015 stakeholder survey. See “Trends in Key Performance Indicators – 2010 – 2015.”
Georgia School Public Relations Assn. Awards
Five entries, five awards
The Georgia Partnership submitted five entries for the 2014-15 GSPRA Publications and Electronic Media Contest and came away with a clean sweep with four gold and one silver. Gold awards included honors for the Top Ten Issues to Watch, Race to the Top, and REACHES publications and in the Image and Identification Package (Annual Report). The Partnership also earned two “Best In Category” awards for the Annual Report and REACHES publications.
Georgia Partnership EPFP June 2017 – Amy Hutchins
2017 Education Policy Fellowship Program graduate, Amy Hutchins, explains the value of the program not only to herself but also to members of the business co…
Georgia Partnership EPFP June 2017 – Alexa Brown
Alexa Brown, a graduate in the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education’s Education Policy Fellowship Program Class of 2017, talks about what she personally and professionally got from the program.
Georgia Partnership EPFP June 2017 – Paige Pushkin
The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education graduated its ninth Education Policy Fellowship Program cohort May 2017. Fellow Paige Pushkin talks about the value of the program.
Shan Cooper
Former Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education Board Chair
Former Vice President and General Manager
Marietta, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co.
Currently: Chief Transformation Officer, WestRock Company
I am proud of this organization and certainly proud to serve as its chairperson. We accomplished much in 2014 but there is so much more to do. New challenges lie ahead and already the Georgia Partnership is boldly making an Impact! in the new year. Please join us in our work.
Joan L. Johnson, Principal – Nicholson Elementary School, Cobb County School District
The following comment was received after a recent higher standards/Common Core briefing provided to Georgia PTA members by the Georgia Partnership’s Policy and Research Director Dr. Dana Rickman:
I want to thank you for your wonderful presentation at the District 9 PTA Conference. I attended with two vice presidents of my school PTA and one of them leaned over and said to me, “I’ve learned more from this presentation than I have from all the other things I’ve heard and read in 4 years!” Wow! It was music to my ears, as a principal!
When I returned to school I went on the Better Standards for a Better Georgia web site (Note: This web site no longer is available – 2018) and would like to share the information with the families at my school. This is the best, most concise information I’ve seen on the Common Core State Standards!
Thanks again for a great presentation and for helping me educate my parents about the Common Core State Standards!
Dr. Michele Taylor
Superintendent
Calhoun City Schools
Education leadership is a key component when it comes to a successful public education system. That leadership starts at the top with system superintendents. As Georgia’s 2014 Superintendent of the Year, Dr. Michele Taylor has a proven track record of success. We are honored to have her speak on our behalf here.
Dr. Kimberly M. Griffin
Piedmont College
Assistant Professor of Education Cohort Coordinator Metro Atlanta Area
The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education’s Top Ten Issues to Watch publication is used by several of the state’s colleges and universities in their teacher preparation programs. We are particularly proud of our relationship with one of these institutions of higher learning, Piedmont College.
Brinkley Serkedakis
Senior Campaign Manager
Coxe Curry & Associates
Brinkley was a Fellow in the 2014 Education Policy Fellowship Program. In this short commentary she speaks about the Impact! of the program both for her professionally and for Georgia.
Jemelleh Coes
Georgia 2014 Teacher of the Year
Member of the Georgia Partnership Council
Now in the final stages of pursuing her doctoral degree at the University of Georgia
Jemelleh Coes, as Georgia’s 2014 Teacher of the Year, was a member of our Board of Directors during her tenure and got to know us first hand. She became a valuable member of our team as she traveled the state often using Georgia Partnership materials/information in her presentations.
Kevin Kirby
Director of Member Services
Paulding County Chamber of Commerce
The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education has done an outstanding job of uniting our school district with the school community to more effectively reach our goal of improving the quality of life for Paulding County and its citizens.
Tracy Doyal, Ed. D.
5th Grade Teacher
Willis Road Elementary School
Sharpsburg
I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for the work you did with this message you sent earlier this year setting the record straight about AP history. My oldest daughter is taking the course this year as her first AP course. Your information opened a dialogue within our school community that was both productive and effective.
Thank you for being an advocate for education from a “child first” voice/methodology.
Ann Cramer
Senior Consultant
Coxe Curry & Associates
Former Georgia Partnership Board Chair and one of the Partnership’s Founding Members
Ann Cramer was one of the original founders of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education. For 25-plus years she has provided her time and service to the organization and that includes two stints as Board Chair. The former IBM executive now serves as a senior consultant with Coxe Curry & Associates. This clip underlines what the Georgia Partnership is all about and underscores its Impact!