We are very fortunate to have excellent K-12 education in North Fulton. Out of the top 10 SAT schools in Georgia, six are located right here in North Fulton. The citizens of North Fulton demand excellent schools. They supported all three SPLOST (local schools sales tax) initiatives and many are actively involved in their schools.

The business community through the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce and its Education Committee has also been very active in K-12 education. We realize for us to continue to have economic prosperity we must have a solid educational foundation.

But the state as a whole is a much different story.  Georgia hovers at the bottom in SAT scores and nearly leads the nation in dropout rates.  When we are competing with other states for economic development opportunities, we have to overcome that by telling the great story of how excellent our education is here in North Fulton.  We must replicate the North Fulton model throughout the State of Georgia.

One other area we must improve upon is the opportunity for technical education. More and more local employers are asking for a skilled workforce in the area of Microsoft/Cisco training and in the area of Allied Health (nursing and x-ray technicians). This is an opportunity for kids that do not wish to attend a traditional four-year college to be trained and receive certification that will enhance their job opportunities. This also presents adults who may be in professional transition an opportunity to acquire additional skill sets.

NORTH FULTON LOSING OUR BEST AND BRIGHTEST

I am hearing many stories of North Fulton students graduating from high school with a 3.6 to 3.8 G.P.A. and a 1,400 SAT score that get accepted to Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, SMU and other prestigious institutions. Yet many of those same students cannot get accepted to Georgia or Georgia Tech. I want to be clear that I am all for high educational standards -- but something is amiss when our students are being sought after to enroll in high caliber institutions yet are unable to take advantage of our flagship universities here in Georgia. That is why I have proposed the Student Academic Achievement Act.  It states that any Georgia high school student who maintains a 3.75 G.P.A. and scores 1,375 or higher on their SAT is automatically accepted at UGA or any other flagship university.  We invest hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars educating Georgia kids and too many students take that investment to universities in other states – often, never to return.

High quality students in North Fulton are being rejected at the state’s top universities.  Georgia taxpaying families are forced to pay out-of-state tuition. In fact, Auburn University receives more applications from the North Metro Area (Cobb, North Fulton and Gwinnett) than they do from the entire state of Alabama. On top of that, we lose are most precious human resources when great students leave Georgia and ultimately settle in Alabama, Florida, Tennessee or the Carolinas.

If you have any comments, suggestions or questions please e-mail me at brandonlbeach@aol.com.

Paid For By Brandon Beach For Senate