ATLANTA – State Representative Alisha Morgan (D-Austell) began a speaking tour throughout the state today. During this two month tour, Rep. Morgan will talk to math teachers about “equity in the classroom” as part of a series of summer academies being held throughout Georgia to help math teachers prepare for the new Common Core of Georgia Performance Standards, which will be implemented in the fall.
“Common Core standards will increase equity in the classroom by allowing Georgia’s public schools to better ensure every child, regardless of zip code, has access to a quality education,” said Rep. Morgan. “I look forward to talking to teachers and inspiring them to think of each student as having a high capacity to learn. For Georgia to succeed, a student’s race, creed, color, and family income cannot be the bases for the student’s expected level of success. We must hold all students to the same high standards because all children can and must learn. I have great respect for Georgia’s teachers and know that they are more than capable of using Common Core as a new way to ensure every child learns, develops, and achieves.”
Rep. Morgan was asked to speak at each of the eight three-day academies that are being held throughout the state in June and July by the Georgia Council of Teachers in Mathematics in partnership with the Georgia Department of Education. These three-day summer academies are intended to help teachers of mathematics assure the success of their students under the Common Core of Georgia Performance Standards. On the first day of training, each academy will focus on the Common Core State Standards for Mathematical Practices and end with a one-hour closing session on the topic of “Equity,” which will be led by Rep. Morgan.
“Every time I have heard Representative Morgan speak, she has shown how passionate she is about students and their education,” said Peggy Poole, the Director of the Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics. “We are thrilled that she will be working with us this summer to deliver her message concerning ‘Equity in the Classroom’ to over 3,100 teachers of mathematics across the state of Georgia as they are preparing to implement the Common Core Standards this fall.”
The academies will be held on:
June 11-13 at the Dekalb Early College Academy in Stone Mountain
June 13-15 at Commerce High School in Commerce
June 19-21 at the Fannin County Performing Arts Center in Blue Ridge
June 25-27 at Hiram High School in Hiram
June 27-29 at Lowndes County High School in Valdosta
July 10-12 at Cross Creek High School in Augusta
July 17-19 at Houston High School in Warner Robbins
July 24-26 at the Savannah Arts Academy in Savannah
The Common Core Standards is the result of the combined efforts of Georgia and 46 other states, as well as the District of Columbia, to develop a set of core standards for kindergarten through high school in English, language arts and mathematics, and for grades 6-12 in literacy in science, history/social studies and technical subjects. The Common Core Georgia Performance Standards provides a consistent framework to prepare students for success in college and the 21st century workplace.
Since 2003, Alisha Thomas Morgan has represented Georgia’s 39th House District, serving Cobb County. She is the first African-American to serve in the Georgia House of Representatives from Cobb County and currently serves on the Children & Youth, Education, Governmental Affairs, and Health & Human Services committees. Rep. Morgan may be reached at 404-656-0109 or by e-mail at Alisha.Morgan@house.ga.gov.
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