A recent poll of parents nationwide reports that the majority would choose to send their children to public school even if private or church-related schools could be attended at government expense.

As a public school official, I take that news as public support of our national and local commitment to educating all our children. When asked which factors they would use to select a school, the most important factor, chosen by 98 percent of respondents, was teacher quality.

Student discipline and curriculum were named by 89 percent. It is quite interesting that these two factors were rated as having the most impact on parents' choice of schools, because they are also key factors in our local school system.

As the Board of Education, the system staff and I look at school improvement issues, these same factors are vital. Choosing the best teachers possible is so important that we purposely avoid hiring marginal teachers even if it means having a slightly larger class.

It is our belief that an effective teacher is better for the students in a larger class than a poor teacher is for a smaller one. We continually address student discipline and safety needs, and our recent curriculum alignment was a system-wide effort to make sure we are teaching students what they need.

One of the more interesting aspects of the findings of this poll reveals again this year, as in the past, that the closer respondents are to the schools they are asked to rate, the higher the grades they assign them.

This means closeness in involvement more than just proximity. It has been proven time and time again that involvement breeds awareness, awareness breeds support, and support then breeds more involvement, which fosters an ever-growing cycle of improvement. It is easy to criticize from afar, yet that kind of uninformed criticism is, more often than not, unjust and unfounded.

Citizens who become involved in public schools by visiting, volunteering, mentoring, attending athletic and performing events, and even by voicing concerns at board meetings will almost always lend themselves to being part of the solution rather than the problem.

Coweta County has been fortunate in recent years in the vast ways in which the citizens have become involved in our school system. Business-school partnerships, adult mentors for students, attendance and input at public hearings and board meetings, and the passage of the special purpose local option sales tax are just a few of the ways in which Coweta citizens have proclaimed their awareness and support of our schools.

Everyone involved may not always agree on the particulars, but even the disagreements usually have the best interest of students at heart. Our public schools in America have always been a controversial topic. Nothing gets the average American more willing to state his or her opinion quicker than bringing up the topics of religion, money, or how to best educate our children.

We as educational professionals do not claim to have all the answers. With our society changing as rapidly as it is in this age of population shifts and information explosions, we don't even know all the questions yet. But we are trying, and we continue to need and appreciate your support and involvement.

Gallup's recent poll is evidence that Americans still support the concept of public education for all. Thanks to your involvement in our community, Coweta County is a place where good schools continue to be a great investment.

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