District Administration - March 2010 - (Page 34)

The Moxie of Kathy Cox Georgia’s superintendent of schools is a controversial educator who won $1 million on a television show, attempted to tinker with science education and has advanced teacher training. By StePhaNie JohNS as a representative, Cox served on the education committee, the health and ecology committee, and the industry committee. Then in 2001, when no other Republican candidate with education experience emerged, she ran for state superintendent of schools. as one of only 11 independently elected chief state school officers in the nation, Cox heads the Georgia Department of education and reports directly to the governor, Sonny Perdue. She also serves as the chief executive officer for the state board of education, which is composed of 13 members, each representing one of Georgia’s federal congressional districts, and which is a division of the education department. one requirement of her job is to visit schools, and when she does, she often teaches a class. “i spent 15 years in the classroom, and i miss being with the kids,” Cox says. “i get my energy from being around young people.” Cox’s Results Morgan County Board of education member Dave Belton cites her achievements: Georgia is 15th in the nation in aP scores, and ninth in the nation for seniors who passed at least one aP exam. Moreover, 42 percent more Georgia seniors took the aP exam in 2008 than in 2003, and 38 percent more passed. even more impressive, says Belton, was that 22 percent of these Georgians were african-american, and their pass rate was third-best in the nation—triple the national average and double what it was five years ago. and in 2008, the graduation rate was higher in the state—78 percent—than it had ever been. “The improvement in our graduation rate is happening across the board for all students in every subgroup,” Cox says. District Administration PROFILE K athy Cox, the superintendent of schools for Georgia, believes “excellence is not an accident.” She made a name for herself by winning $1 million proving she was smarter than a fifth-grader on a popular television show. and since her election in 2002, Cox has earned complaints and kudos for tackling testing and implementing new curriculum standards and graduation requirements for Georgia. as she prepares for possible reelection next fall, she remains committed “to be part of the solution”— a promise she made to her students when she entered politics over a decade ago. When Cox took office as superintendent of schools, her biggest challenge was bringing credibility back to the office following a scandal. her predecessor, Linda Schrenko, stood accused of diverting some $600,000 in federal education money to her unsuccessful 2002 campaign for governor. She later pled guilty to fraud and money laundering. “The whole state was splintered,” says Cox. “There was no coordination between districts. We were supposed to implement No Child Left Behind, but no one knew what the program would look like. We had to get testing right. There was a disconnect between what was taught and what was tested by the state—the two weren’t aligned. Plus, we had to bring teaching up to 21st-century standards.” Who Is Kathy Cox? although she isn’t a Georgia native, Cox comes from a long line of Georgia educators. “My family includes a lot of teachers, preachers and salesmen,” she says. “Being an elected education official put it all together for me.” State Superintendent of Schools in Georgia age: 45 Salary: $123,270 Budget: $9,464,200,730 (2009-2010) Number of schools: 2,233 Number of students: 1,615,066 Percentage qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch: 53 Per-pupil expenditure: $8,895 Ethnicity: Asian 3%; Black 38%; Hispanic 10%; White 46%; Other 3% (2008-2009) Graduation rate: 79% (2008-2009) Web site: www.doe.k12.ga.us Kathy Cox Cox earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from emory University. Married to John Cox for 23 years, they have two teenage sons. in 1987, she began teaching american government and world history at Fayette County high School. Then, in 1999, she dove into politics, in part because she wanted to change the low opinion students had of politicians. Between 1999 and 2003, she served in the Georgia house of Representatives. She also wanted to bring the voice of teachers, parents and students to the legislature. 34 March 2010 http://www.doe.k12.ga.us

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - March 2010

District Administration - March 2010
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Curriculum Update
Conversations
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Toward a More Perfect Union
The Moxie of Kathy Cox
Logging On to Learn
Battling Sexual Abuse
Supervisor’s Opinion
Problem/Solution
Crisis Response
Product Focus
New Products
Tech Disruptions

District Administration - March 2010