Those qualities helped Holloway recently form a partnership between Clarke schools and UGA's College of Education that should strengthen town and gown relations and more closely link the community with local classrooms. The agreement sounds promising because it calls for a holistic approach that targets parents and families, not just students. Initiatives could include an extended school year for at-risk students. Personally, I'd like to see all schools on a year-round schedule that adds more days and programs in the classroom. The 180-day school calendar now used is an outdated remnant from an agrarian society that no longer fits family schedules.
Education is often a hot topic in Atlanta and Athens.
But especially these days. Driver's education is getting a lot of attention under the gold dome in Atlanta as part of tough proposals to restrict teen-agers' time behind the wheel. Having taught three daughters to drive, I'm all for adding driver's ed back into school curriculum. But if the state mandates driver's ed, it should fund putting that program back in area high schools. In Clarke County, Superintendent Holloway is pushing to extend a 1 percent local sales tax for school projects.