Dear Sirs: I believe that our public school system needs to be not only regionally but also globally competitive and accountable for our children to be successful. I also believe the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2002," needs to be re-evaluated. The emphasis or lack of on the dreaded Criterion Reference Competency Test, better known as the CRCT, should not be the major source of success standards. In wake of the recent scandals involving several school systems in Georgia of possible cheating and/or tampering, it would seem to an average person that too much is riding on this test. The cheating scandal not only harms the school system, it harms the state of Georgia, teachers, and most importantly the children.

As a taxpayer and parent of a child in the Newton County Public School System, it is imperative that our government schools do all they can to better prepare our students to be highly successful. One way this could be accomplished is by setting our standards of learning at a higher level. A current measure has been adopted by the state of Georgia known as the Common Core of State Standards. This is a new level in public educational learning goals. I welcome this new venture in educating our children. However, in order for this to work we must challenge ourselves as parents to place more importance on academics.

Aleatha Grass
Covington