Even a community like Conyers-Rockdale, which still embodies the spirit of family and community pride, has its warts. We are fortunate that most of our citizens recognize that we are not perfect and are willing to work on removing the warts.

There is one institution that has risen above that status and remains a strengthening focal point of our community - that is our education system.

Our schools are constantly in the top tier of state testing; our schools are pioneering the latest technology, paid with grant funding, the penny sales tax and taxes provided by our local citizens.

Rockdale Career Academy is a state-of-the-art school that is used as an example for the rest of the state to emulate. Occasionally, the government offers major grants to help implement programs designed to assist schools in reaching set standards. The Race to the Top program, a series of competitive grants to states and districts, is stringent and often costs money from the already tight local school budget.

But it has already allowed developments like STEM academy at Memorial Middle School.

Last year, the local school system was in hot pursuit of another round of RTTT grants that would go directly to districts. Rockdale County Public Schools fell short by only seven points.

This year, they are after the second round of RTTT direct grants called Choices for Personalized Learning. And they are asking for the community's help in winning the $25 million grant.

One way to help and show your community pride is to compose a letter showing your faith in our school system and your willingness to put in time, effort or resources to see that our school children receive the best education possible.

For more details, contact the school's community relations director, Cindy Ball, at cball@rockdale.k12.ga.us. We have a great opportunity to prove that we in the Conyers-Rockdale community feel that education is truly the guiding light of our future and our children's future.