In such a heated national political climate it is often extremely easy to pass over local public affairs. But on the contrary, local politics can often have monumental changes to everyday life. No other component is more representative of this than the recent race for the Atlanta Board of Education, which has direct impact on student and teacher life.

The most controversial topic in this political race is teacher quality, which  happens to be extremely relevant to North Atlanta in particular. While teacher quality is often brought up as a scapegoat for the numerous problems in public education, it is often difficult to pinpoint an exact solution, specifically because it is hard to find a way to effectively judge teachers. This of course has not stopped the candidates of this year’s election from presenting their own solutions. Candidate Bobby Brown believes that having teachers judge other teachers would be effective, as it is his belief that only those who are involved in the same profession are capable of judging their peers accurately. Another common response to maintaining teacher quality is the idea of a holistic approach to judging. This would involve looking at numerous different aspects of teaching style. Cynthia Briscoe Brown for an example takes the stance that teacher quality is already satisfactory, but does stand to improve on the basis of leadership. She wants to improve teacher leadership by establishing leadership academies, which will improve classroom performance.

Another issue that is slightly less pertinent to North Atlanta, but massively relevant to our city, is APS’s turnaround strategy. It was implemented to combat the struggling schools of lower income areas in the wake of the damage done by the cheating scandal. This plan has mostly been executed through increased funding and the implementation of “social emotional learning.”  Most of the candidates this year have had the consensus that the turnaround strategy has been generally successful, with few people desiring a complete reform. However some candidates have taken a more cynical approach to the turnaround program, and feel it is too early to be effectively judged.

Though this educational election might seem insignificant from a globally minded perspective, the outcome of it can have very significant effects on the future of our educational system. It is always important to be informed but most importantly to vote so as to make your voice heard.