By Timothy Webber

State Superintendent Kathy Cox recently made a visit to Chamblee High School to see what goes on in a successful charter school as part of a tour of charter schools in Georgia.

Accompanied by several representatives from the Georgia Department of Education, the Georgia Charter Schools Association, the DeKalb County School System, and Chamblee administrators, Cox interacted with several classes, held a meeting with teachers, and held a meeting with the Chamblee Governance Council.

“It was a very productive visit,” said Principle Rochelle Lowery, who added that it was her first time meeting Cox in person.

During her time in the classrooms, Cox viewed student presentations and taught briefly in a world history class, observed labs in science classes, sat with students in Calculus classes, and asked students about education in Georgia.

During a lively discussion with an AP psychology Class, both Cox and the students agreed that more challenging courses that engage students was one of the factors for Chamblee’s success and could possibly have a similar effect all over the state. The class also discussed the non-academic roles of school and the future of education with Cox.

“It felt like someone listened to my opinion for once,” said Ryann Hogan.

At several points during the visit, the focus shifted to AP courses and higher education.

After talking with several AP classes, Cox was surprised at the number of students who had taken four or more AP courses during their high school career.

“There is a culture of education [at Chamblee] . . . that makes students rise to the occasion,” said Cox.

Cox was also impressed by the long-standing Chamblee tradition of posting college acceptance letters on locker doors, adding that she would like to take that idea to other schools around the state. During the meetings with teachers and the Governance Council, the focus shifted from academic achievement to the arrangement of courses. The possibilities of rearranging the science courses so that students take physics in the tenth grade and combining algebra 1 and geometry into one course were also discussed.