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For a full update on Georgia Appleseed’s growing activity, click here to read Seeds Of Justice, the latest issue of our newsletter.   Visit our Home Page to print a copy.

Learn about our new Young Professionals Council and its UGA Law School Cousins Fellowship project on Heir Property in Georgia; get an update on the juvenile justice project; invite Georgia Appleseed to lunch for a professionalism hour.
And much more!
Tune in as staff and volunteers describe Georgia Appleseed, its powerful goals and diverse projects.  To watch the video, click here.

Got 8 minutes?
Meet the faces of Georgia Appleseed on our new VIDEO!

In recognition that passionate people power is a crucial resource in sowing justice, Georgia Appleseed is proud to welcome its two summer interns, Joy Davis and Shaunicie Fielder. Both young women have already demonstrated their individual abilities as accomplished students and leaders. Read on…Joy Davis is a rising 2L at Mercer University School of Law in Macon and a George W. Woodruff Scholar. She joins Georgia Appleseed as a Mercer Legal Fellow Summer Public Interest Extern. According to Joy, she was “drawn to Georgia Appleseed because their systemic approach looks at the root of the problem, giving me an opportunity to spend my summer making a contribution that can potentially better the lives of thousands of Georgians…I will spend the summer assisting with the public education and immigrant public policy efforts. These initiatives are of interest because of my background as an immigration paralegal and my volunteer work in local elementary schools.” As further evidence of her immense energy, Joy is an exercise and water sports enthusiast. Shaunicie Fielder is a new graduate of Spelman College and a Yale Liman Public Interest Fellow. Her recent experiences as an intern in the Office of the Clerk, U. S. Supreme Court and at Jones Day in Atlanta have fueled Shaunicie’s keen interest in the law. She will be assisting Leslie Gresham with Georgia Appleseed’s JUSTGeorgia stakeholder interview compilation reports. Shaunicie is a model of volunteerism. She has been a mentor to girls ages 10-16 through the SCLC Bridging the Gap Program and an Americorps Member of Morehouse College Jumpstart, a mentoring program for pre-school children. Shaunicie also played varsity basketball for Spelman, demonstrating that Georgia Appleseed interns are uniquely on the ball!

We are grateful to have these exceptional young leaders on Georgia Appleseed’s team. Learn more about Georgia Appleseed and its projects at www.GaAppleseed.org

WORKSHOPS FOR PARENTS AND   EDUCATORS
From Valdosta to Cleveland, from LaGrange to Statesboro, over 800 parents and educators have benefited from”NCLB Parent Involvement” workshops presented by Georgia Appleseed.  The workshops are designed to help Georgia parents and educators better understand the parent engagement provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and were developed by Georgia Appleseed as a  strategic response to the recommendations of the national Appleseed report “It Takes A Parent.”

Theresa Brower, Georgia Appleseed’s Parent Involvement Project Manager, and Cathy Henson, Chair of Georgia Appleseed’s Education Advisory Council, have traveled to school districts throughout Georgia to lead workshops to increase parents’ understanding of their rights and responsibilities under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and to enhance parents’ ability to effectively use the data NCLB generates.   Attendees are primarily from districts with high numbers of Title I schools. 

Based on follow-up surveys, over 90% felt the workshops prepared them to be better advocates for their students.  “This information was never explained to me before and now I understand the premise of NCLB and the necessity and value of assessments.”  “I knew the CRCT is important, but now I have a bigger view about how important it is for my children.”
Learn where workshops have been held around Georgia.

PROFESSIONAL CURRICULA
An additional strategy, with potential for widespread, systemic impact, has been the creation of professional development training around parent involvement. Over the past year, Georgia Appleseed has collaborated with Georgia’s Leadership Institute for School Improvement (GLISI) to develop curricula training modules that enhance education leader skills in parental engagement and communication, using NCLB data. 

According to GLISI’s Senior Executive Director Deb Page, “We are extremely grateful for the support and collaboration of Georgia Appleseed.  These modules are being used to support school leaders statewide, and are being adopted by colleges and universities which prepare leaders.  “

Read more about Georgia Appleseed’s Public Education Initiative

Long Anticipated Model Juvenile Code Debuts

Georgia Appleseed applauds the accomplishment of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia in completing the much anticipated model juvenile code. Click here to access it online at www.justga.org and to offer your comments for the final legislative package to be submitted by JUSTGeorgia to the Georgia General Assembly in 2009. The YLD model juvenile code was four years in the drafting and marks an important milestone in the JUSTGeorgia project. In the next phase, JUSTGeorgia will draft legislation based on the YLD code and informed by statewide stakeholder input gathered by our volunteers over the last several months. Click here to learn more about Georgia Appleseed and the role pro bono attorneys have played in the JUSTGeorgia project.
Sign up to join the JUSTGeorgia coalition at www.justga.org

Impacting Financial Literacy for Immigrants in Georgia

Hispanic immigrants in Southwest Georgia benefit from a unique partnership between Georgia Appleseed and UGA’s Cooperative Extension Service. Andrea Scarrow (left), whose position grew out of this partnership, teaches bilingual financial literacy in Tift and Colquitt Counties, where unbanked immigrants have been victims of serious crime, including murder. Appleseed research and materials support Andrea’s proactive approach; she uses Appleseed’s basic financial literacy brochures as “textbooks” for her students, who are also learning English. Andrea’s work promotes public safety and fosters economic security for Hispanic immigrants and the entire community. Click now on http://www.gaappleseed.org/banking/#financialliteracy to learn more about this life-changing project.

“Banking in a Global Market” Remittance Guide Just Released

Georgia Appleseed announces publication of “Banking in a Global Market: A Financial Institution Guide for Offering International Remittance Services.” This practical first-of-its kind guide offers a step-by-step approach to establishing effective remittance programs. Sharon Hill, GA Appleseed Executive Director, notes, “Many of Georgia’s immigrants lag behind the general population in using mainstream financial services. Serving this market will help to promote public safety and economic security, and immigrants will have a better opportunity to save money, build credit and move up the financial ladder.”
Click here to download the comprehensive guide. To learn more about Georgia Appleseed’s Economic Security & Public Safety initiatives for immigrants, visit www.GaAppleseed.org

Meet Our Newest Staff Member…Antonio Ginatta, Esq.

Georgia Appleseed is very pleased to welcome Antonio Ginatta as our Economic Security/Public Safety Project Manager. Most recently an Executive Policy Advisor to Washington Governor Gregoire, Antonio will guide our work on immigrant policy issues, especially around financial literacy and public education. Please add Antonio’s email to your address book: aginatta@GaAppleseed.org

The new year brings with it new opportunities for Georgia Appleseed and its collaborative partners to effect change in Georgia – systemic change that will level the playing field for the children, the poor and the marginalized. 

At the “Eggs and Issues” Breakfast on January 15, Governor Perdue announced his 2008 legislative focus on parental involvement.  This decision to promote parental involvement is encouraging and certainly consistent with a major Georgia Appleseed initiative – but what kind of “parental involvement” will we see from the Governor’s proposed new funding?  The phrase “parental involvement” has almost as many different definitions as there are people who care about improving academic outcomes for Georgia’s most vulnerable children already on the path of truancy and school failure.  

My own work on the Fulton County Juvenile Court bench, being the only judge, for half a decade, to hear truancy petitions filed by the City of Atlanta and Fulton County school systems, tells me that we must have meaningful, powerful parent involvement if children and youth are to be diverted from the “school failure to prison” path to the “school success to hope for the future” path.

With its collaborating partners, Georgia Appleseed is focusing on promoting a concrete, targeted understanding of parent involvement:  by training parents, educators and school leaders around the state on how to use data generated by the NCLB testing to improve the academic performance of their own children and the effectiveness of their children’s schools.  With this targeted parental involvement training (several trainings already completed; next trainings scheduled for Gainesville (1/24/08), Valdosta (2/7/08), Macon (2/8/08) and Atlanta 3/14/08)), NCLB testing data is transformed from a set of often confusing numbers on paper or a web page to a powerful tool for change in the hands of parents and educators.  

This is powerful “parental involvement.”  This is concrete action to level the playing field so that more of Georgia’s children have a real opportunity to succeed in school and in life. 

To learn about Georgia Appleseed’s parent/educator training, please call Theresa Brower, Georgia Appleseed’s NCLB Parent Involvement Project Manager, at 404-815-6266 or read more about our work here.

Georgia Appleseed’s Parent Involvement Initiative has really taken on a life of its own. Theresa Brower, who is Georgia Appleseed’s NCLB- Parent Involvement Project Manager, and Cathy Henson, who is now chairing Georgia Appleseed’s Education Advisory Council (EAC) and is herself a noted expert on parent involvement in state education circles, are going around the state to present workshops on the new kind of parent involvement that is needed to make No Child Left Behind live up to its name.

Scheduled workshops are as follows: Clayton County (12/8/07); Lowndes County (2/7/08); Seminole County (2/8/08); and Cobb County (3/4/08). Workshops will also be held in Atlanta, Brunswick, Macon, Savannah, Colquitt County and Gwinnett County. Finally, workshops have been conducted already in Troup County, Cobb County (two locations) and Fulton County, just to name a few.

The trainings are receiving such high marks that one principal recently called Theresa into her office immediately following a workshop. (Theresa confessed to a long forgotten feeling of dread in having to go to the principal’s office!) Theresa had nothing to fear: the principal wanted to tell Theresa that the training Cathy Henson and she had just concluded for her staff was among the best that her staff had received in understanding the NCLB data and its relevancy to parent involvement. In fact, the principal would like all the school staff to receive the trainings!

Now that is what I call a positive affirmation of Georgia Appleseed’s work.

To further inform JUSTGeorgia’s work to support passage of a new state Juvenile Justice code in 2009 and improve child serving systems, Georgia Appleseed recently hosted ten JUSTGeorgia Town Hall Meetings around the state, from Savannah to Gainesville, from Augusta to Columbus, one in each of Georgia’s judicial districts, all facilitated by UGA’s Fanning Institute.

If you missed the Town Hall meetings, or attended one and now have more ideas to share, here is the opportunity for further input. Simply click on JUSTGeorgia Survey to share your ideas with JUSTGeorgia. All responses are anonymous. Take as much space as you need to let us know what you think. Feel free to forward the survey link to others who may want to participate.

Sharon Hill, Georgia Appleseed’s Executive Director and a former Fulton County Juvenile Court Associate Judge, noted “the survey responses, along with the hundreds of individual stakeholder interviews and JUSTGeorgia Town Hall input, will help JUSTGeorgia capture the practical wisdom of diverse stakeholders from around the state. This wisdom, along with the extensive research of the Younger Lawyers Division into evidence-based best practices and the latest child development findings, will allow JUSTGeorgia to submit in 2009 a comprehensive revisioning of the current juvenile code that will better serve Georgia’s children and families and promote safer communities for all.”
For further information on the project, click on JUSTGa

Parent Involvement Workshop Held in LaGrange

On November 6th, Georgia Appleseed partnered with the United Way of West Georgia to present our “No Child Left Behind Parent Workshop” in LaGrange, Georgia. Patty Youngblood, President of the United Way of West Georgia said, “The purpose is to inform parents of their rights and responsibilities under the No Child Left Behind law. That’s what we’ve been working on, and this seemed like a perfect fit.”

Held at the Troup County Recreation Center, the 25 attendees represented a wide array of community stakeholders, including participation from the School Board, City Council, Chamber, Communities in Schools, Troup County Title I staff, United Way, DFCS, and parents who read about the workshop in the LaGrange Daily News. Read about the Workshop in the LaGrange Daily News.

More parent involvement workshops are planned throughout the state. If you are interested in having one in your community, contact Theresa Brower at tbrower@gaappleseed.org Click on Parent Involvement Initiative for more information.

It is hard to believe. On November 2, 2007, Georgia Appleseed will celebrate its 2nd Anniversary of sowing the seeds of justice throughout Georgia. Time certainly flies when you are having fun . . . and working to do justice at the same time!

In two years, we have increased our capacity to serve in a number of ways:

• Our summer law fellows have worked hard to effect change – our 2006 summer fellow organized a bank panel in south Georgia to expand mainstream financial services for Latino immigrants otherwise vulnerable to crime from carrying around their paychecks in cash and our 2007 summer fellow made possible the publication of handbooks for lawyers and families of defendants with intellectual disabilities, which have now been widely distributed, to increase access to justice for an exceedingly vulnerable portion of our community.
• Our grants are funding deeper work to improve a different kind of parental involvement around the state – the kind that brings parents from the periphery to the core of the strategic work needed to increase academic success for all students.
• Our volunteers are traveling to every judicial district in the state of Georgia to meet with hundreds of stakeholders to talk about what works in our juvenile justice and child welfare laws, what doesn’t work, and what needs to be done to change our current Juvenile Code into the kind of Juvenile Code that our children, families and communities need and deserve.
• Our Board is growing more diverse to expand Georgia Appleseed’s vision for carrying out the mission you see posted to the left of each page of this website.
• Our staff is growing to meet the challenges sprouting from the seeds we have sown in our first two years of work in Georgia.

JUSTGeorgia Juvenile Justice Project Launches

Georgia Appleseed is a founding partner of JUSTGeorgia, a new statewide coalition seeking to build justice and safety for children and communities through a) passage of a new Georgia Juvenile Code, and b) improvements in social service systems that serve Georgia’s children.

Georgia Appleseed’s primary role in JUSTGeorgia is to gather front-line feedback from stakeholders around the state and to craft district reports that reflect the trends identified, as well as to present recommendations that will help inform the legislative package to be presented during the 2009 Georgia General Assembly.

To accomplish this goal, Georgia Appleseed has recruited 13 lead law firms to conduct stakeholder interviews in all ten of Georgia’s judicial districts, as well as with statewide public policy makers and elected officials. To date, 260 volunteer legal professionals have contributed their expert time to conduct hundreds of interviews in communities across Georgia and write up their findings. On October 3, 2007, at JUSTGeorgia’s formal launch event held at the Carter Center, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough was honored as the firm which has completed the most interviews to date; Johanna Wise, of Jones Day, was honored as the volunteer lawyer with the most interviews completed to date. The honorees were presented with, what else, a basket of apples and other apple treats as a token of Georgia Appleseed’s appreciation.

JUSTGeorgia Town Hall Meetings Underway Across the State - You’re Invited To Attend!

A series of ten public Town Hall Meetings that invite the community-at-large to share their views on the juvenile justice system and provide a further source of input for Georgia Appleseed’s reports are underway in each of Georgia’s ten judicial districts. To learn about the Town Hall Meeting in your area, click on Events at www.JustGeorgia.org for the full Town Hall Meeting calendar.

Learn what’s new in Georgia Appleseed’s involvement in JUSTGeorgia and view photos of the Launch event, at www.GaAppleseed.org/children
To join the Coalition and to learn more, visit www.JUSTGeorgia.org

Parental Involvement Under NCLB Forum on the Web!

On September 17th, two expert panels explored parent involvement provisions under No Child Left Behind legislation. Visit www.GaAppleseed.org/parents to access the webcast of the proceedings for all the insights from this valuable day and to learn more.