April 21, 1999

Federal Effort: Advocates for gifted students are hoping that Congress will see fit to send a new source of funding to schools and their high-achieving students.

Consolidation Tips: School officials can take steps to ease the painful process of consolidating school districts, according to a report in the winter issue of The Rural Educator, a journal for rural and small schools.

Value-Added Gains And Economic Factors

To the Editor:

Andy Baumgartner was named the 1999 Teacher of the Year in a White House ceremony Monday that honored all of this year's state teachers of the year. Mr. Baumgartner, 47, is the second kindergarten teacher and second Georgia educator to be honored with the national award since its inception in 1952. He has taught at the 530-student A. Brian Merry Elementary School in Augusta since 1995 and is a former speech-therapist and member of the U.S. Marine Corps. As the nation's top teacher, he is scheduled to travel and serve as an education spokesman for a year. The Teacher of the Year program is sponsored by the Washington-based Council of Chief State School Officers and Scholastic Inc. of New York City.

Speaking to the people

For their annual conference this year, the members of National People's Action finally let Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley come to them.