State School Superintendent Richard Woods talks with North Murray High School freshman Bayley Gable as he tours the school on Thursday.

CHATSWORTH, Ga. — State School Superintendent Richard Woods says education is in transition both across the nation and in Georgia. 

During an interview while touring North Murray High School on Thursday, Woods said the variety of opportunities at the school — from advanced learning focused on science and math to more hands-on technical and agricultural learning — show the many possible paths to success for the students.

Citing a more holistic and inclusive educational experience that is focused on students and not strictly on data and numbers, Woods called for the correct emphases in education while touring the school with Principal Maria Bradley, Murray County Schools officials and members of the student leadership team.

“When you invest in your children like (what you see here at North Murray), you aren’t only opening them up to possibilities within your county, but throughout the state, throughout the nation and throughout the world,” Woods said. “It is invaluable. They have opportunities in life that traditionally in a small county would not exist. Education, I really believe, is the great equalizer out there. It does open up doors.”

“I think for here, what I am most impressed with are the opportunities that are being presented to the children of Murray County. I can’t say enough that this really is a total package,” Woods said. “The kids shared about the Move On When Ready program and their CTAE (Career, Technical and Agricultural Education program) and the opportunities there and we are glad we are able to support that. There is really some fantastic learning here at North Murray. To be out here coming down a country road and then you turn and look and see this facility, and it is ‘Wow!’ What is possible in Georgia is really amazing.”

Gov. Nathan Deal suffered a defeat at the ballot box in November as voters rejected an amendment to the state Constitution that would have allowed the state to take over “struggling” schools. However, education reform remains one of Deal’s primary areas of focus. Woods, who was elected in 2014 and who has already announced his intentions to run for the position again in 2018, said he looks for the governor to focus more on early childhood education. He said without the building blocks of reading and simple mathematics, middle and high schools will be wasted on students.

“I look forward to listening and working with the governor and the General Assembly in the days ahead. But I would say that in the Department of Education we didn’t wait for the school vote to take place to begin working on our plans,” Woods said. “We will be more support-centered (with failing schools) instead of being a compliant, regulatory agency. We are working with communities and sister agencies and focusing on K-5, which is one of the things the governor will be focusing on this legislative session. K-5 reading and numeracy is a critical area for all of the people of our state. We have to master in that elementary age.”

President-elect Donald Trump’s Secretary of Education nominee, Betsy DeVos, spoke in her Senate confirmation hearings on Wednesday of the need to give more control of education to the states and move it away from federal programs like the No Child Left Behind Act that was signed into law by President George W. Bush. No Child Left Behind included consequences for schools that did not meet certain achievement criteria. 

“One of the things I became disheartened with even as a teacher and administrator is that we talk about data points and percentages and subgroups, but the word child basically disappeared from our vernacular,” Woods said. “And that is who we are about. Data and information does have its place, especially if it is used from a diagnostic approach. Unfortunately, I think most of our testing in the past has been what I would say is the ‘autopsy’ at the end of the year. We have to be more proactive on the front end and I think we are seeing that transition.” 

With the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015 and the expected decentralization efforts from the Trump administration, it will be the responsibility of Woods and other state leaders to come up with new solutions. 

“To be honest, we have already picked up that mantle,” Woods said. “When we saw the Every Student Succeeds Act as it was being crafted and speaking with Sens. (Lamar) Alexander (R-Tenn.) and (Johnny) Isakson (R-Ga.), it was very clear they wanted flexibility back to the states. During my campaign, that was what I asked for. I think that is something we need in the state.”

“I am very hopeful from what I am hearing out of Washington these days,” he said.