Like many of you, I’ve been enjoying my summer with little attention paid to the latest in the political or research world. I hope you are having a terrific summer and enjoying your family time.

Alas, I’ve spent a few days catching up with some of the most important developments as I see them. As most of you know, Mr. Jester ran, unopposed, for the DeKalb Board of Education seat from District 1. I am thrilled that Stan will be our representative on the BOE. He takes office in January. Rest assured that he has been following matters in DeKalb like a hawk.

For all things DeKalb, please make sure you are following his blog at: http://factchecker.stanjester.com/ . He posts often about developments in DeKalb. Mostly he writes about education and the DeKalb BOE but he also covers other important education and tax related subjects. So, please make sure to follow his blog. Pursuant to his blog’s title, he keeps it to “Just the facts”.

As I have been reading through the latest headlines, I’d like to point out some important, recently published blogs of note:

1) The best metro education blog, DeKalb School Watch (DSW), recently published an article on a forum/debate with the 4 remaining State School Superintendent Candidates. There are 2 remaining Republicans and Democrats that will face each other in a runoff for their party’s nomination to compete in the General Election in November. The partisan run-off is July 22nd. Click here for the link to the insightful DSW blog on this race. Apparently, Richard Woods, is the only candidate who understands and supports the local efforts in the metro area regarding local control. Kudos to Richard Woods!

2) The AJC “Get Schooled” blog posted an interesting piece on how old school drills actually result in better achievement than alternative methods. “A new study finds traditional math instruction – what many folks call “drill and kill” – is more effective in helping young children struggling in math than group work, peer tutoring or hands-on activities that use manipulations, calculators, movement and music.” Read the entire article here.

3) If you want to know and understand what is happening in Atlanta Public Schools (APS), you need to follow the Financial-Deconstruction blog. This terrific blog is written by a former CFO who now follows and documents the latest developments in APS. Recently his work was recognized by the AJC Get Schooled blog. They carried a two-part series on his analysis of the APS interim superintendent’s results. It is important reading for anyone concerned about the largest portion of the state’s budget. It is also insightful for how other metro education bureaucracies are run. Click here to read part 1 of the analysis. Click here to read part 2 of the analysis.