New Book Offers Suggestions For Fixing Schools Top education experts, elected officials, business and community leaders, teachers, principals, elementary and secondary students and parents discuss the dangerous shortcomings of current state and federal policies and offer suggestions for what can be done to improve the nation’s public schools in a new book edited by University of Georgia emeritus professor Carl Glickman. Letters to the Next President: What We Can Do About the Real Crisis in Public Education, to be released next month, features the ideas and perspectives of 33 contributors from throughout country on three critical questions: •    What kind of education do we want for all of our children? •    What changes must we make to achieve that goal? •    How do we ensure that the voices of parents, teachers, students and citizens who care deeply about public education are heard at local, state and national levels? The authors – ranging in age from 8 to 92 –  include elementary and secondary students in urban, suburban and rural areas; teachers and other school leaders in Georgia, Nebraska, New York, Texas and Vermont;  parents, education policymakers, U.S. senators, museum directors and entertainers. University of Georgia doctoral graduate Karen Hankins, who teaches at Whit Davis Elementary School in Clarke County, is among the letter writers. The contributors donated all royalties to non-profit children and youth organizations and Teachers College Press priced the book below their normal sales price to make it as accessible as possible to all sectors of the public. Glickman now holds the Roy and Joann Cole Mitte Endowed Chair in School Improvement at Texas State University -San Marcos where he is involved in a unique, interdisciplinary PhD program for public spirited community and school leaders. In addition, he is president of the Institute for Schools, Education, and Democracy,  an independent and non-partisan organization devoted to strengthening education, civic engagement, and the promise of a fully functioning democracy.   For nearly two decades at UGA, Glickman served in a number of leadership roles on university, state and national commissions to improve schools, teacher education and academic programs. He was founder and remains senior advisor of the Program for School Improvement, and the League of Professional Schools, both based in UGA’s College of Education, the latter of which includes more than 105 member schools in Georgia and across the nation. He is the author of 13 books on school leadership, educational renewal, and the moral imperative of education.  His book Leadership for Learning was recognized by the National Association of Education Publishers as one of the four most outstanding education books of 2002 and his 2003 book, Holding Sacred Ground; Leadership, Courage, and Endurance in our Schools. The new book, which will be featured in national bookstores throughout the nation, includes a foreword by Bill Cosby and an epilogue by the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn. Tuesday, January 20, 2004 WRITER: Michael Childs, 706/542-5889, mchilds@coe.uga.edu CONTACT: Carl Glickman, Carlglickman@aol.com