Atlanta Daily World

Michael Thurmond to Helm Dekalb Schools

The DeKalb County Board of Education has appointed former Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond to serve as the district's interim superintendent.

He replaces Dr. Cheryl Atkinson who left the job by "mutual agreement" with the board.

Atkinson will get severance pay of $114,583 through June 30. Michael Thurmond officially took the interim superintendent position this week with a one year contract and a salary of $275,000.

Thurmond, who is credited with outstanding leadership at both the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS), and the Georgia Department of Labor, said last week, "I'm here today because I'm interested in the future of public education in DeKalb County and I came and offered my support to help the DeKalb School Board overcome the challenges that were faced."

The most pressing challenge facing DeKalb Schools now is the possible loss of its accreditation as the system has been placed on probation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

Next week, DeKalb School Board members go before the State Board of Education for a hearing to decide whether or not to recommend to Gov. Nathan Deal to suspend the DeKalb Board under
Georgia law 20-2-73(a).

The law is put into effect when a school district finds itself on probation, or one step away from loss of system accreditation because of
poor board governance.

Attorney General Eric Holder to Speak at Clark Atlanta for President's Lecture Series

Clark Atlanta University (CAU) will welcome United States Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. as the orator for its inaugural President's Lecture Series Feb. 7, at 11:30 a.m., in Davage Auditorium in Haven-Warren Hall on the main campus, 223 James P. Brawley Drive, S.W.

Holder will speak on "Rights and the American Polis – Prospects for the Future." The event is free and open to the public.

"We are honored that Attorney General Holder would share his expertise, experience and vast knowledge of global and domestic affairs with the university and the broader community," said CAU President Carlton E. Brown. "This promises to be a great day in the history of Clark Atlanta University."

Holder was born in New York City and attended public schools there, graduating from Stuyvesant High School, before earning a B.A. in American history from Columbia College in 1973 and a J.D. degree from Columbia Law School in 1976.

Upon his graduation from law school, Holder joined the Department of Justice through the Attorney General's Honors Program. He was assigned to the newly formed Public Integrity Section, where he investigated and prosecuted corruption involving officials in local, state and federal government. In 1988, President Reagan appointed him to serve as an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, where he presided over hundreds of criminal and civil trials during his five years on the bench.

In 1993, President Clinton appointed Judge Holder to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. In 1997, President Clinton appointed Holder to serve as Deputy Attorney General of the United States, a position that he held until the end of the Clinton administration. At the request of President George W. Bush, Holder served as Acting Attorney General in 2001, pending the confirmation of Attorney General John Ashcroft.

In July 2001, Holder joined the Washington, D.C. law firm of Covington & Burling as a partner in the firm's litigation practice group, where he represented clients in complex civil and criminal cases as well as internal corporate investigations.

President Barack Obama nominated Holder to be Attorney General, and his nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on Feb. 2, 2009. He began his service as the 82nd Attorney General the next day.

Holder's many civic commitments have included service on the boards of Columbia University, the National Center for Victims of Crime, the Meyer Foundation and the Save the Children Foundation, among many others. He also served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission Ad Hoc Advisory Group.

He has received numerous awards in recognition of his professional and civic contributions, including the Department of Justice's Special Achievement Award, the District of Columbia Bar Association's Beatrice Rosenberg Award and George Washington University's Martin Luther King Jr. Medal for Outstanding Service in Human Rights. The District of Columbia Bar Association recognized Holder as its Lawyer of the Year in 1997. Holder lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Dr. Sharon Malone, and their three children.

Teacher Who Changed My Life Essay Contest Official Rules

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO FEB. 19

OFFICIAL RULES

1. Eligibility. The Teacher Who Changed My Life Contest (the "Contest") is open only to legal residents of city of Atlanta or the surrounding counties such as (but not limited to) Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Clayton County, Cherokee, Douglas, Fayette, Henry and Rockdale, Georgia, who are fourteen (14) years of age or older at the time of entry. Employees of Sponsors (as defined below) and each of their respective related companies, as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible. The Contest is subject to all federal, state and local laws and regulations and is void where prohibited by law.

2. Sponsors. New America Media, 275 Ninth Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103 and [INSERT NAME AND ADDRESS OF PARTICIPATING ETHNIC MEDIA] (the "Sponsors").

3. Agreement to Official Rules. Participation in the Contest constitutes your full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and the decisions of the judges and the Sponsors, which are final and binding.

4. Entry Period. The Contest begins on November 14, 2012 at 12:00 noon Central Time ("CT") and ends on Feb 4, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. CT (the "Entry Period").

5. Entry. To enter, during the Entry Period, fill out the entry form, provide a biography of yourself (no more than 200 words), and submit a short essay (no more than 500 words) in English or your native language on one (1) of the following topics, as applicable to you: (a) if you are between fourteen (14) and eighteen (18) years old, write about a teacher who is not your relative and who teaches in a public or private school in Atlanta or surrounding counties and who changed your life (the "Teenager" category); (b) if you are nineteen (19) years old or older, write about a teacher who is not your relative and who teaches in a public or private school in Atlanta or surrounding counties and who changed your life or the life of your child (the "Adult" category); or (c) write about a teacher who is not your relative but who taught you and with whom you have lost contact, who taught you in your home country, or who has passed away (the "Teacher in Memory" category). If you submit an essay in a language other than English, New America Media will translate your essay prior to final judging. Your entry must be true, your own original work, and must not have been entered, in whole or in part, into any other contest, promotion or exhibition, or otherwise published or distributed. The Sponsors reserve the right, in their sole and absolute discretion, to refuse to accept any entry for any reason.

During the Entry Period, submit your entry form, biography and essay to Sponsors by email to [INSERT MEDIA EMAIL ADDRESS] or by mail to [INSERT MEDIA POSTAL ADDRESS]. Emailed entries must be received by Sponsors during the Entry Period, and mailed entries must be postmarked during the Entry Period. Limit: one (1) entry per person. Subsequent entries will be void. Entries will not be acknowledged or returned. Illegible entries will be disqualified.

6. Selection of Potential Winners. On or about February 8, 2013, a panel of judges will select one (1) potential winner from each of the three (3) categories of submissions, as described above. Entries will be judged on how well the essay conveys a portrait of the teacher and how descriptive it is of the teacher's impact. In the event of a tie, the entry with the higher score for how great the essay conveys a portrait of the teacher will be the potential winner. Potential winner will be notified by email, phone or postal mail. If the potential winner cannot be contacted within five (5) days of the first attempt to contact him/her, the entrant in that category with the next highest score will be the potential winner.

7. Requirements of Potential Winners. Except where prohibited, each potential winner must complete and return an affidavit of eligibility and liability/publicity release (the "Affidavit/Release") within ten (10) days of being notified. If a potential winner fails to sign and return the Affidavit/Release within the required time period, if notification or prize is returned as undeliverable, or if Sponsors determine in their sole discretion that a potential winner is ineligible, an alternate entrant will be selected in his/her place. If a potential winner is a minor, his/her parent or legal guardian must sign and return all requested documents and accept the prize on his/her behalf. Unless prohibited by law, acceptance of a prize constitutes permission for Sponsors to use winner's name, picture, likeness, address (city and state), and biographical information for advertising and publicity purposes, worldwide, without further compensation.

8. Prizes. The winners of the Teenager and Adult categories will each receive Five Hundred Dollars ($500), and the teachers that they profiled in their entries will also each receive Five Hundred Dollars ($500). The winner of the Teacher In Memory category will have the honor of selecting a public school in Atlanta or surrounding counties, to receive an award of Five Hundred Dollars ($500). All federal, state and local taxes and all other expenses not specifically mentioned herein are the responsibility solely of winner. Prize is non-transferable and non-assignable. No substitution permitted, except that Sponsors reserve the right to substitute a prize with another prize of comparable or greater value at Sponsors' sole discretion.

9. Sponsors' Rights to Entries. By entering, you grant to the Sponsors a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, fully sublicensable (through multiple tiers) and transferable license, without additional consideration to you or third parties, to (a) publish, reproduce, distribute and display (publicly or otherwise), adapt, modify, edit, translate, make available to the public, make, sell, offer to sell, import and otherwise use and exploit (and have others exercise such rights on behalf of the Sponsors, through multiple tiers) your entry, in any format or media now known or hereafter developed; (b) create derivative works from and incorporate your entry into other works or into the Sponsors' or their designees' products or services; (c) use your entry for the Sponsors' advertising and promotional purposes; and (d) use your name, photograph, portrait, picture, voice, likeness, statements, and biographical information for the Sponsors' advertising and promotional purposes in connection with your entry, for the purpose of administering and promoting the Contest, any future Sponsor promotions, and/or the Sponsors. You hereby waive any and all rights that you each may have under laws worldwide that concern "moral rights" or "droit moral" in connection with your entry.

10. General Conditions. In the event that the operation, security or administration of the Contest is impaired in any way for any reason, Sponsors may, in their sole discretion, either (a) suspend the Contest to address the impairment and then resume the Contest in a manner that best conforms to the spirit of these Official Rules, or (b) award the prizes according to the applicable judging criteria from among the eligible entries received up to the time of the impairment. Sponsors reserve the right in their sole discretion to disqualify any individual they find to be tampering with the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or in a disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to undermine the operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsors reserve the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsors' failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that or any other provision. In the event of a dispute as to any online entry, the authorized account holder of the e-mail address used to enter will be deemed to be the entrant. The "authorized account holder" is the natural person assigned an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted address. In the event that an entry is confirmed to have been erroneously deleted, lost or destroyed, entrant's sole remedy shall be another entry into the Contest. If any provision of these Official Rules is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be struck, and the remaining provisions shall be enforced.

11. Release and Indemnity; Limitations of Liability. By participating in the Contest, you agree to release, indemnify and hold harmless Sponsors, their respective parent and related companies, and each such company's respective officers, directors, employees, and agents (collectively, the "Released Parties") from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, participation in the Contest or receipt or use of any prize, including, but not limited to: (a) claims that your entry violates any copyrights, patents, trademark rights, publicity rights or other rights; (b) claims arising from any use or other exploitation of, or failure to use or exploit your entry; (c) claims arising from any breach or alleged breach by you of these Official Rules; (d) claims of misappropriation of ideas or other intellectual property; (e) claims arising from any technical, translation or printing errors, including errors that may prevent you from submitting an entry; (f) claims arising from unauthorized human intervention in the Contest; (g) claims arising from lost, late, damaged, postage-due, misdirected or undeliverable mail or e-mail; (h) claims arising from errors in the administration of the Contest or the processing of entries; and (i) claims arising from injury, death or damage to persons or property. You further agree that in any cause of action, the Released Parties' liability will be limited to the cost of entering and participating in the Contest, and in no event shall the Released Parties be liable for attorneys' fees.

12. Disputes. Except where prohibited, you agree that any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of the Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate court located in the State of Georgia. All issues and questions concerning these Official Rules, your rights and obligations, or Sponsors' rights and obligations shall be governed by the laws of the State of Georgia without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules.

13. List of Winners. For the results, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to New America Media, 209 Ninth Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94103, Attention: The teacher Who Changed My Life Essay Contest. Requests must be received by March 31, 2013.

Georgia Tech Named Top Value for Engineering Students

A recent analysis of the top 10 universities with the highest reported salaries upon graduation found that Georgia Tech students make an average of $60,000 upon graduation, and its tuition is much more affordable compared to private universities. The study was done by Nerdwallet.com, an independent website devoted to providing financial information to consumers.

Key findings of the study note that:

* GA Tech has a 55% acceptance rate, the highest in the top 10 universities by salary (Carnegie Mellon's SCS, on the other hand, accepts only 8% of its applicants).

* With the exception of GA Tech, the top 10 schools with highest paid graduates are billed an average of $44,000 in tuition alone.

For more information visit