Kathy Cox

superintendant of schools, Georgia

Kathy Cox has been state superintendent of schools since 2003 and in that time, she has set Georgia's schools on a path toward excellence. Guided by the Georgia Department of Education's Strategic Plan, Superintendent Cox has overseen many improvements to public education in Georgia, including: the creation of a new state curriculum and new graduation requirements, expansion of the state's Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education programs, as well as an increase in public school choice by expanding the number of charter schools in Georgia, overseeing the creation of career academies and the creation and operation of the state's on-line learning portal, Georgia Virtual School. Under Superintendent Cox's leadership, Georgia has seen unprecedented gains in student achievement: Georgia students are scoring at or above the national average on reading and writing tests and the state's graduation rate is at its highest level. Superintendent Cox was a classroom teacher for 15 years and served two terms in the state legislature before being elected to the Georgia's highest educational post in 2002. She was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2006. In September 2008, Superintendent Cox made national headlines by becoming the first contestant to win $1 million on Fox's *Are You Smarter than a 5th-Grader?* She is donating the money to Georgia's 3 state schools for the deaf and blind.