This represents a monumental achievement for our community, and CUEE wants to thank all canvassers, volunteers and supporters for helping us reach this goal.

Under Georgia law, the city of Valdosta has 50 days (Tuesday, July 12 – Tuesday, Aug. 30) to determine the validity of the petition signatures. If CUEE successfully collected at least 7,375 valid signatures, the City must issue a call to place the school unification question on the Nov. 8, 2011 ballot.

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Does Your Child Deserve A Better Education?

Education is at the forefront of nearly every political debate these days. And it's no different in South Georgia.

Community Unification for Educational Excellence, Inc. (CUEE) was founded in 2009 by a group of local business leaders committed to improving education in order to improve our economy. Students must know how to compete on a global level to achieve success, but low graduation rates and standardized test scores are keeping them behind.

Georgia ranks 46th out of 50 states when it comes to how well our students are learning. So the fact that schools in Valdosta and Lowndes County are "average" in a state ranked in the bottom tier doesn't provide a very good outlook for our children.

We believe our students deserve better.

To begin, we'll form a committee of teachers, administrators, parents, and concerned citizens to create a plan of what reform will look like for our community. This plan will be presented in a public forum in Spring 2011 and will serve as a suggested vision of the ideal school system in Valdosta and Lowndes County.

CUEE has also begun efforts to get a referendum on the ballot for the November 2011 Valdosta City election to unify our two existing school systems. As one school system, it will be simpler to adapt curriculum and more productive policies, and work as one community toward providing our children with a world-class learning environment.

Our mission as a non-profit organization is to support our local schools, improve the quality of education, and provide businesses and corporations with a talented workforce.

Please join us in this effort. You can volunteer to work with us, make a donation, or let us know what improvements you'd like to see in our schools. You can also sign up to receive our monthly e-newsletter, which will keep you updated on our activities.

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