Student achievement is not the only problem facing educators in today’s world of standardized testing, but it often takes the largest bite out of funding and resources. Focus on standards and assessment moves the emphasis from teaching the whole child to teaching-to-the-test. That leaves little, if any, recourse to maintain student interest in school.

The good news is, more states are now taking student graduation seriously and pledging to tackle low graduation rates as part of their education budgets. The bad news is, information received by districts and teachers about possible dropouts often comes too late.

On January 18, 2008, CHARACTER COUNTS! Of Madison County joined forces with Anderson Community Schools (ACS), Anderson University, and the City of Anderson, Indiana to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King jr. by holding a “Dream Team 2008” rally at the Paramount Theatre Centre, in downtown Anderson.