Who is Kathy Cox

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Ranked #9,254 in People, #165,710 overall

Committed To Excellence, Improving Student Achievement

Kathy Cox is the current Superintendent of Schools for the State of Georgia. Her commitment to excellence and student achievement reaches far and wide - she spearheaded the creation of a new statewide curriculum, the Georgia Performance Standards, and she turned the Georgia Department of Education into a policy-driven organization with the primary goal of leading the nation in student improvement. She cares so much about the students of the State of Georgia that she even donated $1,000,000 in winnings from a television game show to Georgia schools when she could have kept it for herself.

Kathy Cox's Million Dollar Story 

On Friday, September 5, 2008, the season premiere of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader aired, and ironically enough, the show's first ever million dollar winner achieved the feat on this show. It was Georgia State Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox, and she had come on the show intending to donate all of her winnings to the school system.

She answered the $500,000 dollar question correctly, and entered into the rare territory of contestants who had made it to the Million Dollar Question. If she walked away, she would have $500,000 to give to the Georgia Department of Education and lots of great publicity. If she went for the million and got the question wrong, she would have to settle for a meager $25,000. Recognizing that most people would have been happy if she had walked away, Kathy Cox couldn't do that. In order to leave with the $500,000, she would have to "drop out of school" and admit that she wasn't smarter than a fifth grader. She told the host and the millions of people watching that she is trying to keep students from dropping out of school, so she couldn't drop out. She also said that she has been telling students for years to "go for it", so she would lead by example and 'go for it', encouraging the students of Georgia to go for their diplomas. With that, she heard and correctly answered the Million Dollar Question, becoming the first ever million dollar winner on the show and donating $1,000,000 to three schools: Georgia Academy for the Blind in Macon; Atlanta Area School for the Deaf in Clarkston and Georgia School for the Deaf in Cave Spring.

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Kathy Cox on Wikipedia 

Kathy Cox (born August 10, 1964) is the superintendent of public schools for the U.S. state of Georgia, and is a Republican. A high school teacher by occupation, Cox also served two terms, from 1998 to 2002, in the Georgia General Assembly, representing Peachtree City, Georgia, prior to her election as superintendent in 2002. Cox sought re-election in 2006, defeating Democratic challenger Denise Majette (a former U.S. representative), earning almost 60 percent of the vote.

Cox is not related to Cathy Cox, a Democrat who was Georgia's elected secretary of state from 1999 until 2007. The similarity in names became the subject of mostly humorous news stories in 2002, when Kathy Cox's defeated opponent, Barbara Christmas, complained that she had lost because of voter confusion between the two Coxes.

On September 5, 2008, Cox became the first million-dollar winner on the American television game show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Her final question was, "Who was the longest reigning British monarch?" Cox intended to donate all her winnings to three schools in Georgia: Georgia Academy for the Blind in Macon, Atlanta Area School for the Deaf in Clarkston, and Georgia School for the Deaf in Cave Spring. All three schools are under the auspices of the Georgia Board of Education. [http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/09/05/cox_fifth_grader.html] These plans were affected by her personal bankruptcy in late 2008.

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Kathy Cox and Georgia Education On the Web 

Kathy Cox
Kathy Cox is currently finishing her first term as Georgia's State Superintendent of Schools, the latest chapter in a life dedicated to education.
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox was elected as Georgia's State Superintendent of Schools in November ... Superintendent Cox was a public school teacher for 15 years and believes in the ...

Kathy Cox In the News 

Eye To Eye: Kathy Cox (CBS News)

Kathy Cox, Georgia's State Superintendent of Schools, talks with Kelly Wallace about raising expectations for her students in order to improve their performance. (CBSNews.com)

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Kathy Cox and the Teach Africa Program 

Teach Africa Program to Launch in Georgia

Kathy Cox, Georgia's state superintendent of schools, enlists the help of Africa specialists in fixing the state's sixth- and seventh-grade social studies programs. The Teach Africa program this event promoted will provide Georgia teachers and students access to institutions and individuals including diplomats, artists and experts about African history and culture.

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What Others Are Saying About Kathy Cox 

Clements' progress honored
COVINGTON ? State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox recently honored a Newton County middle school at the State Department of Education for improving ...
School budget woes to continue in 2010
In early December, State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox said she anticipates public school districts will be cut another $39 million this spring to ...
Midstate schools make testing goals
Those schools were recognized by state School Superintendent Kathy Cox and the state board recently for the feat. ?It was very exciting,? said Baldwin ...
The latest memo on reforms for House Republicans
Education ? Under Governor Perdue/Kathy Cox, our graduation rate has substantially improved under any methodology. Unfortunately, we must use the national ...
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