It brings state, national, and international attention to the job that our school family is doing. I think it will be a huge economic development asset for the community to say that the Alexander City School System was the first in the state to have this designation.

We were the first city system in the state and nation to go through district accreditation.

Someone put it best the other day. What better investment in education can we make than in our teachers. We can have all the buildings, supplies ... but if we don't have teachers, it won't matter, and until we get salaries up we can't compete with other states.

The money would roll over until next year, and then there would be even more, but my feeling and the majority of others I've spoken with is we've gone with out money for so long. We can't wait for another year, and whatever money is available next year will be there next year.

All the accolades are wonderful, but the main thing is that it's helped us do better for our students.

Oprah is one of the most respected people in the world. I think her attention to this school will make a monumental difference both for the school as well as the issues they face there.