As the Columbia County school year winds to a close and seniors prepare for commencement exercises next weekend, it signals the end of an era.

And no, we’re not just talking about the retirement of School Superintendent Charles Nagle, though he’s largely responsible for the significant change that’s coming with the closure of Bel Air Elementary School.

Many overly simplistic people think the reason I’m such a strong defender of public education is because my wife is a principal. (And now, I suppose, also because my middle daughter is a teacher.)

But my support for public education, like many of my foundational beliefs, is far older than those relationships and rooted in my deep respect for my grandfather: the late Lloyd Paschal.

Editor:

I want to thank all my guests who I have served over the past 11 years at Babies ‘R’ Us, and the love and friendship that they have shown me. Even when I could not make everyone happy, it was still a great pleasure serving everyone there and also at Toys ‘R’ Us during the holiday seasons.

It wasn’t easy. The admission required a dose of humility.

But finally I had to admit defeat.

After weeks of discussions and brow-furrowing efforts, at last I was beaten by the College and Career Readiness Performance Index.

Before the start of this school year, educators were chattering about how AYP would be replaced with CCRPI, using information from CRCT and other factors.

The alphabet soup of education bureaucrats, from Washington, D.C., on down, was bad enough. But explaining what all this meant to parents was the real challenge.