Georgia's literacy crisis is staggering — nearly 70% of third and fourth graders in the state cannot read on grade level, according to the Nation's Report Card. On this episode of The Jenny Beth Show, Jenny Beth Martin sits down with Dr. Randell Trammell, a 23-year education veteran, founder of the U.S. Center for Civic Engagement, and Republican candidate for Georgia School Superintendent, to expose how Georgia fell to #38 in the nation for education — and what it will take to fix it. Dr. Trammell breaks down the “Mississippi Miracle” that pulled that state from the bottom of national rankings to the top through phonics instruction and literacy coaches, why the Southern surge in Alabama, South Carolina, and Tennessee is leaving Georgia behind, and how reverse-engineering the “ideal graduate” must replace the broken testing model. He also unpacks the “3P Model” — passion, purpose, and paycheck — and why technology should be a source in the classroom, not the source. Jenny Beth and Dr. Trammell dig into the school climate surveys quietly normalizing drug use, sex, and suicidal ideation in children through leading questions, why Georgia must become an opt-in state, and the broken discipline incentives letting “the inmates run the prison.” Dr. Trammell lays out his platform: back to basics, classroom discipline, supporting teachers, and full parental choice — because parents do not co-parent with the government. Georgia's primary election is May 19th. Early voting begins April 27th. Learn more at trammellforgeorgia.com, youthingovernment.org, jennybethshow.com, and teapartypatriots.org.
Dr. Randell Trammell holds a doctorate in education and is the founder of the U.S. Center for Civic Engagement, a nonpartisan civic education nonprofit serving over one million Georgia students annually and now expanding into Florida, South Carolina, Arkansas, and beyond. A 23-year education veteran whose wife is a public school special education teacher and whose three children attend Georgia public schools, Dr. Trammell is the Republican candidate for Georgia School Superintendent in the May 19, 2026 election.
Jenny Beth Martin is co-founder of the Tea Party movement and Chairman of Tea Party Patriots Action, representing three million grassroots conservative activists nationwide.
00:14 — Welcome and guest introduction
01:03 — Georgia's literacy crisis: 70% can't read on grade level
02:12 — The Mississippi Miracle and the Southern surge
04:51 — What Georgia is measuring vs. what matters
06:00 — The growth model and the ideal graduate
07:04 — Citizenship as the foundation of education
08:57 — The 3P Model: passion, purpose, paycheck
09:28 — Where Georgia schools are failing parents
12:26 — First-generation college students left to navigate alone
13:29 — COVID's lasting damage on Georgia learning
15:17 — Why educators avoid teaching citizenship
17:11 — The Constitution as a “masterpiece for all times”
18:29 — Inside the U.S. Center for Civic Engagement
19:42 — Back to basics: why this must be said out loud
21:28 — Life skills schools have abandoned
23:17 — Technology in the classroom: a tool, not THE tool
26:28 — How screens destroy focus and comprehension
28:11 — Why Dr. Trammell is running for Georgia Superintendent
30:20 — “Status quo has got to go”
31:56 — What the Georgia School Superintendent actually does
34:06 — Day-one priorities and the back-to-basics platform
35:04 — Discipline: when “the inmates run the prison”
36:04 — The plate study and supporting teachers
36:48 — Full parental school choice
37:59 — School climate surveys normalizing drugs, sex, and suicide
39:35 — Why Georgia must become an opt-in state
44:19 — How the CCRPI rewards bad discipline incentives
47:45 — How Georgians and out-of-state listeners can help
49:06 — Get involved with the U.S. Center for Civic Engagement
49:53 — Closing and where to find the show