MORROW, Ga. -- John F. Gwizdak, former (2000/2001) commander-in-chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) is coming to the Clayton State University campus to speak on the occasion of Memorial Day.

Gwizdak, a resident of Raleigh, Ga., will be appearing at Clayton State on Friday, May 25 under the sponsorship of the University’s Veterans Resource Center (VRC), and a grant from the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. His address, which is free and open to the public, will start at noon at the outdoor Lawson Amphitheater, located between the James M. Baker University Center and Spivey Hall.

According to Shiraz Karaa, interim director of the VRC, Gwizdak will talk about the historical significance of Memorial Day and address student veterans about using their GI benefits and the importance of education and completing college.

ATLANTA -- A new method of calculating graduation rates reveals that more high school students are dropping out than had been previously counted and some of them are taking five or even six years to earn a diploma.

According to reports the new formula was released last week. It shows that Georgia's 2011 graduation rate dropped 13 percentage points using the calculation, to 67.4 percent.

RELATED | Compare graduation rates by school

ATLANTA -- The Georgia Department of Education has released a list of 156 schools labeled as "focus" schools under the state's new accountability system.

The schools, many of which are in metro Atlanta, are one step above the state's worst performing schools, called "priority" schools, which were released last week. The "focus" schools are ones with a graduation rate of less than 60 percent over two years or have large gaps between the highest and lowest achieving subgroup of students on campus.

Subgroups can be determined by race, special needs and family income.

The state was one of 10 to win waivers last month from the federal No Child Left Behind law.