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Atlanta Forward

Refocus all of DeKalb schools’ assets toward student achievement

12:59 pm February 16, 2013, by Andre Jackson, Editorial Editor

 Former state Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond brings a great wealth of experience as a manager and attorney to his new role of interim superintendent of the DeKalb County School District. However, he doesn’t bring a background in education.
He’s already getting good advice on how to shore up that deficit. At his first public appearance last week, one resident told Thurmond, “Student achievement must be the focus.”
School board member Nancy Jester offered, “Things don’t teach children. Programs don’t teach children… . Nothing can replace the gentle hand of a teacher reading and rereading a passage in a book and encouraging a child to think beyond herself, beyond today and imagine the possibilities of a full future.”
To overhaul DeKalb, the state’s third-largest district and, of late, one of its most troubled, Thurmond ought to heed another piece of advice: Don’t confuse the DeKalb County school system with the DeKalb County Board of Education. Don’t permit the problems of the board to distract from the goals of stabilizing the rattled district, preserving accreditation and raising student achievement.
In December, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placed DeKalb on probation, citing school board meddling and mismanagement. Now, the governor is weighing ousting the entire board, pending a recommendation by the state Board of Education, which meets Thursday to hear from DeKalb schools.
Thurmond has announced that he plans to speak for the district at that meeting. While Thurmond may feel bound to the board that chose him, these nine people should be able to argue their own case for retaining their jobs.
Thurmond’s top concern ought to be the 99,000 other people counting on him — the students of DeKalb.
Years ago, the DeKalb school system was an incubator of innovation and a model for the state, launching some of the first magnet programs.
In returning to those glory days or at least to better days, Thurmond may want to borrow from the federal strategy: Focus on the lowest performing schools and free up the successful ones to chart their own courses. Whether called charter clusters or a new descriptor, these high performing pockets in DeKalb — and there are several — ought to be given benchmarks to meet but left on their own to get there.
Such a strategy would sweep away a few piles on Thurmond’s desk and enable him to concentrate on failing schools. Some problems in those schools should be easy to fix, including complaints that students lack textbooks. Other problems, including the nagging achievement gap, will be tougher to address as many of DeKalb’s lowest performing schools are also its poorest.
Too many resources that ought to have gone to schools have been squandered in missteps and mistakes.
In 2002, the county welcomed outsider Johnny Brown who was hired to shake up the status quo. Two years and several failed policies later, Brown fled DeKalb with a $410,000 payout.
The school board looked within for his replacement, but district veteran Crawford Lewis ended up under criminal indictment, charged with lying to investigators to cover up a corruption conspiracy involving the management of more than $80 million in taxpayer money.
Insider Ramona Tyson served as interim for two years until a fractious national search led to the hiring of Cheryl Atkinson of Ohio. After 16 months, she now leaves with $114,583.
Along with restoring stability, Thurmond must regain the public’s battered trust. He has to continue the arduous and politically explosive task of reducing the district’s $16 million deficit while responding to parent complaints about overcrowded classes. He has to clamp down on escalating legal costs and buoy the morale of teachers, who are fed up with the reforms begun and then abandoned with each leadership shift.
Thurmond can’t give DeKalb schools and students his full attention if he’s preoccupied with school board antics. Whether this board goes or stays, Thurmond has to quickly and emphatically redirect every employee, every decision and every penny to the cause of student achievement.

Maureen Downey, for the Editorial Board

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12 comments Add your comment

MM

February 16th, 2013
6:53 pm

The real issue is the political rehabilitation of DeKalb County, not just the schools but the government as well. As far as Thurmond his political skills might do a short-term good service to DeKalb but the ultimate solution, if there is one, requires much more than any person can do.

Also, Thurmond has often shown his political skills are quite limited such as his acquiescence to Sonny Purdue in the matter of failing to collect Unemployment Insurance payments from Georgia businesses for many years that led to the disastrous shortfall in the UI fund which required massive loans from the federal government and resulted in many Georgians being denied unemployment benefits. Political courage is not Thurmond’s strong suite.

Bernie

February 17th, 2013
1:01 am

If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.
Red Adair

Mary Elizabeth

February 17th, 2013
1:15 am

To insure student achievement:

Students must – each and all – be instructed on content and skills where they are individually functioning regardless of grade level demarcations, and, likewise, the rates of learning for each and all students must be individually adjusted, if students and school systems are to meet with success.

Dc

February 17th, 2013
12:06 pm

“things don’t teach children….”. Jeez why is our education establishment so stuck in the dark ages? How hard is it to create something in the form of a video game that actually teaches? Why are we still stuck with students being at the mercy of their teachers ability to teach…or lack of ability?

Churches figured this out long ago….the ones relying on the local preacher who isn’t gifted to preach are closing down. Meanwhile the ones video projecting the few truly gifted preachers are exploding with growth and success.

Is it really that hard to video the truly gifted teachers, use them to teach the lessons, and have the local teacher there just to answer questions and provide individual guidance? Just another idea that would move us out of the current archaic education model to something that actually delivers productivity and results

SAWB

February 17th, 2013
12:54 pm

While replacing the school board does seem to make sense why does anyone feel the next board will be any better? The same people who elected this board will elect their replacements and I’m not sure the outcome will be any different. Remember, these are the same folks that gave us Cynthia McKinney.

Jesus Christ crushes NWO, DBMs

February 17th, 2013
2:36 pm

All of DeKalb schools’ assets toward student achievement are in vain if you refuse to reconsider what qualifies a person to teach etc and provide direction, especially to African American children. Any teacher etc who does not trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is not qualified to teach or provide direction to 90% of African American children. Any teacher etc who believes that a woman has a right to choose to kill her unborn baby in the womb is not qualified to teach and provide direction to African American children etc.

I was watching C-Span, Washington Journal, yesterday. A so-called “educated” Congressman had the temerity to tell an enthusiastic American gun advocate that if the federal government wanted to be tyrannical, the guns that citizens have, especially assault rifles, would be ineffective. It was a pitch to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines in the United States. The Congressman is a classic example of assets placed toward student achievement which were in vain.

Just take a cursory look at Afghanistan, the Taliban or Al-Qaida. None of them are fighting the federal government with 38 specials or hand guns. All of them have AK 47 assault rifles etc. And they are doing a good job considering the drones and state of the art weapons of war which the Congressman alluded to. Most of Taliban/Al-Qaida instinctively knows that an AK 47 with high capacity magazine is preferable to six shot hand guns in warfare. And we suspect that most of them have not set foot in a high school but have morally qualified teachers.

Amen?

Charles Douglas Edwards

February 17th, 2013
5:12 pm

Dekalb County Schools has the potential to provide an exceptional educational experience for nearly 100,000 students !!!

To accomplish this lofty goal parents, teachers, students, administrators, community and board members must connect and build on their strengths.

The ultimate goal is to educate and prepare students to succeed wherever their paths may lead.

Good Luck Dekalb County Schools.

AnnieD

February 17th, 2013
6:52 pm

I hope Thurmond can right the ship. After his year, Dekalb should look for proven leaders who have demonstrated student achievement with a majority-minority student population. One only has to check out the state data base and ask state education leaders who they are. Both Bibb and Dekalb, as well as Atlanta Public Schools, keep reaching outside the state and hire high salaried superintendents who do not stay the course. Has anyone looked at what Rockdale accomplished under Dr. Sam King? Looked at Houston County over the last decade? How about Lembeck in Marietta and Dyer in Gainesville? Folks, it is not the size of the school system, it is the integrity and courage of a leader.

Tucker Guy

February 17th, 2013
9:14 pm

Maureen,

I take exception to your closing statement. Every teacher and paraprofessional are already directed to the cause of student achievement.

It is the BOE and the unqualified, over-paid, friends-and-family employees who are not dedicated to student achievement. None of those people work with students.

Working with students is hard and they don’t want to do anything difficult.

woody

February 18th, 2013
1:29 pm

I think for Dekalb, change will have to come via the houses of worship, and not for the reasons you might be thinking. The residents in the county will have to be organized to vote consistently to back an ideal (great schools), but this requires some thought and interpretation as to what exactly goes in to the ‘great schools’ equation, and a translation into what that means in the voting booth. And, some people will just want or need be told how to vote. Houses of worship, by and large, have an educated leadership, access to cadres with considerable organizational experience, and usually have a strong community focus. And, modern education seems to me to be capable of producing extensive bureaucracies, but is bankrupt of any insight into what constitutes a system of great schools. So, if you agree that a lot of Dekalb’s problems stem from the voting booth, then I think our religious institutions have a role to play. If I were Thurmond, I would start making the rounds of the churches and other houses of worship.

Jesus Christ crushes NWO, DBMs

February 18th, 2013
1:48 pm

Recently, some blogs @ AJC have allowed me to post again. I’m beginning to wonder if it has any relationship to Christopher Dorner’s manifesto or his attempt to transform the Los Angeles Police Department into an oasis of justice.

If you are fortunate enough to have a job, you know Dorner is telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. If you cross that thin blue line on your job by revealing the overt corruption and injustice, management and conformers will conspire to force you out much like they did Christopher Dorner.

Amen?

insider 1.0

February 18th, 2013
5:53 pm

@ woody
Aside from the separation of church and state issue, it is not always the best case to involve houses of worship in the poltics of education. That’s what private, faith based schools are for. Public schools are for those who wish to keep religious agendas at home rather than in the schoolhouse. As is their constitutional right. New Birth is already overly involved in Dekalb schools. Melvin Johnson will work to ensure that it stays involved. And continues to benefit financially.

@ Jesus ..
Crushes

I hope your posts are jokes. Do you really think that being a “saved” Christian is the primary requirement of a good educator (for African-American or any other students)? Some of the best teachers I know are Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, agnostic and atheist. I’m guessing you wouldn’t allow any gay or lesbian teachers into your perfect school either, regardless of their relationship with Jesus. That’s a whole lot of people out there who want to work with kids that you would discount out of hand. Luckily we live in America and your discrimination has no legal say so.