The morning after: Did Erroll Davis provide a convincing case for the North Atlanta High shakeup?

don’t look behind the curtain at the mighty and powerful Oz.

convinced by Erroll? not a chance.

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My first question is will the new principal support the continuation of the IB program? Also.. this doesn’t seem to be the format to assist Dr Taylor in getting the support of the students and parents. Mostly, it seems that the Superintendent meant to send a message to the North Atlanta school area about who will be calling the shots in the future.

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Davis lied about AYP, plain and simple.

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I fail to understand why NAHS is not on the focus list because of its Hispanic population. Under AYP they were not a subgroup because there were only 37. But I thought smaller populations were looked at for “focus schools”–thus Grady passed AYP but was a focus school because of SWD. Seems like this should be the case for NAHS as well.

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City of Atlanta schools did not make AYP – is. Mr. Davis going to escort himself out?

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Educationese. Ole Erroll’s got it down pat already. Speaks like a real educrat pro. Gobbledegook, gobbledegook. Blah, blah, blah. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. It’s not where it ought to be… It’s not meeting all the needs… It’s not age appropriate… It’s not best practices… It’s not measuring up to the benchmarks… Blah, blah, blah… Damn if the community and students were happy with how it was! It’s not where we were looking to be…

Translation: I made a huge crapola of a decision. It was stupid. Now I will try to cover it up with some Educational Goo, Goo, Gah, Gah.

Do APS administrators just keep learning dumber or what? Sorry, Erroll, but it seems that you are acting like you have been caught in the Stockholm Syndrome. Did I get that right? Ha! Someone will eagerly correct me, if I didn’t.

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What is failing is Superintendent Davis and APS. Things are just the same now as they were under Beverly Hall. Just window dressing on the part of Davis. He is as unprofessional as Hall, and as devious in his dealings with the public.

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Erroll OBVIOUSLY didn’t learn from Drew; what does he think is going to happen to his precious AYP when these economically and politically empowered folks make an end run around APS and get the state to approve their own charter school?

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Is a school a community of parents, students and educators working together for a common goal or is it a factory with managers, workers and a product? It seems Dr. Davis sees North Atlanta as a factory and he is the owner.

I wonder how he sees the other failing schools in his charge?

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Hostile Black Take-Over is the answer to the Questions. APS doesn’t this NAHS is BLACK ENOUGH!! Davis stood up and lied, lied, lied durng that meeting. It was shocking.

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The median property tax paid in the state of Georgia is $1,346. http://www.tax-rates.org/propertytax.php?state=georgia I’d like to know where in Buckhead I can find a property and pay $1,346 in property tax. The average SAT score is Georgia is 1452. At North Atlanta, the average SAT score is 1426 – BELOW the state of Georgia average! So, for a district, this rich with resources and tax base, it is appalling that North Atlanta lags the state. Then examine graduation rates. North Atlanta reports only a 60% graduation rate. Pathetic. State graduation rates apparently are up for debates when it comes down to the calculation. Some reports list them as high as 80%, while other say the number should be adjusted down to 67%. Adjusted or not, once again, North Atlanta fails to make the grade. Current and former students and parents may be in love with this MyGrant guy and his cohorts, but as a taxpayer and parent of children in the district, those stats don’t hold water with me. Then you read through this blog reading reports of how students sold pot brownies at school, how these beloved administrators were always there to help break up a fight, etc. Not exactly the atmosphere conducive to learning. No wonder the scores and graduation rates are what they are. Look at the demographic numbers (from Maureen’s link) of 9th graders versus 10th graders – over a 30% decline? Where do these kids go? Are they drop outs? Or do they seek a better education elsewhere? Perhaps Davis isn’t only worried about the current student body. Perhaps he’s looking at the population in general. All people are entitled to a quality public education and this school isn’t delivering it. Private school parents aren’t thrilled about forking over the equivalent of a new car in tuition each year to avoid this APS trainwreck. Perhaps he’s finally getting the message that those in Atlanta paying the lion’s share of property taxes want a quality high school option for their children.

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So does Mr. Davis plan on removing the administration from the other lacking in performance APS High Schools? Come on…what about Crim, Therrel, Douglas? Is the State attempting to take over other High, Middle, and/or Elementary Schools in Atlanta?

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This is typical ‘Administrator Speak’. We all know that test scores are a SMALL indicator of what makes a good school. There is character building, critical thinking ability, bonding to others and interaction with adults, development of career interests, extracurricular pursuits, and just basic good old-fashioned teaching that ALL go into whether or not a school is a good school. Much of that responsiblity is on the kids and wait for it…..PARENTS. Expecting a school to solve all of society’s ills is like thinking Obama is somehow going to tax us out of our problems.

Unfortunately, we are in a day and age where the Peter Principle is completely out-of-control. Popularity and narcissism trump competence every time. As a veteran educator who espouses ‘old school’ values, while updating my teacher to modern technology and advances, I can tell parents that it is a scary landscape in education right now. Very few honest teachers will tell you that they admire their principal or think that they landed the job solely because of their ability and merits. Most of the time, it’s based on who they play golf with, who they know on the school board, or because of extreme good looks or charm.

Most school administrators (and I say MOST) are simply the most adept POLITICIANS among their teaching peer groups. They are willing to compromise teaching preparation to play the political game in getting to the top. They schmooze the right community members, say the right things, and blindly follow the latest political fads to get their 6 figure positions. They ONLY take a stand when it is politically expedient to do so and usually not when it is the right thing to do. Most school administrators (and there ARE obvious exceptions before someone crucifies me) are phony people who can’t think for themselves (or lack the courage to do so) and were not among the best teachers in their professions. I’ve seen more than a few football coaches who taught P.E. suddenly given the task of telling veteran teachers how to do their jobs while collecting a salary in excess of $100,000 per year. Most of them lack statistical ability, mathematical skills, financial management skills, and any real grasp of what it’s like to teach. In short, school administrators are just another extension of TODAY’S POLITICIANS. As long as we live in a society where leadership is determined by popularity and sound-bytes and not competence, then kids will always lose. Again, there ARE exceptions and some of the best people I’ve ever known FIT this exception. However, those people are rare. I’d say that more than 70% of school administrators aren’t truly there for the kids anymore.

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At the risk of stirring up an even bigger firestorm….let me add that the SYSTEM encourages this wholeheartedly and WANTS to control teachers who might try to change the system.

No one really thinks that teacher education departments and professional development are valuable do they? Any HONEST veteran teacher will tell you that more than 80% of professional development courses and education courses are either politically-oriented mantras and left-wing ideology or they are a complete waste of time. There is BIG $$$$ in teacher education and even BIGGER $$$$ in going around giving professional development seminars. Our last speaker was paid more than $30,000 for a 6 day seminar over a book that I could have read, comprehended, and applied in about 5 hours. This is the kind of taxpayer waste going on in education day-in day-out in every system. At the end of the day, this allows administration to show how well their teachers are ‘prepared’ and coached.

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Maureen, you’re liberal and I’m conservative, but even you have to see the shell game being played in education don’t you? This whole situation in North Atlanta is a great example of the ’sell job’ that has come to represent education. We all know that North Atlanta is probably no worse off than any other run-of-the-mill high school with the problems that we all have. However, finding a scapegoat is the way you get elected and retain positions in education.

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@Bobo, I have to say they some of the very best pricipals and superintendents I’ve worked with are former coaches. You may not respect their subject area (PE), but I have found them to be fair and adept at realizing people’s strengths and building on those or offering assistance with weaknesses, really great team builders.

On a completely different note, what was the purpose of MyGrant strolling in, waving to the crowd and retreating?
And lastly, a political comment…most on here are concerned that this administrative move was made like a private business and do not like it. Not trying to find out who supports democrats and who supports republicans, but the republicans have not made a secret of their education policy to turn public education over to private industry.

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The reason why Grady and North Atlanta are the best schools in APS is because of the parents and the community…NOT because of Central Office staff or superintendent.
The parents and the community of North Atlanta now have to make some tough choices:
(1)Roll over and accept what has been done by Errol
(2) Fight with the help of lawyers and the strong Buckhead business coalition and to force APS to retract its actions
(3) Give up the fight and let NAHS become another APS school like Mays and Douglass and move out of the district and let APS wither in the vines.

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Maureen

What do you know about the new principal’s background? I know he is coming from Gwinnett. Is that the only system that he has served as an administrator for? I ask because Gwinnett schools are not known for being open to the intense parental involvement that a school like NA has. I do wonder if his hiring played some role in this?

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@ Sandy Springs Parent: By your handle, I presume you do not reside in the NAHS zone or even the city of Atlanta, & primarily drive near NAHS on your route from to take your child to private school.

Why are you leading the charge in defending the NAHS fences? You are doing damage to a school community that isn’t yours. Several minority parents have observed throughout the reporting of this story that they feel hurt by your statements and (I believe wrongly) impute that your statements reflect the sentiments of white parents at NAHS. Yet you continue.

If you wish to speak descriptively of what NAHS is or should be, I suggest departing from your daily route from Sandy Springs to your child’s private school to tour the rest of the zone. Many of the students zoned to NAHS aren’t white, and some (of all colors incl white) are lower income. The real parents of the NAHS cluster fought hard in redistricting to keep all of these areas in NAHS.

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Point/Counterpoint. I probably should’ve qualified my statements with saying that SOME coaches DO have those abilities, but most of those guys are plenty smart enough to surround themselves with people who know what they do not. I’ve also been an athletic coach, but not a P.E. teacher. I’ve been on a H.S. football coaching staff before, and I hate to say it….but more than 50% of head football coaches I’ve been around are EXTREMELY arrogant and self-assured to the point that they are blind to critcism because they have been put on a pedestal for so long. This is fine in football, because it’s the nature of the beast and most of them know what they are talking about. However, this DOESN’T play when they leave and go into academic arenas they know nothing about. In all fairness, with that said, I’m probably being too stereotypical. There are also plenty of bad educational ‘idealist’ academic principals. Bad comes in all flavors.

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Those 80+% graduation figures for NAHS are far too high; those are the percent of seniors in March that graduate in May. The cohort figures- how many from a freshman class graduate four years later- are much better info. Even the enrollment figures for classes are better starting points:
http://app3.doe.k12.ga.us/ows-bin/owa/fte_pack_enrollgrade.entry_form

In Oct., ‘08, NAHS had 440 students in the freshman class of 2012. By March, ‘12, it had 188 left in the senior class. Where’s the 80%?

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@CB re: your estimate that 25% of NAHS kids reside in the NAHS zone, by APS data released in redistricting, 81% of NAHS students (1,056 out of 1,300) residen in the NAHS zone. NAHS has been open for admin transfers for many years including the 2012-13 school year because it has additional room.

Doubtless, some of those kids registered as residing in the district are using a fake address. But if you look at the free/reduced lunch rates at the elementary school feeders, you will see that a substantial percent of students qualify for free/reduced lunch at Bolton, Garden Hills & E Rivers, & quite a few qualifying other places as well. The overall proportion of free/reduced increases as many affluent families opt out of public schools at the middle and high school levels.

Of the 244 kids transferring to NAHS, 24 are out of district – kids of APS teachers & other APS employees, many who work at NAHS. Do you contend teachers kids are ruining NAHS? 53 commute over from Douglas, & about 30 each from Grady, Mays, Washington, Jackson & Therrell. On an earlier article, a commenter referenced the “gangbangers” taking MARTA back to SW Atlanta. Truly, what gang takes members who are willing to take MARTA for 45-60 minutes daily to high school? That would be a terrific documentary.

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http://www.invisibleserfscollar.com/further-confirmation-of-the-planned-dominance-of-social-and-emotional-learning/ is a post I wrote months ago after the paper described that APS was using CASEL materials and training the teachers to use them in the classroom.

It is also consistent with an interesting comment I heard a state official say right after the state got that NCLB waiver. “Once we get the school climate right, student achievement falls right in place.”

I followed up asking if they were talking about the Positive School Climate materials issued by what used to be known as the Center for Social and Emotional Education. Now known as the School Climate Center, the answer was yes.

So APS may be actively pushing this as well as Fulton as Positive School Culture but this SEL focus is coming to schools and classrooms all over Georgia. And it is not pull out. It’s a daily focus. Drip. Drip. Drip.

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“The labels of Priority Schools, Focus Schools, Alert Schools and Reward Schools will replace the designations used in the federal No Child Left Behind initiative. President Barack Obama granted waivers for the federal mandates in February.

#The Focus Schools category is made up of educational facilities which have graduation rates of less than 60-percent over a two-year period and are not identified as priority schools.

#The department of education may also name a school to the list if large within-school gaps exist between the highest achieving subgroup and the lowest achieving subgroup. Subgroups can be determined by race, special needs and family income.

#Local schools named on the Focus list for less than a 60-percent graduation rate were Norcross, Berkmar and Central Gwinnett. Those listed as Focus Schools for within-school achievement gaps were Sweetwater Middle, Rosebud Elementary, Lilburn Middle and Summerour Middle.

#Sloan Roach, district spokesperson with GCPS, said the category of Focus Schools “is an apt description of these schools because while they have accomplished many good things to date, their focus continues to be on closing achievement gaps and helping all children reach their learning potential.”
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/news/2012/mar/20/seven-local-schools-on-states-focus-list/

The key statement:

“The department of education may also name a school to the list if large within-school achievement gaps exist between the highest achieving subgroup and the lowest achieving subgroup.”

This is how Lillburn middle is described, and would also fit North Atlanta, with students in its IB program being the high performers. This means that there is a good chance, in my opinion, that the IB program will be phased out/dropped so resources will be used on the bottom performers. The only focus on school achievement in this system is to “close the gap.” It is easier to achieve if the academic bar is lowered so ALL can jump over. THIS IS NOTHING BUT RECYCLED OBE COME HOME TO ROOST! If you have a high performing student at NAHS, I would get prepared to home school for 2012-2013. You have been overthrown.

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@southside parent – thank you for your posts today. Feeder schools for NAHS are set.

@ Maureen – have you asked DOE why the Reward schools haven’t been released yet? Everything said we’d see them in September. I could be we wrong but aren’t all other lists announced and all schools must appear on one list. If NA isn’t on the other lists, shouldn’t it appear on the Reward list?
A curious delay in the announcement. Could Davis have friends at DOE who held it up?

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@ Southside Parent, 2:06 pm. “On an earlier article, a commenter referenced the “gangbangers” taking MARTA back to SW Atlanta.”

That was our resident “raciest” Sandy Springs Parent, whose self-righteous posts about the black and Hispanic “outsiders” invading white Sandy Springs demonstrate good reasons not to reside in that area, whether white or otherwise.

This person is enjoying stirring up this faraway racial pot in North Atlanta….”race-baiter,” I believe the term is.

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Today’s AJC article was very misleading in that it did not include Davis’s second statement that the school was not in fact in danger of being taken over. Also, the subheadline of the article is “School was in danger of being taken over”.

Anyone reading the article but not all of these blogs would incorrectly assume that immediate action was needed to prevent a state takeover.

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@ Southside Parent – I do NOT contend that approximately 25% of NAHS kids reside in the NAHS zone. I contend that approximately 25% of NAHS kids reside in Buckhead, big difference.

I understand the transfer policy at North Atlanta and I understand the fact that North Atlanta’s school zone encompasses a greater area than just Buckhead.

I do not believe for a second that teacher’s kids are ruining NAHS. My point is that before a school is criticized for test scores make sure there is an apples to apples comparison. In other words, how does North Atlanta stack up against other high schools with a 52% free and reduced lunch rate? I am not so sure Superintendent Davis made this appropriate comparison before his critical remarks of North Atlanta. I also do not think he took into consideration the academic improvement that has been accomplished over the last three years at NAHS.

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@ Maureen – I was basing that timing on the information on the DOE website, which was repeated elsewhere :
“Reward Schools – which will be determined based on math, reading and English language arts results – will replace the current Title I Distinguished Schools designation and will be announced in September 2012.”

But if a school can be unlisted it may not matter when the names are released.

Thanks.

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@HS public teacher – I think Davis placed great emphasis on us not having a “normal environment” and what I took him to mean was that the very active/passionate parents, students, and community may have put pressure on Taylor to keep admin that he didn’t want. This way Davis takes the bullet for Taylor. There may have been some underlying tension between Davis/APS and MyGrant that made it an easier decision. And then there’s the investigation that may or may not be going on.

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Sandy Springs Parent you are a racist!!

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@nash parent ..when davis was asked to define what his definition of “normal” and “abnormal” was..he refused to do that.
Mygrant was supposed to stay just a few weeks more. Your logic is flawed on why Davis did this.
This is a coverup. The fact that they sent security to kick these people out and these people had no warning that this was going to happen can only lead to the conclusion..that this was damage control and to prevent the administration from taking any damaging evidence out of the building.
Say what you want…..hey maybe you will get your wish of a “normal” environment like Mays High and Douglass at NAHS in a few years !

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Okay purhaps some one here can help me out. As I review the AYP report for NAHS, it seems they didnt make AYP because of Academic Performance. Specifically the performance of Black Students in math and Ecno Disadv (what the definition here) in Lang Arts.

Assuming the numbers look the same over the previous 3 years of data reported, it would appear that your trend is quite evident. Am I missing something in my interpetation of the data??

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okay… here goes…

1. The local TV news is reporting that the administrators were all fired. Therefore, this action is putting stigmata on people.

2. Someone needs to confront Mr. Davis about this management method of messing over a school in the middle of a school year. The graduating seniors who need referrals and such have suffered real and unnecessary damage. If I had a graduating student in this school I would be with my lawyer and put Mr. Davis in court and make him account for his actions that show unprofessional process and are way off the curve as expected management procedure. If there is a change in school management, it is to be done in the off season. The academic school year should have continuity. There is no emergency is place to justify this reckless action and people have suffered real damage. The perpetrators should be put in court and made to account for their actions without being able to so easily resort to these disembodied edu-speak that can literally be applied to any situation. It appears to me that a crime has been committed. If crime is not prosecuted, this sets an example where it will continue locally and also set precedent on state level that workers can be abused in this manner.

3. Is this recent action marketing for the charter school amendment?

4. This is an example of management caste doing harsh treatment of worker caste. Someone needs to stand up to it. No professional person will want to work in these circumstances. If this is allowed to persist, there will be brain-drain and Atlanta will be a destination for professional workers to avoid. Yes, let’s include a new category: “Avoidance destination.”

5. Let’s stop with the race talk and look at economic caste. You have a school in a wealthy, an historically wealthy section of the metro area, some might say the historic wealthy area of the Atlanta metropolitan area. So, let’s take the public school there and exploit the resources and put kids there from a different economic caste. Sounds good and we all get along. Now, unrealistically punished and school and mess over the families from the historically wealthy part of town. I do not know who thinks this is a strategy for success. Like I said, if I have a graduating senior at this school, I would put the school system in court and see it all the way through for the damages made upon my child. Citizens have responsibility to police crime, otherwise it will proliferate.

6. Does anyone find this recent classification system to ring hollow? It is complex, it was just invented, and the political caste is using it like a hammer. They have left out the part about when people were nice to each other and worked together for everyone’s good. The political caste are interlopers, have very poor boundaries, and are creating damage to individuals. The individuals need to return the action and put the political caste in court and maybe after 5,000 pages of discovery and several million dollars in claims that are to be decided upon by the court, those who commit this management atrocity will be forced to return to recognising quality public service that does not abuse and harm the citizens of the City of Atlanta and does not injure the reputation and business of the City of Atlanta, something that seems to be taken for granted. I think someone should ring up the directors of the Porsche headquarters and ask them, as newly arrived corporate citizens of the Atlanta metropolitan business community how their management views using collective punishment on workers.

7. It should be noted that there is a certain type of education management worker who already has a full retirement from another career. After achieving this type of reward for themselves, this type managers then steps into education management as a second career, but the reality is that they are not lifers in education and do not have their well being fully invested in one career. When the same abuse the workers who do not have dual or multiple systems of income and retirement for themselves, it is notable. I have before seen one of these persons that already has full medical coverage provided from a prior career then go all harpy about how much they love the children and how every decision is based on their love for the children. You know, the children who do not have eyeglasses and are not going to get them any time soon. I have come to view many public educators as aggressive hypocrites. If someone is damaging your city and abusing career workers, you best do something about it unless you want to be known as an Avoidance Destination.

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@Attentive Parent/Serfs Collar
I am not employed in the education industry, but was curious enough about your post to google CASEL/SEL. I had never heard of it. How would this change how teachers teach in the classroom?

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“There is BIG $$$$ in teacher education and even BIGGER $$$$ in going around giving professional development seminars. Our last speaker was paid more than $30,000 for a 6 day seminar over a book that I could have read, comprehended, and applied in about 5 hours.”

@Kris, not saying “Vote Yes” but asking, what do you say to a person who says a no vote is a de facto endorsement of the quote above? A de facto endorsement of APS? Of SACS?

If these are “the good guys” the bad guys (the “privateers”) must be some REALLY bad guys.

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There had to be something pretty big here that Davis is not talking about. Mygrant evidently knew something was going on because he had hired a lawyer and was making FOIA requests before he was let go. It’s weird that Davis would come speak at a meeting like this without telling people, or even give a hint, as to what was really going on here. But there had to be something.

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… and it’s not about AYP.

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I think, based on the scores, that the tests for this school need to be checked for eraser marks. Something does not smell right.

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He said it and didn’t even blink

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Clearly, Davis is incompetent or just making things up. How does putting in temps 4 weeks before the new principal help things? Even if he wanted to clean house for the new principal, he could have done it as the new guy arrived, rather than putting in more temps. I was willing to give him the benefit of a doubt on this, but not now. He seems, most likely, to be covering something up and assuming all the people at the meeting would be idiots and accept whatever he said.

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Dr. Davis created such a public mess for the students, teachers and the community. He told everyone wrong information, displayed such unprofessional conduct (see PSC.org for Code of Ethics), misused power, and shaped the future of that school for a long time. The new principal needs to take a long hard look at what he is taking on. The North Atlanta community has always supported private schools when APS did not provide good services. It is that time again.
Most likely, the highest scoring students, AP students, scholarship winners,and many Gifted students, will exit APS just as quickly as they did years ago. CINS worked hard to bring communities back to APS, but the ‘Crap du jour’ will only result in more private and charter schools. Is anyone paying attention to the big picture? As residents and parents, we have worked too hard to support neighborhood public schools – but not if it continues…cheating, lawsuits, legal fees, school administrative ambush, lies, students out of zone, rezoning, lack of working with parents, etc….
APS loves publicity! Decent people are paying a high price!

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As I suspected and referred to in earlier posts, Davis has not spoken facts to the parents. On channel 2 news tonight, it was reported that his statements about state overtaking the school were erroneous, as were his statement about awful grad rates. Either he is not informed or he is counting on the parents to be ignorant. And, by the way, Gwinnett does very much encourage parent involvement in schools. I don’t know where in the world the impression they don’t came from.

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@BarNone I agree with you. This is NOT one of the worst schools in APS–how would you even know with all the lying and cheating that has gone on? So, you are RIGHT…there is something else going on here….better watch out other high schools. Do you really think E. Davis can ignore YOU now?

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Errol is nothing short if a political hack. As such he brags on the fact that he ran a Fortune 5000 company. If you care to look up his background he ran a small public utility in Wisconsin. Which was overseen be the state. He as also a state assemblyman in Pennsylvania. In other words he really has no “people” skills.
If this “man” would have handled his business as a professional this might not be the problem it is.

The “man’ is nothing short of a snake oil salesman, a charlatan, really nothing more that a tarot reading madame trying to take your money and time.

On top of all this he is a LIAR. Figures lie and LIARS figure. He might have misquoted, but his recent past lends doubt to that.

I really feel sorry for the incoming Principal. He is on an island without support and without any backing.

Good job Errol you really handled this in a ham handed way. Your credibility is down the tubes. Any trust you may have engendered in your time at APS is out of the window.

I do believe that your time should be up, you should do the honorable thing and resign, or your web of lies will catch you like so many flies in a spiders web.

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Wow. Things are getting curiouser and curiouser. According to a representative from the GaDOE, Mr. Davis wasn’t as truthful as he would like for “dumb ‘ol inner city parents” to believe.

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As a former teacher at a NAHS feeder school, I think it is important to note that the affluent “Buckhead” kids are not the only ones attending college. I have many former students who come from minority backgrounds, grew up in apartments in the NAHS zone and now attend Emory, UGA, GA State, etc…APS has NO interest in improving student achievement. They don’t believe in or support their teachers, administrative staff or students. I can’t even begin to tell you the ridiculous things we were instructed/forced to do all in the name of “improving student achievement.”

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Erroll better watch out. His stated goal is to prevent APS from becoming “two school systems.” and yet his autocratic behavior here may inspire soon-to-be-charter-enabled affluent APS parents to create exactly that.

This is not the time to try to demonstrate that you’re large and in charge. Even if NAHS had performance issues that couldn’t be ignored one moment longer, you could have handled this a lot better, Erroll.

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Site: http://app3.doe.k12.ga.us/ows-bin/owa/fte_pack_enrollgrade.entry_form

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hard to believe hpw eerily similar this is to Lakeside High (DeKalb) in 2007

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I am the NAHS parent quoted by Ms. Downey regarding graduation rates. I obtained my data directly from the Ga Dept of Education archives. Those rates use the older AYP formulae, not the newer COHORTS formula quoted by Davis which results in lower numbers…for all schools.

But that is not my point. My point is that over the last three years NAHS is trending up at a rate several times greater than the state average. How can Davis then claim a manufactured urgency regarding leadership change?

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The new building’s capacity will be 2,400.

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Holy Smoke! 2,400 High School Students in this neighborhood? If you figure all of Buckhead private schools and public schools, they don’t even come close to this number. Where will they all come from?

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@jsmith,

You hit the nail on the head. The folks here are probably just not in a position to pay for a private school. The ones who can, but choose APS simply aren’t putting their kids first. It’s like those people who buy in Grant Park with kids and think they are ahead of the curve. oops.

I’d be po’d if I owned a home anyhwere near an APS school. Actually pretty much the whole metro is dismal public-school wise.

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@BoBo probably boils down to a person’s character and integrity, not so much where they come from. To be a truly effective educator at any level requires one to care about every student.

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Need to call out this management action for what it is: bullying. It is possible that Mr. Davis thinks that by bullying he will elevate his profile for contract renewal. It is possible that he is doing the bidding and will of this school board and will therefore be rewarded for going out there and bullying a target. It sounds like how a gang operates, doesn’t it? People say appeal to the board re: is Davis should have extended / renewed contract. Unfortunately, I have no confidence in this political organization and I am embarrassed for the City of Atlanta that such egregious conduct from management is allowed to happen in the first place. I can understand if a school requires to be reconceptualized etc. and so, and I fully understand the dilemma of two schools under one roof, etc. but this does not allow such reckless and immature action from management and I challenge every person here to recognise, that whatever are your beliefs regarding class, race, apartments, homes, taxes, etc., that this is not acceptable to do this attention-suck move on a school in the middle of their school year. It is amateur hour management style, it is abusive, it is collective punishment, it sets a bad example for the state, and it needs to stop. For those of you who think otherwise in the name of re-doing the school, what if your boss walks in tomorrow and tells you abruptly that your services are no longer needs because a decision has been made that (insert your strategy reason here). It is a horrific and below-professional way to treat people. Hey, let’s take a vote. Does this look like Gangland activity, where someone is told to go out and do an ambush to prove themselves to the gang? Well, answer that for yourself. Is this the Little Detroit school of management? Speaking of Detroit, I can’t really explain it, I wish it wasn’t so, but for some reason this news story makes me think of this recent ambush, where fake-values are used to play make-believe that the aggression did not occur. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/10/10/forced-to-live-alongside-squatter-in-my-detroit-house-woman-says/

Errol David, I don’t know where you’ve come from, but if you think you are applying corporate management to Atlanta citizens, it is my opinion that your methods to not match or resonate the values and methods of what makes for great corporate success. Atlanta is not a medium market. Atlanta is the economic center of the southeastern United States and is a city that is legion for success in business due to innovation and primarily making people happy and comfortable and willing to do business. I’ll be frank. I do not think you are upholding the traditions of this great city, a titan among cities, a leader in the world. Real business does not treat people in the manner you have done. If you’re stuck here for a while longer, I really you hope you clean up your act. I suggest you make some friends in the real business community, the one you probably do not know about and perhaps have not yet met. Maybe someone will take you in and teach you some manners. I certainly hope so. If you want to tear the world apart and make it better, there’s a way to do it and you’re not there, yet. If you want to evolve, that’s up to you. I’m not going to hold your hand but I can ask you to become a man, shed the snake skin, and respect the Phoenix.

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FYI Atlanta from the Ashes, more commonly known as The Phoenix, is a bronze monument located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, symbolizing Atlanta’s rise from the ashes of the Civil War to become one of the most important cities in the world. The sculpture, dedicated in 1969, depicts a woman being lifted from flames by a phoenix, in reference to the phoenix of Egyptian mythology that was consumed by fire and rose from the ashes, just as Atlanta rose from the ashes after being burned to the ground by William T. Sherman’s Union Army during the Civil War. The female figure has long hair and is seen nude above the waist, looking upward. In her raised arms she holds the legs of a gilded phoenix. The sculpture is mounted on a rectangular base. The monument is located in Woodruff Park, located in Downtown Atlanta.

The monument was a gift of the Rich Foundation in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Rich’s Department store. The sculpture was designed by James Siegler, of Houston, Texas, but it was both sculpted and fabricated in Italy, by Gamba Quirino, and Feruccia Vezzoni, respectively. The monument was originally located on a viaduct adjacent to the first Rich’s Department store on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive at Spring Street from 1969 to 1995. In 1995, the sculpture was restored and moved to its current location in Woodruff Park.

Since its creation, the sculpture has become an iconic symbol of Atlanta’s rise from out of the ashes and destruction of the Civil War to become one of the most important international cities.

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to Parent @ 6:11 pm, In part, one of the things that the best schools do is stay out of people’s way. As one poster indicated, school is an accessory to real life. If you want your kids to be successful at this “failing school that needs to be fixed” you best foster an intellectual or otherwise direction outside of school. That means: read books, real ones, literature not garbage, visit the art museum and know the architecture around you. A quality school is a peaceful place that does not interfere with your life. That’s the key part, YOUR life. You own it, you direct it. Your own time and direction should be more valuable than looking at the school as your service provider. Maybe I’m the exception or something, but the only time my parent(s) interacted with my school was twice, to register me for the first day and in my final year when I wrecked the single family car in the rain. Otherwise, nothing. See, we work all the time and do not interlope at the school. How many times did I utilize a “school counselor” to apply to college? Not once, although I left a year early and was in college when I was 17. I did not need a “school counselor” to do this. I simply applied to the college on my own. The one thing I did was spend about 4 hours a day on math homework. School was a peaceful place. It did not distract me from my personal momentum. The same principal and teachers were there the entire time I was at high school. There were no changes. The were no meetings. There were no initiatives. I think this calm and consistent environment was probably the greatest asset to my academic success, which was not particularly stellar however I had a good sense of self. No one got into my business and no change to my school surroundings for the brief time I was there. To the current students of NAHS, I apologize to you for what you are having to endure and the one thing I can wish for you is to get on with your life and when you go out into the world, do and demand better than what has been do to you. It may not seem like it, but there is a world out there and much has good bearing on how to do things and the word “Leadership” is not ever spoken, and is most definitely not considered an asset to any scientist or engineer. Recognize propaganda when you see it and run for your life. As adults, we have the responsibility to stand up to these issues.

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Concernedmom30329
October 10th, 2012
1:50 pm

Taylor came on my radar when he was at Crews MS. I heard positive things about him, Crews always has ranked high in Gwinnett’s pecking order.

Something the county office did not like was going on at Lilburn MS and the they asked Taylor to take it over. Rumor has it he made certain demands which included the removal of some pf Lilburn’s AP’s. Once there,he exhibited a heavy hand in decision-making, more dictatorial than team-building in nature. Lilburn was a mess so maybe it was necessary, of that I have no direct knowledge.

But his asking for administrative purges before he takes over a troubled building seems to be a developing track record for him. Those left behind can expect some top-down decision-making.

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If Georgia is going to be a “non-union state” it is going to have to elevate its standards in how government management treats workers. This is not the wild west and government employees can not just abruptly do what they want with or to the workers that they manage. I think this needs to be clarified via the court.

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@ private

I have been a supporter of establishing either a real ombudsman office or some kind of independant watchdog office for over a decade, while the cronyism and corruption of state gov’t. has always been bad here, it has gotten exponentally worse since the late 70s and the rush of money into the state.

we sidestep our own rules, hide malfesence in plain sight, and dare you to look behind the curtain – no matter what you see, the political class will serve itself above all else.

Georgia is a right to work state (right to fire, actually) not because its good for business, but because its good for the political class.

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@Atlanta Mom – Nice try at attempting to help the APS Central Office cover their tracks but I don’t by it.

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Dear Atlanta Mom,

IF APS “Transcript” was in real time, why omit my questions?
Maureen Downey had a “real time” “Transcript” and SHE did not omit my questions.

How can you explain why the “…can’t be worse than you.” question was also omitted?

How can you explain why the “unintended glitch’ that removed local control of the NAHS website occurred precisely during the Friday coup d’etat and STILL has not been fixed?

There is only one logical explanation: APS is trying to control the message and the communication system. Does APS really think the NAHS Community is so dumb that we do not recognize this pathetic attempt at censorship?

Everyone makes mistakes. That was the point of my second question to Supt. Davis: It is never too late to start all over again.
I guess for Supt. Davis, there is no turning back.

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I am genuinely appalled at the reaction to this change, and embarrassed for us parents. As usual, we seem to be blaming others for our own lack of participation. While at the auditorium I was astounded by how uninformed and insulting some of the most adamant protestors proved to be. It often sounded like they were seeking applause rather than information.

Mr. Mygrant has amassed a group of extremely vocal, yet willfully ignorant followers.

The long and short of this story is that it is first, and foremost an HR problem. Mr. Davis stated at the very beginning that there were performance issues involved, which he could not speak about. He can’t speak about them, because … they’re HR issues! He and APS could be sued if he opens his mouth about the specific performance issues related to individual(s) who were either released or reassigned. It’s not that he wouldn’t say anything…He can’t.

The administrative issues of logistics and underperformance of NAHS were raised as subtext for making an immediate change of various members of the administrative staff, including: potential reprisals by admin’s on teachers during evaluation of NAHS; the right of the new principal to bring in his own staff; and so on.

As a parent of a sophomore at NAHS I am very pleased that Mr. Davis is prioritizing the school for sweeping improvement. It is in dire need. I hope and expect an accelerated rate of positive changes to come.

IMHO this protest has been misguided, but well-intentioned. There are at least two potentially positive outcomes: (1) greater community attention and participation; and, (2) heightened awareness of APS to the need for communication with concerned parents and students.

Rather than focusing our energies on maintaining the status quo, wouldn’t we be better served shouting and protesting for change and improvement? The public school system is already a bureaucratic nightmare. Achieving change of any kind is extremely difficult – and usually comes in drips and drops.

We should be applauding Mr. Davis – not reprimanding him. I am certain that I am far from alone in my dissatisfaction with past NAHS administration, and suspect that a less vocal majority of parents and students are extremely pleased with what we hope is just a beginning, a taste of sweeping change to come.

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I’m still trying to make sense of these things: suddenly ousting the principal &all administrators in a manner that looked like they were suspected of very serious wrongdoing, Davis saying Tuesday night something along the lines of “that is standard protocol in sensitive announcements”, replacing 4 of the ousted administrators with 8, and Davis mentioning that they would be conducting an “assessment.” To me, assessment is just doublespeak for “investigation.” With 2 people assigned to each of 4 administrative positions, one can be doing the actual job and the other can be “assessing”. What would they be assessing and how? Well, racial inequity seems to be a theme that keeps cropping up in these blogposts, so I’m guessing they would be looking for evidence of that. They could look at racial patterns in the way students are distributed in the various school programs, the strengths and weaknesses of each program, notes and documents in files and computers. They could also interview teachers and students. By removing the former administrators from the school, teachers and students who have negative opinions of those administrators would feel free to speak up. The “assessment” could be completed before the new principal takes over. And when that assessment is finished, I would expect 4 of the temporary administrators to leave NAHS. The others would stay until permanent replacements are hired. When the assessment is finished, Davis may change the school’s procedures for assigning students to particular SLCs and classes. When new administrators are hired, they would be subject to the new procedures. New administrators would NOT be trained by the old ones and transfer of institutional knowledge would not take place because NEW procedures will replace the former practices.

That’s just speculation, but it’s the best rationale I could think of for (1) ejecting so many administrators and then installing a greater number than were removed, (2) using “protocol for sensitive announcements”, and (3) announcing an “assessment”.

Does anybody have a better explanation?

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“While at the auditorium I was astounded by how uninformed and insulting some of the most adamant protestors proved to be. It often sounded like they were seeking applause rather than information. ”

I had the same observation.

I was appalled by how rude and disrespectful many of the question askers were, especially the young people.

Is that really something we should be proud of?

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As a student at NAHS I can honestly say each administrator had our best interest in mind. They always wanted to know how to better us and what we needed to be successful. I can accept change but I feel as if Davis did it without good reasoning. I was willing to give his idea a chance until he told us he had never been in a NAHS classroom and that we were under-performing. For someone who had never entered one of OUR classrooms he sure did have alot of opinions. This was idea that wasnt thought about with the students in mind and I do believe it will backlash. For now, I will continue to learn like my administrators would’ve wanted me too.

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