North Atlanta drama continues. Parents now alarmed over teacher resignation.

I’ve never ever heard of so much negative drama in all my life over a school system.
APS and dekald are a disgrace to this nation.

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@ Maureen. Your link to the teacher’s resignation letter is faulty, leading to “404-page not found.”

Ole Guy, you may not “nor care about the inner political influences which lie behind these decisions,” but a lot of the rest of us do, for they lead back to the leadership of APS and have some very messy, and possibly racial, legal implications.

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Did this “leadership” come from Clayton? Look for APS to have significant liability when the lawsuits start flying. More “great” use of money from Bev Hall Central. I feel for the people of APS–the teachers and students who are giving their best, and the taxpayers who are footing the (massive) bills.

IMHO, the worst political shenannigans happen in schools and churches.

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I also think Ms. Durham should talk to that labor lawyer again and see if she has grounds for a lawsuit.

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Reading, writing, math, science, history, some P.E…..

Everywhere you look, education has gone awry.

None of this is the rocket science that so many act like it is or should be.

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Did this also happen at Jackson High, where they too are recieving a new principal, if it didn’t it could explain alot

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How the newspaper got a copy of the retraction will explain even more.

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Why is anyone surprised?

This is Atlanta Public Schools after all.

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rights of so many-.

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Seems more dramatic than traumatic

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We need public charter schools. Vote YES on Election Day!

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Amen Pompano.

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Pompan and Behind: Having lived through a contentious forced retirement of a respected principal, I can tell you kids do get attached to administrators that interact with them. We have a very public board meeting attended by a huge portion of the student body, many of whom applied to speak and prepared speeches. Kids rely on the familiarity and consistency of administrators and teachers, and do get emotionally involved (imagine teenage emotions with an issue to get upset about). They will overreact and get upset, but they have that right- that’s where they are as teens. Their response in this case speaks to the respect and regard they had for their administration, which says a LOT about how a school is functioning beyond test scores. They should have had access to counselors.

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@Ron F

Pompan is correct in his observation. I would hate to see how the students react to a REAL tragedy. Such delicate sisters…..

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having seen this firsthand many times when Davis was chancellor, if somebody stood up to the system, they go Sicilian. not only do they destroy you, they kill as many of your friends and associates as possible to send a message.

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@ Pomp

Davis doesn’t care two figs for how this charade effects the students. its his classic misdirection tactic.
get people talking about this, so they don’t focus as much on his more inflammatory actions

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@ amy durham- or anyone who knows how to reach her,

you don’t need a labor lawyer, you need an employment lawyer. big difference.
you are entitled to dispute the dismissal – do so.
you also need to file and EEOC complaint with the fed, as their rules are different.
lastly, if you know one contact a civil rights lawyer.

here are the two tough realities in dealing with the government
-1: they got the money to bleed you dry, and will. you need a lawyer/firm who has deep pockets or a personal beef with the gov’t who can carry you
-2: when the gov’t actually has to defend these cases, they usually lose.

another idea might be to reach out to over educators (city, state, county, ect) to see about a class action lawsuit against the State and city for endorsing Davis questionable actions.

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@Bootney

Maybey I read the letter wrong but didn’t she effectively resign or quit? What rights would she have? You’re right about one thing; the guvmint has DEEP pockets and MANY lawyers.

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The fact that MyGrant would show up at an Assembly for the sole purpose of inciting the students and drawing them into his personnel issue is rather shameful. Perhaps Davis had more insight into this guys character (or lack thereof) than given credit.

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This is all so bizarre, so I did a little investigating. I looked up Ms. Durham’s certification on GA Professional Standards Commission website. Her NNT certificate was issued 8/20/2012. It is retroactive to July 1, 2012, but first issued 8/20/2012. I looked on the APS website and it listed August 13 as the board meeting date, which is 7 days before her teaching certificate was issued. Maybe that’s the reason her name was removed?

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@ Dr Proud

just guessing, since I’m sure there is more to this than is known, if she was forced out due to race/gender/orientation harassment the law still provides remedy if proven.

which becomes the $64,000 issue.

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Pompano, Is not the collective nature of the action conspicuous? You refer to a single employee having gone off the rails, etc. That’s not what happened here. They displaced the principal and all of the APs. What was it, four people total?

The other thing is, I do not instinctually resonate with the Race Card Emergency. There is no one making a Race Card Emergency over latinos or asians or people from India or the dreaded white people. If this radical move of collectively and abruptly displacing staff is rationalized due to complaint of racism, I’d call that a case of Identity Politics. I’ve also seen in university a conference on White Privilege. I swore to myself if I ever saw any more of that promoted I would require the university ethics office to do an inquiry, because it is racism, plain and simple. Lest you think I am a crazy person, allow me to look this up for you. Oh, my. It is still up and running. http://www.whiteprivilegeconference.com/

If there is action of the school admin. etc. doing something incorrect, this has to be laid out, substantiated, a reasonably judgment made. It might even include correcting the person and telling them what they should do instead. I once had a class of decidedly un-urban kids tell me, “YOU RACIST!” I went home and thought about it and came back and said, “Oh, okay. I get it. If I give you work to do, then I’m racist?” And then we were over it and could move on. Now, I am not saying this has anything to do with what are likely the more real complaints at the high school (?) perhaps involving access to classes(?) or grading(?) or something(?) or who knows what? and I apply every importance to addressing or fixing any concerns of this type.

However, I think playing the Racism Emergency Card perpetuates and promotes racism. I’ve also had students who thought it was a fine idea to go locate a homosexual person and beat them to within an inch of their life and then laugh about it because of course it is just. When this type of thing was expressed among the list of “Good things to do” over time I made effort to confront it. I do not think it is okay to ambush people. I wish people would get over racism.

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The research on this topic has been reported.
Top School gave this report long ago.

Buckhead manipulates this just as they have over the last 50 years …and the celebration of the integration of GRADY HIGH SCHOOL.
They acted like it never happened. And they went underground to manipulate the attendance of Atlanta’s Northside white schools and chose the minorities they wished to attend their public schools. When they could not control the increased population of minorities…they divided their classes up UNDER A DISGUISE OF “TEAMS” …sEgReGaTiOn within the walls of the school.

Black parents that were able to keep their children on the “RIGHT TEAM” were willing to turn a blind eye to the discriminating system to the benefit of their child.

This is the SECRET in APS…the School Board knows it…the administrators and teachers at the schools know it…the parents know it…and ask any child that attends these schools and they will TELL IT.

I told it all the way to the FEDERAL COURT HOUSE.
Until someone in the media…is willing to do the proper research…and buck the BUCKHEAD WAY…

THE BEAT GOES ON…and these news articles keep BEATING AROUND THE BUSH.

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“The fact that MyGrant would show up at an Assembly for the sole purpose of inciting the students”

Well if Errol Davis and APS did NOTHING WRONG, there wouldn’t be anything for the students to be “incited” about would there?

There was NOTHING inappropriate about MyGrant showing up to a PUBLIC meeting at a PUBLIC school. That the students (and TAXPAYING parents) reacted in a way that Davis didn’t like should in no way, shape or form limit a citizen’s right to attend a public meeting.

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I see the small minded APS apologists are back in force here, attacking children and trying to distract people from Davis’ arrogant and poorly explained actions. The idea that state was going to “take over” is ridiculous. There are several hight schools in APS worse than NAHS, will the state take them over? Will Davis replace their leadership team? We will know shortly.
Or is he on a race based witch hunt?

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“Race-based witch hunt” sounds about right.

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@ karen alston Kelly Day was not slipped the keys or given undue access. She was the single go to person for the renovation of that building in the first place. Without Kelly Day North Atlanta will still be under going renovation, the teachers would not have had any of their materials in place still and there would be text books in heaven knows what kind of condition or location. As for her getting access to student records and rilfing through them to gossip- that is malicious and slanderous gossip yourself. if you actually spent any time in the school you would practically never get to see her sitting down she was that darn busy, She had the misfortune of being an exceptionally capable and hard working person along with the other people have were relocated and the wonderful teacher who pulled her employment agreement.

The chill this has put on other hard working people in the school is remarkable. The message is hard work will be punished not rewarded.

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Kelly Day had an official position in the school and was officially there- badge and all from APS as was Mrs. Durham.

As for the previous posting about questioning when Mrs. Durham’s certification was proceessed and she was truly eligible. The is just laughable considering the slow as paint drying at getting anything processed involving certification down at HR. How about all those teachers two years ago who had to scramble to get their certification in alignment with NCLB because the HR people were totatly screwing up the processing/record keeping.
HR is a nightmare and Karen Walden sounds like an unprofessional person if nothing else for not actually provided any level of professional communication to a stake holder in the system. That would get a teacher put on PDP atleast.

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This whole situation is so frustrating. I have one child enrolled at North Atlanta and I considered the input of a great many parents and teachers when I did so. I am not so sure that I will continue next year as hard working people are not at all rewarded and treated with such disrespect for just being professionals. If there was institutional racism, was it necessary to create a frenzy over two weeks of time right when there was so many important things going on in the school. I visited the school and watched and heard about Kelly Day= she was remarkable at handling the renovations and the last I saw of her she was up to her neck with textbooks being inventoried. I am not so sure that North Atlanta will attract that level of hard working professional at any of the positions as hard work, regardless of the color of someone’s skin, is not rewarded.

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@concerned…I wasn’t questioning when certication was processed, I stated I went to the GAPSC website and checked.

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Simply put, if you are a white teacher, student or parent in APS, you’re screwed.

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APS needs to hire better apologists if this is the best they can come up with LOL

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I find all this tempest delightful and liberating for the vision of State chartered public schools. The Buckhead Mafia wants to believe that it can be part of the Atlanta school system, but not of the Atlanta School Board- local control. This is clearly not possible. You can’t have it both ways.

The local control of public schools needs to be gutted all over America. Local control has met the enemy and it is they.

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You know when your spider sense is tingling? When you have intuition? That’s where I’m at with that a “board of education” must approve a teacher hire before it becomes active. Why this makes me uncomfortable:

1. It creates the illusion to that the teacher-worker “owes their job” to the local board of education. Some places, this is openly stated. I have seen one one happy.connected teacher ask another, and this is a quote, “How many years have you been *with “the board”*?” It’s sounds like a lover or something. It’s weird.

2. Main thought: It violates organizational hierarchy. The building management should do their own hiring. Having “the board” involved in teacher hiring confuses organizational hierarchy.

3. It is micro-managing, which is destructive to the workplace. It is skipping caste, where the high caste toys with the lower caste. Although it is illegal, there are also “board members” who will come into the school house and hover around parts of the school / teachers / classrooms which violates the boundaries of the building management, although they have to go along with and fawn and play host.

4. For all the talk about corporate management, in a corporation, managers are given the power to hire the workers they need and are given the responsibility to make these decisions.

5. Hiring process is supposed to check for credentialing and formal background check for crime., etc. Manager (principal) is supposed to hire the people they need to accomplish their mission. What is the justification for outside monitoring of individual hires with power to veto same? That’s the system, right?

6. When upper caste meddles with lower worker caste, it is not good management and is an example of poor boundaries. I would think it would obstruct productivity on many levels.

7. In the interview video with the principal from the quiet high performing school in Finland, the place with nice big windows and light streaming in, and lots of nice tables and teaching supplies, the principal states with emphasis (quote) “I run this school. There is no politician that tells me what to do.” Since Finland has very high requirements for acceptance to teacher training programs (5% of applicants accepted or somesuch) and the principal is boss over this caliber worker, this principal probably knows what they are saying. but over in Finland, teaching is treated as a profession.

8. On the training side, US teachers are required to go through one of these US college teacher training programs, and from what I’ve seen these programs are absolutely dominated with textbooks from the likes of UK Pearson publishing and there is a lot of busy work and values training and very little emphasis on training in teaching specific subject areas, i.e. content. But that is a different subject. The same companies selling the testing to the states / counties have a strong hold on the textbooks used in the teacher training programs. There is very little diversity on textbook publishers / sources.

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@ Cat Lady, I agree.

@ Bootney, very helpful information for Ms. Durham – an spot on, too.

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@RAMZAD
This is exactly why the Charter should be voted down. Putting local issues with school systems in the hands of appointed or state-wide elected politicians is boneheaded. What will you do if the resulting charter school is no better than the local public school? You think you will have your concerns listened to or responded to more effectively? It is difficult enough to get the local people to listen and act, much less to add layers issues at the regional and State level. If scoundrels are to run things locally, I want “my” scoundrels in charge, not someone else’s.

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The Buckhead Mafia wants to believe that it can be part of the Atlanta school system,

Which is worse; the Buckhead Mafia or the APS Mafia? Remember they BOTH conspired to work together to “finesse past the governor” widespread systemic cheating.

Or have we forgotten so quickly who was on the “Blue Ribbon Commission”?

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I am struck by something that ex-Principal MyGrant said to Maureen, reported above: “In August, I was contacted by Deputy Superintendent Karen Waldon on three separate occasions reporting anonymous allegations alleging that I was … hiring two new teachers that were ‘racist.’ ” One of those two teachers was Amy Durham. WHY was the Deputy Superintendent reporting such allegations, allowing them to remain “anonymous,” and evidently expecting MyGrant to take action upon them?

I can think of several legal consequences, none of them good. Isn’t it a cornerstone of American law that the accused has the right to face the accuser? And hasn’t Ms. Durham’s professional reputation been damaged by this anonymous accusation?

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Why would anyone want to be part of APS when it is so drama filled? Why would anyone want to be in a system that does not have leaders that reflect any of the proven leadership behaviors that result in quality performance? E DAvis needs to move on. When, oh when, will the board hire a superintendent? This is a mess. Taxpayers, get on with the pressure.

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Amy Durham is one of the most concerned, compassionate and dedicated people that we know. We have seen her put in countless hours through volunterring to the Atlanta Public School system over the past ten+ years in a variety of roles in several different schools. She is selfless in her efforts to help others — especially the kids. Amy does not see differences in people, but truly sees the uniqueness in each of us and seizes the opportunity to help when it is needed — even if it includes personal sacrifice. She is tireless in her efforts to bring out the best in others. We have never seen her say or do anything that would favor one group over another. Her compassion and dedication run deep. Amy Durham is someone that we should all work to emulate.

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The lack of respect shown to the administrative staff at North Atlanta HS is indicative of the culture of disrespect that now permeates APS–particularly among its teachers. From forcing teachers to reapply for their jobs for the 2012-2013 school year; to how they put teachers who weren’t picked up by their schools in a virtual ‘trash pile’ ; to adding 4 teacher furlough days when APS teachers have not had a salary increase since 2009; to increasing the class size; to doubling the students’ and teachers’ work load by changing the academic schedule at high schools from a 4 by 4 schedule (four classes each semester) to a 4 by 8 schedule (four classes each on alternate days which increases student failure rates academically); to changing the teacher pay schedule from the 5th and 20th simply because this schedule was not an industry standard (causing accounting hell across APS for those who use automatic bank payments for expenses); to creating a climate of fear and intimidation if the system’s unrealistic goals are not met–APS will soon see teacher resigations increase as teachers flee to other districts and choose less pay for more sanity.

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I’ve been watching, amusedly, from the sidelines but there are a few points that should be clearly stated.

1 – Personnel issues should NEVER be discussed publicly. Period, end of sentence. If that is the underlying issue, Davis should be more clear about it.
2 – The note from MyGrant to Maureen mentioning ORR documents MAY point to why the administrators were escorted out of the building. APS didn’t want any possibility of documents being released.
3 – If board members are discussing personnel issues outside of closed boardroom doors, they should be open to legal action by those impugned, and I hope they are sued.
4 – This whole thing is about something not yet made public, if it ever will.

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Florida Passes Plan For Racially-Based Academic Goals

“Palm Beach, Fla. (CBS TAMPA) – The Florida State Board of Education passed a plan that sets goals for students in math and reading based upon their race.

On Tuesday, the board passed a revised strategic plan that says that by 2018, it wants 90 percent of Asian students, 88 percent of white students, 81 percent of Hispanics and 74 percent of black students to be reading at or above grade level. For math, the goals are 92 percent of Asian kids to be proficient, whites at 86 percent, Hispanics at 80 percent and blacks at 74 percent. It also measures by other groupings, such as poverty and disabilities, reported the Palm Beach Post.”

http://tampa.cbslocal.com/2012/10/12/florida-passes-plan-for-racially-based-academic-goals/

Given that the above institutional behavior is what currently passes for ‘correct’ educational policy, I am curious to know if the teachers accused of racism were requiring that all students, regardless of the color of their skin, meet the same academic standards.

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unless something has drastically changed, Erroll Davis is not one to acknowledge he has mistakes.
the rest of the world is incapable of understanding his genius

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Maureen, Is it common for school systems to listen to/give credence to “anonymous” allegations? It seems like anyone with an ax to grind could say anything.

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Kelley Day is one great lady. The positive things that she did for North Atlanta while she was there, and for Sutton Middle School before that, couldn’t be missed by anyone with even one eye open. And she has done it all while raising two children as a single mom and working nights and weekends to support herself and her family. It is almost inconceivable that she would be treated so shamefully. Through it all, she has managed to keep a smile on her face. Amazing.

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There needs to be a forensic audit of what happened within the APS HR department leading up to the the retirement/transfers at NAHS.

It looks from a distance like HR needs to be beefed up with people of sufficient stature to contradict “hot-under-the-collar” board members or senior administrators yet still remain in their positions. If this doesn’t prevent situations like NAHS from occurring in the future, then I would be in favor of changing the law to have the Mayor appoint School Board members, possibly subject to approval of the City Council. What we have now doesn’t seem to be working.

Rumors fly under circumstances where there is no due process, an authoritarian administration and little open, frank communication. Capricious, arbitrary decision making behind closed doors and and rumor seem to have been rife at APS long before Superintendent Davis was appointed. If he wants to modernize the organizational culture, then he’s going to need to do some revising of his administrative procedure manual and transfer some of his senior administrators back to a classroom — for starters.

Even competent people with the best of intentions won’t stay put (or survive) for long in an atmosphere like is being described in newspaper stories and the comments to Maureen’s blog.

APS central administrators sound like they REALLY prefer switches to carrots.

Maybe the state should be funding employee research to monitor attitudes at school systems throughout Georgia, with administrative audits triggered in systems where principals, in-school administrators and teachers feel that they have no voice and are can be fired or transferred unfairly.

Little good will happen in districts where the teachers feel that everything is determined by central staff fiat with which they disagree and that there is no due process for them if they are threatened with transfer or dismissal. This is probably true in MANY GA districts.

Educational excellence can’t be ordered by fiat. The same is true for other types of service/consultative/training business. The people who actually do the work need to be front and center and feel effective and respected. In the last analysis, central administrators are as much there to empower principals, in-school staff and teachers to improve student performance as to guide and discipline them.

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bootney: one more reason the dreaded unions were started in the first place: to offer employees some protection from the whims of overzealous or personally vindictive retaliation without “due process.” Detractors forget that many of the workplace benefits they all enjoy currently are the result of decades of often contentious union bargaining. I’m not saying they’re perfect and are, in many cases, subject to their own brand of corruption. But sometimes it would be nice to think this sort of thing could be challenged.

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Davis is clearly listening to the wrong people. If he had bothered to do even basic fact-checking he would have discovered that the accusations levelled against these two women are simply untrue on their face. The AJC’s Truth-o-Meter should register “Pants on Fire.” In the same way, the “statistics” he relied on to label North Atlanta High as failing its community just don’t hold up in the light of day (Thank you, Maureen and your colleagues, for pointing this out). Would every one of the Buckhead schools be bursting at the seams if they weren’t doing something right?

My children have been blessed by their contact with each of the educators forced out. Mark MyGrant took two schools that were failing by every possible measure and, in partnership with teachers, students, parents, and the community as a whole, built them into places where every child can choose to be successful. Amy Durham is the parent of four kids in our schools, but she truly believes that ALL the students at NAHS are her kids. In her previous job in the College Zone as well as in her classroom this year, Amy worked 2-3 times the “authorized” hours to help each and every student. During the two years Amy worked in the College Zone, she helped students of every race, color, language, and socioeconomic level earn over $30 MILLION in scholarships. Kelley Day is the kind of person every school, and indeed every institution, needs: Kelley will do ANYTHING for ANYBODY. Need a logon for the online parent system? Go to Kelley. Need to change the sign in front of the school? Go to Kelley. Need money for lunch or a Marta pass? Go to Kelley. Need a shoulder to cry on? Go to Kelley. And all this while working extra jobs because APS didn’t pay her enough to raise her own two children.

NAHS isn’t perfect — no school is. But these wonderful people, and the others who were summarily removed in a way that can only have been designed to ruin their reputations and careers, were a huge part of the best of NAHS.

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This is very sad as it is so damaging to so many people. Amy Durham is such a wonderful lady. In the time I’ve known her, she’s worked over time to make me feel like one of her own. She is incredibly supportive and caring.

I really hope truth is brought out of all this. #TeamDurham

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@ Prof,

the anonymous complaint is a staple of Davis led organizations. at GPC it was commonplace as a means of attempting to keep people in line. I was subject to that crap myself a time or two.

I actually don’t have that much of an issue with the anonymous complaint as the lack of detail of the complaint. you can’t defend yourself against claims like “you’ve been accused of racist activities”.

which, of course, is exactly what they are after.

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My, My, My…Aren’t we so bold with the “open records act”, publishing of emails, reporting of inconsistencies, etc.? This wasn’t the case when Clayton County educators were being dragged through the mud and stomped on and begging for someone to report what was happening. I have my suspicions about why much of the media deserted us, but that didn’t make the bitter pill any easier to swallow. With the change of multiple leaders coming in Clayton after recent elections, we should begin to finally get the real story about the departing leadership.

As for APS and North Atlanta High, quit whining, file the lawsuits, and get back to teaching the kids!

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Amy and Kelley are mere pawns in this absurd political game. Both are dedicated parents, and highly supportive APS moms whose contributions to our neighborhood schools are impossible to count. Anybody who has been truly involved in the growing commitment of families from elementary feeder schools to Sutton and finally to North Atlanta knows the full weight of their dedication. This entire cluster is more successful because they and parents like them, from all the feeder schools, have thrown themselves wholeheartedly into getting resources for the teachers, providing opportunities for students, and by positively promoting the schools. I can’t fathom how one can turn years of service into this overnight. Smh as my son would say in texting lingo!

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Well, Erroll Davis is going to do to the APS what he did to the USG, and then leave. I do not understand how Mr. Davis could even be offered a job. He did not do the USG any good, and now he is doing the same thing to the APS. Someone else, as in the case of the USG, has to come in and fix things after Mr. Davis leaves.

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I have known Ms. Durham for years now and I am very close friends with her daughter. Keep in mind I am a person of color. There have been several times throughout my high school career that Ms.Durham has stepped up and offered to help me out college wise and with school. She is the kindest person I have ever met and the fact that she is being accused of racism is ridiculous and appalling! She has done every thing in her power to make sure that everyone who comes to her for help will get it! She is the farthest thing from racist and she does not deserve this awful harassment that people are throwing at her!

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PS I’m confused. You’ve got two local universities doing high-level substantial work as teacher/admin training, but it can be a lion’s den out there for the workers.

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What a sad state of affairs, especially for the students, faculty and administrators of North Atlanta High School. I have been an active part of this community for more than a dozen years, starting with my child’s Kindergarten enrollment at Warren T. Jackson. I met Amy Durham shortly after. She became a driving force to get us, and other families involved in developing a stronger public school option for the Northeast corridor. For us, efforts were on WTJ, Sutton and NAHS. It was an inclusive effort. It was, and will remain a worthy effort for ALL who want a viable public school option. The mean spirited and vindictive actions of APS against NAHS will not stop our fight. To Amy Durham, what an incredible loss your departure is. A quick story, I started going to the College and Career Center, where Amy used to work, for information and help as we prepared for the rigors of college applications and resources. I would talk to Amy because I knew her. Time after time Amy would send me to Ms. Wanda Rasheed for information and help. As Amy put it, “Ms. Rasheed knows more about this than I do.” I stopped going to Amy and went to Ms. Rasheed. I sent my child to Ms. Rasheed for information and help. For the past two years Ms. Rasheed has been a tremendous help. Ms. Rasheed is not white. Is this reverse racism? Or “institutional racism”? A white staff member of NAHS sending me to a black staff member of NAHS for help because she knew more about the topic? That is what Amy Durham did, time and time over the 10 plus years I have known her. She will be missed at NAHS. I suspect she will remain involved in the community because she wants us ALL to remain involved in the community. While this action by APS is disturbing and remains a mystery to some of us, we cannot let our children, the staff and administrators at NAHS down. We have to be there for them, ALL of them. We will continue our support because that is what Amy Durham would want. I, for one, will not let her or our community down.

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@ Private Citizen, Oct. 14, 10:35 am. Excellent observations.

I wonder if the libelous micromanagement by the Atlanta School Board of an Atlanta school principal who attempts to hire a teacher will interest SACS?

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As a student who attends North Atlanta High School, I can tell you that I have nothing but respect for Mrs. Durham. I was a student intern in the College and Career Center (where the accused racism occurred, purportedly) and observed nothing wrong. In fact, Ms. Durham went out of her way to help students who would be first generation college attenders. I observed it first hand– no retold stories, no letters or open records request needed.

Mrs. Durham has two kids at the school, and two graduates. The family is dedicated to APS, and the improvement of the City’s schools. She has been involved with the PTSA at both Sutton and North Atlanta, and they are, simply put, a textbook all around great family.

I’m sorry to see that the politicking in the school, in Davis’ cabinet, and at the Board level has gotten in the way of students. Atlanta Public Schools is a worlds away from “Making a Difference”.

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I am surprised by these accusations against Mrs. Durham. My daughter graduated with her son and spoke highly of them both.

All of the things people have mentioned about unfair distribution of resources to the non-IS/IB children is true.

But Mrs. Durham seemed like a stand up person. It’s too bad that she has not gotten any answers.

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…and another thing, if the “administrators” were here to help our kids, find out who went to the Homecoming game this past Saturday from the “new” take over administration…..NONE of the stand-ins. Who crowned the Homecoming Queen? Ms. Gautreaux, the assistant principal that was TRANSFERRED so rudely last week. (and she “won” the write-in vote for Homecoming Queen earlier in the week!) Talk about dedication…..

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I’ve known the extended Durham family for nearly 35 years and was introduced to Amy Durham when she was about to marry into the family some 25 years ago.

When the first of their children approached school age, I lobbied for them to move to Cobb to access the excellent schools here. My efforts didn’t stand a chance. Amy and her husband made a conscious decision – and a vocal one! – way back then that their children would go to Atlanta’s city schools, specifically to mature in and be contributors to student bodies that represented the Atlanta urban rainbow.

In the subsequent 15+ years, I’ve watched Amy throw herself into the APS schools her children attended in the energetic way that other posters have described – to the point we worried her health could suffer – and with the positive results that every school needs from involved parents. In that time, I’ve been to functions where many of their children’s classmates & friends were in attendance, and each time that group of young people was the ethnic melting pot the Durhams so value.

It was also crystal clear that Amy had a lot more children than her biological brood; through her school efforts she had many, many more of every ability & background that she sought to aid in any way she could. To hint, insinuate, or secretly allege (I notice no one was courageous or foolhardy enough to make an accusation publicly) that Amy Durham has one bone in her body that favors one child over another based on skin color is nothing more than a cynical ploy to achieve some unspoken agenda – the target and reason for which are equally hidden.

There are only two kinds of people who have anything to fear from Amy Durham – people who won’t try and people who lie. Other posters’ testimonials speak to her color-blind and intense efforts to help those in danger of slipping into the former group get out and stay out of that group. And from what I read, the APS folks who toyed with her hiring at her beloved NAHS fall into the latter group. That’s a big mistake. Too many of us know the truth about this wonderful woman and just won’t be quiet.

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I’m counting all the dedicated people that Davis and his henchmen (and women) have been willing to destroy, disparage, or diminish because someone made vague allegations against prospective hires. Mind-boggling.

The fact that Ms. Durham was accomplished, respected, and well-loved by students of all color and stripe didn’t matter a bit: Davis saw no need to bring the allegations or the accuser (though many at NAHS can probably figure out who this cowardly underachiever is) to light and give Ms. Durham (or anyone on her behalf) an opportunity to respond to the accusations. Same with Ms. Day, apparently.

Evidence of these charges? Unnecessary in Davis’s version of the Star Chamber. And how dare Mark MyGrant question the ethics/legality of actions taken by the almighty Davis and his bumbling staff.

How to punish a backtalking retired principal (whom he coaxed out of retirement and) whom he cannot “fire”? Start by humiliating him just before he rides off into the sunset. Stick it to his assistant principal and his administrative team, devoted educators with an array of gifts, talents, and accomplishments (to which many NAHS students–black, white, Hispanic, Asian–have offered testimony). Deprive the current students of stability and continuity. Gut the place in one fell swoop. In other words, hit the errant subject where it hurts–go after his family.

Some have called Davis an autocrat. No argument here. But his tactics at NAHS strike me as those of a thug.

I hope the wounds at NAHS will heal and the students will prosper. If indeed Davis refused to approve an internal hire at NAHS based on unsubstantiated accusations and improperly discussed/advanced/spread such allegations with others, I hope Ms. Durham will pursue a legal case against APS and expose its latest corruption. And I hope the Board will have the guts to send Davis off to HIS retirement.

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So close to the problem…you can not see. I too was once blind. Did the research and now I see. CLEARLY. They are not ridiculous lies. Northside schools do not adhere to the same set of rules. The records I have clearly show the manipulation of money, teacher positions, attendance, payroll records…Any other Principal in the APS system that did such …and testified to such wrong doing would have been dismissed for much less. Do your research before you accuse me of not telling the truth or calling me a liar. The TRUTH has surfaced, and Buckhead has been squelching the truth for some time now. Nothing fair about the way the APS system conducted investigations…or for that matter the manipulation of the Professional Standards Commission. It is all true. Do your research. You obviously have not a clue. GOOGLE : TOP SCHOOL ATLANTA and sit down with some popcorn. It will take you some time to digest the truth.

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Well, it figures – my son’s favorite teacher, Ms. Durham, is a casualty of the dysfunctional APS government system. Why am I not surprised.

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I know Amy Durham.
I know that she has had four children in the APS system and I know that she has put hours and hours of her own time towards improving our schools. She is a wonderful person and an asset to our community. She is certainly not a racist. To learn that her attempt to teach at NAHS was derailed by a slanderous and un-investigated claim is horribly shocking.

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1. I Googled “top school Atlanta.” Similar result to googling “top pizza atlanta” or “top hairdresser atlanta.” What are you talking about? If it’s a website, say so.

2. Re: “SACS” “AdVancED” and all of that. I thought it was kind of weird that the state has privatized governance of schools. I know SACS markets that school must qualify to the SACS for accreditation, but SACS is a private company and in the greater sense has no legitimacy to govern over government agencies, even if the state Attorney General is a big zero in Georgia and nothing more than a private lawfirm for when needed. I think this is part of the APS Wild West management problem, there is no state agency keeping agencies in line.

Anyway, I see SACS differently after, in regard to Clayton County, someone said that SACS mandates / requires superintendent searches to be done in a certain manner, nationally, big name (?) etc. This was in regard to my question, “Why don’t they hire the local person, so&so as the superintendent?” So this is this bizarre thing going on where superintendents have to come from far away exotic places and local persons are basically prohibited from being superintendent of a school system. I do not see superintendent as some magic swami. Why all of this cult of personality? It reminds me of the cult of executive compensation were are supposed to accept, where we pay the top five guys at Comcast $100 million / year ($20 million each) so they can have a monopoly over high speed internet service. Why does SACS mandate searching for a “Comcast” type superintendent? How many principals subscribe to the methods of http://www.ascd.org/professional-development/principal-compass.aspx ? Seems the management is practicing one thing but not sharing it with the workers.

3. Let’s talk about race. Now, I know we are not talking about the Japanese and Chinese hating on each other, as is the sub-context of at least one Bruce Lee movie where the Chinese guy compare Japanese with dogs and the dogs win (or is it the other way around?). On the British and the French who have hated each other’s guts for a long time, going back and forth across the channel to attack each other. I learned this the hard way. I had no idea how much the British and French completely despise each other. See, I thought “out there” the world is in harmony, but here we must “clean everything up.” It is no matter that there is racial strife in India between the Hindus and the Moslems. They just keep blowing each other up with bombs and burning down each other’s buildings. Race! (Race to the Top? Intesting). Racism. Let me get to the point.

If you are going to have a concept, you must define your terms so everyone has a solid referent. Therefore, for the purpose of racial prejudice in Atlanta, Georgia (my apologies to Atlanta citizens from India, Asia, Latin America, and all those people in work in the various farmer’s markets, people with names like “Rupee” who are from the same continent as Eritrea. For the sake of science, I suggest we try and find example of the whitest white person in existence. Here is my entry and yes, the hair is natural http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSLP1FCREBA For purposes of science and locating the blackest black person (wasn’t this a topic of “science” circa 1880? For purposes of making this topic current circa 2012, we need to know these “races” for the “race to the top.” The blackest black http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wztjtD4i02k#t=3m30s . See, this is Atlanta, not rural and we do not fear. We open doors and get to the bottom of things. I know there’s some “value added” in there, not sure about the part of putting a number on it and making the meter move. I once had an education statistics professor tell me to go into a church and do an quantitative inventory of people’s behavior – any church will do. There’s a lot of weird stuff going on.

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I have known Amy Durham for decades. She is a kind and decent lady who is none of the things as alleged in some hostile and cowardly whisper campaign of degradation. It is a real shame for our City and the School system. I can only hope that this wrong is fully, promptly and properly corrected. God Bless Amy, her family and the entire school community affected here.

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@ westside NA mom: “If Ms. Walden and her staff had taken the time to ask anyone other than the anonymous accusers about Amy”–but that would have been acting ethically, professionally, and in the interest of the students, wouldn’t it have been? Not quite in their wheelhouse.

Ms. Waldon seemed more concerned with getting her former colleagues and cronies into principalships, and when that didn’t work out at NAHS, MAYBE she had a particular axe to grind and was perhaps more, shall we say, predisposed to listening to the nasty whispers from certain people looking to benefit from Waldon’s largesse–that is, her (ab)use of her power to grant favors. Just sayin’.

@Former NAHS and Sutton Mom: you mean the new transition team of “committed professionals” didn’t make it to Homecoming? Well, I’m sure they were absolutely pooped after all that “transitioning” they’ve been up to; after all, it takes twice as many of them to do what the former real educators did, must be hard work And, remember, these folks understand little about educating the whole student–supporting them in their extracurricular activities, encouraging and welcoming parental involvement, taking a true interest in the precious lives they affect.

If only Davis, Waldon, et al, understood: had they allowed for the natural progression, MyGrant would have greeted the new principal and helped him get acclimated at NAHS, the current disruption would have been avoided, and a calm and natural transition would have occurred. The “transition team” would have been unnecessay–and they could have continued in all that important work they do up in APS.

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@ Neal Quirk Sr. I hope that you, or someone in your firm represents Amy in her obvious suit against the Atlanta board of Education

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@know the truth …video testimony and open records that clearly show corrupt wrong doing … misuse of money…falsifying documents during an investigation… falsifying attendance records…witnesses that testified under oath …and awards achieved without the proper involvement of staff… an administration that used the state teacher evaluation tool to harass numerous staff members and the list goes on and on…

As I said…Administrators of other schools in APS have been dismissed for much less.

Buckhead APS schools have been functioning under their own set of rules for many many decades.

I don’t know the situation or the people involved in Northside High School. But, I can tell you…the attitude. “Above any set of rules that are written by the STATE, Professional Standards or the APS SYSTEM”

Hiring without approval… Jackson Principal hired her daughter.
Falsifying attendance records…Jackson Principal paid select teachers when they were absent.

These are just a few of the FACTS disclosed through open records and those testifying.

I am not bitter or vindictive…posted the information so someone could eventually connect the dots and figure out what is going on.

The dots have slowly been connected…I know the truth…

The TRUTH is…Buckhead likes to have Principals they can manipulate with money and favors to do ANYTHING they want by any means possible. Change grades…manipulate attendance of students…( created an entire Latin school “Garden Hills” ) etc. etc.

The information is there for those willing to do the research.
Not vindictive or bitter…the paper trail does not lie.

Hoping for a better APS system…based on total truth and realness.
Which is what we should want in leadership for our schools.
The children of ALL schools deserve better.

The records and testimony stand …I don’t have to explain … any many know what these Open Records expose the…TRUTH.

Google: Top School You Tube …
Do the research… It will explain the NORTHSIDE attitude.
These are not my words and actions… I am just the messenger.

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Ms. Downey, I’m just curious if something was wrong with my comment at 4:35 p.m. yesterday that its still awaiting moderation. You don’t have to post it, just wondering.
Hope everyone has had a great start to their week!

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PS The Harley Dealership is located off 20 a little past Six Flags.

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@ private citizen redirects to these two you tube videos that have nothing to do with the post…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSLP1FCREBA For purposes of science and locating the blackest black person (wasn’t this a topic of “science” circa 1880? For purposes of making this topic current circa 2012, we need to know these “races” for the “race to the top.” The blackest black http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wztjtD4i02k#t=3m30s .

and you don’t censor it?
Oh well censor what you want. It is your blog.
Take care. I appreciate your efforts to expose problems in education.
All of it…no matter what we think…helps in some small way.

Over and out.

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@private citizen needs this info…please all post…
http://www.youtube.com/user/TopSchoolAtlanta

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! Top School, thank you for the YouTube link. Great! I can’t wait to view / process it.

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@ Top School, I love my video links. Johnny Winter and James Brown are two of the geniuses of the prior century. I am purposefully lampooning the race addiction of Atlanta and also the greater South. Historically, the newspaper is the correct venue for satire. It is a serious matter. If you grew up in the civil rights era, we were supposed to have solved and transcended race issues, My personal opinion is that people died for these issues to resolve them. Martin Luther King and “I Have a Dream” is from Atlanta. I think the point of Martin is that he wanted to resolve race issues and not perpetuate them. Atlantans need to set the example for the rest of the South and move into the future, as has been the pattern of greatness for the great city of Atlanta. I’ll save you the horror stories of working with poor people of many races. I think race categorization is harmful and classification by income is the best way to supplement and help those who need help. That’s my opinion – at the moment. Maybe I’ll learn something and my opinion will change.

“Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.”

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I’ve known Mrs. Durham for just a year and know that she’s the farthest thing from a racist. Racist? Like really? Where did that come from? I don’t really have strong ties with Aps as I was only a year in, but you can’t let good-hearted people suffer for a failure in leadership.

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I am a former North Atlanta student, graduated class of 2012. I now attend the University of Georgia, and I am personally appalled at the allegations against Mrs. Durham. She was my counselor and personally helped me and many of my classmates apply and find the best colleges for us. As someone who knows her personally I can vouch that she is not in the slightest raciest. She is genuinely kind and has the best intrest in mind for all her students. She is a unique teacher in that she will personally take time out of her day to help her students and get them where they need to be if necessary. I think it is embarrassing and disrespectful how APS has treated this situation as well as the situation with the rest of the administrators. I was proud to be a North Atlanta Warrior. The school had changed immensly from my freshman year to my senior year, and I had high hopes that it could only continue to get better, but I am now very concerned. My brother is now a freshman and I feel bad that he won’t experience the same high school I loved.

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I have known both Amy Durham and Kelley Day for many years and I have had the honor and privilege of volunteering on various school projects with them on many occasions. They are amazing bundles of energy and ideas and are incredibly generous and kindhearted. Time and time again, I have witnessed their sincere dedication to the idea of public school education and the tireless time and talent they have devoted to making APS a success. The fact that the system they fought so hard to build up is now knocking them down is a bitter irony and a sad commentary on the state of affairs within APS. Call me crazy but I don’t know of any ‘racists’ that would eagerly and willingly enroll all of their children in a school, volunteer thousands of hours of time to that school and even go to work in that school (a school where they are in the minority population by the way), if they really had any issues with racial equality. It just doesn’t make any sense. I can only hope APS, the School Board and Mr. Davis can put politics aside at some point and do the right thing by Amy and Kelley.

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@ Private Citizen “Atlantans need to set the example for the rest of the South and move into the future”

Through my research and conclusion…the irony… minorities that could make a difference continue to hide the secrets about how they manipulate the APS system so their children can attend the Northside (mostly white) schools. They are instrumental in the discrimination of their own race.

I worked for APS for 13 years at the APS Warren T Jackson Elementary. Only 3 of those years were under the present leadership. My last 3 years were spent …observing corrupt leadership.
I filed a anonymous investigation and as a result suffer under relentless retaliation by the APS administration. In less than 3 months after filing the grievance I was escorted out to the Northside school. No due process…no investigation.

The cheating scandal disclosed what the previous administration was capable of doing to staff that attempted to stand up to unethical behavior.

My research and case opened many other unethical issues in APS Northside schools besides the issues that were dealing with my case.
Testimony came from teachers on staff, previous teachers, parents of minorities attending the school illegally, and various retired APS employees that were free from the system to speak.

These issues are deep rooted. APS Northside schools. In the past …parents in this northside community manipulated many different ways to keep the APS NORTH schools in operation during the years of low attendance. Parents dedicated to these public schools found ways to increase their student attendance.

The history of Northside APS schools and the minorities that were allowed in to grace their doors …and how and who were involved in those secrets…are in the shadows of Northside High School’s current problems. The “teams”…that were designed to separate the children into a class system …are a reflection of the Buckhead shadow of elitism.

The minority fear…is still very much alive in APS Northside schools today.
And the secrets are still secret due to the politics and the fall out that might happen to families that feel they can not speak up against the corruption.

Happy to share my views and observations…some issues have documentation…some are from interviewing individuals with first hand experiences that shared their story with me. I spent the last 10 years researching the history of Atlanta’s integration of their public schools and talking to those involved in Northside APS.

APS Board Members know this…the older Buckhead families of Northside APS have lived through it… along with the affluent minority families that were allowed entrance to the mostly white Buckhead public schools through the underground system.

I found it was difficult to find anyone willing to stand up to speak.
I was the only one asking questions…and sometimes when asking the difficult questions…the fear created just nods and smiles or no answer at all.

This is a difficult topic for minorities and white Buckhead families that know the history.
It has been most disappointing for me peel back the layers that exposed this.

Yes…Atlanta deserves better…and this needs to stop.
This is where the civil rights movement started…and the Norhside APS secrets need to be exposed…and dealt with so we can move on with honesty, integrity and success.

I ended my teaching career because of this. Could not continue knowing what I discovered.

Atlanta’s future public schools will not rise to their potential with the secrets.
Our children deserve leadership that admits to their mistakes and honors those who make the effort to do the right thing in truth.
Feel free to contact me through the You Tube website.

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Errol Davis has created big questions about his leadership at APS. One poster said that Davis “dissembled” which is an excellent description. The next few weeks are going to prove that Davis did not tell the truth about why the changes were made, He did not tell the truth about the putative state take over. He did not tell the truth about NAHS being so underperforming that change was needed.
It seems, sadly, that race is the driver of Davis decisions and that the APS is as big a cesspool as ever.

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I once had somebody screw me around in Atlanta area. I said, “Oh no, you’re not going to do that, are you?” I told them three separate times, “I am going to go to the courthouse and file on you, are you sure that’s what you want, are you certain?” Each time they held their ground on screwing me around. I got their corporate information and sued them. When the day for court came it was a really hot day and five of them had to come down to the courthouse in separate cars and each pay for parking and walk a block or two to get to the courthouse. Inside they court room they’re all sitting in the pews, not even sitting together, looking like a bunch of unhappy cats on a fence. Inside the court house, in the hallway their lawyer approached me and wanted to make a deal. I told him no. I went in the courtroom and sat down. After another 40 minutes, their lawyer approached me again and seemed real serious this time and a little desperate like he might lose his job, so I went with him to separate side room and he had everything prepared to resolve the matter.

PS Inside the courtroom I took one look at the judge and I said to myself, “I’ve got this NAILED.” It all comes down to the judge. Judges set the tone and policy for an area.

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It seems as if a lot of people are using this anonymous blog to air vendettas and nameless, unprovable conspiracies.

And to Top School– the monolithic “Buckhead” that you write about may have existed when you knew it (which clearly was some time ago), but it’s all changed since then, not least because many of the “Buckhead oarents” have gone over to private schools. Go back on this blog-thread and some of the others about NAHS, and read some of the posts by the students, especially the ones from black students who were bused across town to school in Buckhead. Tempus fugit.

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First of all Ms. Durham is not a certified Teacher. This is public record so you can look it up. That is why the board was so slow to approve her. They are trying to figure how is that a non certified teachers get a job and Mr. Mygrant never took to the time to interview any that were certified. I have a sibling who was in here class and she simply told the kid she was fired. That is not the way she should have told her students. Very unprofessional to me. APS never said that is why these teachers were assigned to other schools. Mygrant is the one playing the race card not APS. The problem is that the Buckhead community was to pick and choose who teaches at that school. If that is the case wouldn’t you want a teacher that is certified in his/her field. No they are more concerned with having control and being able to manipulate staff.

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I was one of Amy Durham’s students, and since her resignation we have been left without a teacher. APS has yet to hire a replacement, and I blame them completely for her resignation. She was a fantastic teacher and was fair and kind to all her students, of ALL races and genders, and I have never heard of such a ridiculous accusation of racism.

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Errol Davis did not need no stinking tribunal or no stinking investigation. There were allegations of racism and in the cesspool of APS that alone is enough. It’s positively Orwellian! Today the AJC tells us something of what was really going on and how Davis continues to prevaricate.

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KSmith, my wife is a certified teacher. She did not tell any of her students that she was fired. Shame on you.

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Most of the disturbing and divisive comments posted on this blog seem to come from individuals unfamiliar with North Atlanta High School or the individuals in question. Stop making unfounded and inflammatory comments. North Atlanta is an example of how wonderful things can happen when people of diverse circumstances, backgrounds and races come together in support of students and community. I am grateful my daughters had people of character and commitment including – Amy Durham, Kelley Day, Mark MyGrant, Melissa Gautreaux, John Denine, Laura Brazil, Mona Fairley-Nelson and Reginald Colbert- as role models.

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@ LWBouldin Be serious; and cut the crap the The North Atlanta cluster is doing every thing possible to keep minority children out of those schools and you know it!!!!!!

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