APS school chief: Is Davis a goner? How much of a role did North Atlanta High play in his fall from grace??
The Atlanta School Board delayed again a vote on whether to renew the contract of Superintendent Erroll Davis Monday night, a clear result of the clumsy way he handled the removal of top administrators at North Atlanta High School two months ago.
Along with exposing rifts on the school board, the delay in the Davis vote also speaks to the power of organized, angry and determined parents.
The suddenness of the purge at North Atlanta left many parents and students frustrated and upset. And energized to oust Davis from the APS superintendency.
Whether the change in top management at the high school was warranted is still being debated, but there is consensus even among Davis fans that he underestimated the backlash his decision would cause and created unnecessary grief for himself and the district.
And that was evident Monday in the board maneuvers resulting in a postponement of a vote to extend Davis’ contract.
The AJC has a story this morning that quotes parents who oppose and support Davis. “He came on board in the midst of two major crises facing APS, with the cheating scandal placing public trust in jeopardy and board dysfunction calling our accreditation into question,” said the parent in support. “He has since moved the district to a place where we can actually begin to build something rather than fix something.”
The parent who opposes him after the North Atlanta mess said, “He started out as a good administrator, but he seems to have devolved.”
The decision to postpone the vote came after Davis supporters lost a key procedural vote that means it will take only three votes on the nine-member board to block the extension of Davis’ contract, which expires in June.
The board met in executive session for more than three hours before emerging around 11 p.m. and approving a motion by District 4 board member Nancy Meister to require a supermajority of seven votes to extend Davis’ contract instead of the usual simple majority of five votes.
Meister said the policy change would help keep the board in good standing with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accrediting agency, which recommended the board decide by a supermajority when it hired Davis in 2011. The board then voted unanimously to hire him. Meister’s motion to require a supermajority passed 5-4 over strong objections by board chairman Reuben McDaniel.
The board then voted 8-1 to appoint a search committee in January to look for a new superintendent. But Davis opponents couldn’t get enough votes to defeat a motion by vice chairman Byron Amos to delay the vote for the second time. The board first postponed the vote in October. Amos’ motion to delay passed 5-4.
The board will meet 3 p.m. Monday, Dec. 10, to decide Davis’ fate as superintendent. That gives supporters a week to try to corral seven votes on a board that seems deeply divided.
District 6 board member Yolanda K. Johnson asked Amos how he expects “anything will change between now and a month of Christmases” that will alter the outcome of the vote. “We seem to have had a fair amount of discussion,” she said. “How do you anticipate change will happen?”
Amos responded: “I think we’re almost there, but we’re not quite there.”
The exchange drew sighs and moans from members of the audience who had stayed late expecting a vote on an issue that has impassioned supporters on both sides. Almost a dozen speakers addressed the board over Davis’ leadership before the board went into executive session. About half spoke in favor of extending his contract while half spoke in favor of searching for a new superintendent.
One of Davis’ loudest critics, parent Cynthia Briscoe Brown, told the board he is a destructive force in the school system and should not be renewed because “he has lost our confidence” over actions such as removing six administrators from North Atlanta High School.
Parent Suzanne Mitchell said the board should renew Davis for two years to carry out the five-year strategic plan he and the board just completed after a year’s work. “We must give the plan time to take hold,” she said.
Davis, a former University System of Georgia chancellor with the support of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and Gov. Nathan Deal, came out of retirement in to take the job in July 2011 knowing the state was about to announce the revelations of an investigation that implicated about 180 Atlanta Public School educators for cheating during the administration of the 2009 Criterion-Referenced Competency Test.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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83 comments Add your comment
Concernedmom30329
December 4th, 2012
11:18 am
I think that this study is interesting and confirms that large systems are difficult to manage. I know someone will bring up Alvin Wilbanks, but once he retires is when the real test will begin in Gwinnett. Actually his retirement and new school board members will make things very interesting in Gwinnett.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/12/05/13turnover_ep.h32.html?tkn=STUFcDd6KqoygUOdrP9XpUXGvaYT3wykgQWG&cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS1
ROBERT
December 4th, 2012
11:28 am
Fire Davis now! He is an anti-white racist. Seriously. The allegations at North Atlanta high were unsubstantiated and involved parents looking for special and unequal treatment for their children.
Are we judging people by their character and ability or their color? We know what Davis judges people by.
Pride and Joy
December 4th, 2012
11:31 am
Concerned mom at 30329 makes a terrific point. APS is too darn big to manage. There are too many conflicting interests and just too much to manage by one board with different interests and one superintendant.
We need each high school and its feeder middle and elementary schools to be one school district.
I don’t think Davis even cares whether his contract is renewed. He is retired. He has money. Maybe that was part of the problem, he has nothing to lose. If he had something to lose, he might of been more careful with his fly by night beheadings at North Atlanta High School.
I’d rather have him than Cheryl Atkinson or Beverly Hall but Dear Lord, why can’t Atlanta find an suitable candidate? With the price we’re paying the supers, I know I could find one but he or she may not be the preferred shade of color.
Beverly Fraud
December 4th, 2012
11:38 am
Meister said the policy change would help keep the board in good standing with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accrediting agency, which recommended the board decide by a supermajority when it hired Davis in 2011. The board then voted unanimously to hire him. Meister’s motion to require a supermajority passed 5-4 over strong objections by board chairman Reuben McDaniel.
Remember when Markie Mark Elgart (according to this very paper, correct me if I’m wrong Maureen) tried to strong arm the APS board into accepting a supermajority to change the board chair-all in an effort to prop up Beverly Hall?
Now it looks like it BLEW UP IN THEIR FACES.
Looks like Nancy Meister hoisted them on their own petard !
Jarod Apperson
December 4th, 2012
11:42 am
Even with Davis’s shortcomings, I’m not sure getting rid of him is the right move. I just don’t have much confidence in the board’s ability to select a replacement. There’s a fair chance they could pick someone much worse.
Entitlement Society
December 4th, 2012
11:47 am
@ Jarod – right on – “There’s a fair chance they could pick someone much worse.” I think you’ve identified one of the many roots of the problem – the board.
KatKel
December 4th, 2012
11:49 am
Can someone please explain to me – in facts only – why E.D is repeatedly called a racist? It seems to be a running theme in Atlanta but I would like this claim substantiated with facts.
I also agree that many schools systems in and around Atlanta are just too large. You cannot meet the needs of the students in north Atlanta while also meeting the needs of students in south Atlanta. Too much income, social, and educational differences. And sadly it matters when trying to relate to the children and effectively teach.
monday
December 4th, 2012
12:09 pm
Clayton County needs God. The place is a mess. Most of the students could care less about school. Minority races are self-sabotaging. Do not blame anyone else for your actions.
Grady Cluster Parent
December 4th, 2012
12:10 pm
It was time for Davis to go after the redistricting debacle. With respect to Inman Middle School, he inherited APS’ top performing but overcrowded middle school and added another 300 or so students rather than making the sensible choice and breaking Inman into two high performing schools. His disrespectful and dismissive attitude towards the parents at Inman who only want the best for their children provided a glimpse into the mind of a man more concerned with control and top-down rule than acting as a servant leader who works with parents and students to promote educational excellence.
Jarod Apperson
December 4th, 2012
12:15 pm
@Entitlement Society – we also have to remember that McDaniel seemed to be playing a role behind the scenes at NAHS, and it is unclear whether or not his involvement was related to the actions taken by Davis.
@KatKel – there is a perception among some that APS is racist in its hiring practices, favoring black applicants over equally/more qualified applicants of other races. I am not aware of any evidence that this is true or that it isn’t.
There is also a perception that Davis has acted with insensitivity when dealing with APS schools which serve some students who are not black (e.g. NAHS).
I don’t know Davis, so I can’t speak to any of these perceptions. I will say that my perspective as an outsider of APS is that Davis’s shortcoming have less to do with racism and more to do with inexperience/inability to work with actively engaged school communities–green, yellow, or purple.
Pride and Joy
December 4th, 2012
12:16 pm
Kat Kel — good question. Here are the facts.
A black student at North Atlanta High school was accepted at Harvard. The students’ parents called the school counselor a racist because the school counselor(who is white) did not have a quote “reception” paid for by the school to honor the student.
The counselor said they never give receptions for any student and the decision was not racillay motivated.
The principal of NAHS was called a racist (he is white) because he was the one who hired or was trying to permanently hire the counselor.
E.D. fired several administrators (white) because(officially) he said because NAHS was failing.
Angry parents said the school was performing as well as average schools in GA and there are many other failing schools in APS who didn’t have their leadership fired.
E.D. opponents claim he is a racist because he chose to fire the white administrators and not fire the black administrators who manage other schools that are failing.
Another fact, although NAHS is located in an affluent area, the children who attend teh school do not come from affluent families. Most often, those affluent families choose to send their children to other schools, not NAHS.
ryan
December 4th, 2012
12:19 pm
Mr. Davis is called a racist because he is not siding with the Buckhead Elite and letting them tell him how to run the North Atlanta schools. All students should be treated equal. This does not happen these schools. @ROBERT being in this system for many years, there is alot that those secluded parents and elite parents do not see. All was not fair and equal. Mr. Davis is trying to making the school environment better for all students and not just the few International Studies students.
Lurker
December 4th, 2012
12:41 pm
ryan,
The Buckhead Elite do not send their kids to public schools. According to the freshmen of 2008, NAHS is 65% black, 18% hispanic, and 13% white. More than half of the students qualify for free/reduced lunch. NAHS is not a school of the “Buckhead Elite”.
If you look at test scores from NAHS, it performs better than the APS school system average. Black students at NAHS score higher than the national average. If minority or low income students are being treated unfairly at NAHS, how is it that they are competing better academically than minority students in other APS schools?
jd
December 4th, 2012
12:41 pm
Those folks in Buckhead always say they want to run govt like a business — which is what Mr. Davis is doing… til that business isn’t what they like.
Private Citizen
December 4th, 2012
12:44 pm
Each strong man has a mind of his own and is looking out for all the students and not those of the priviledged Buckhead home owning and tax paying students of parents whose crap don’t smell.
Ryan, You left out the part that this is where these people live, this is their home and some of them are rooted and not going anywhere. One reason rich people are rich is that they don’t take any guff and they take care of business. You’re basically denying them the use of their public school system that they are paying for. You scapegoat successful people as “elite.” Caste system is a fact or life. One guy bumbles around and sweeps up for free at the convenience store so he can get free beer and cigarettes. Another guy owns 5 car dealerships or several millions in managed investments. I guess you want to get offended because the guy who owns five car dealerships drives a new car. Recently read an interview with a son of a billionaire. A person asked him, “Would you rather fight 100 duck sized horses or a horse sized duck?” and he answered, “I’d rather fight 100 Horse sized ducks.”
I think you’re a little naive and you do not hesitate to appropriate other people according to your lefty reasoning. If you want to join the wealthy, you’re going to need a different perspective. The real poverty is mental poverty. You’re in one of the wealthiest most dynamic metropolitan areas in the United States. If you want to know what success is, you can find business models in Atlanta.
Beverly Fraud
December 4th, 2012
12:46 pm
I don’t recall Reuben McDaniel having any objectives to a supermajority when Markie Mark Elgart tried to use it to prop up the Dynamic Duo Burks and Hall.
Either he sure was silent about the democratic process being skewered wasn’t he. Was he on the board then?
If he was, why does he have a problem with the
lets try to silence those who won’t let us do a Blue Ribbon White Wash of the cheating scandala consensus building supermajority now?Is he being hoisted on his own petard?
Beverly Fraud
December 4th, 2012
12:52 pm
Objections of course…must have been
thinking about how much the Reed/BlueRibbon/Hall/Burks and the phony 4 were trying to stop any objective reviewa typoJerry Eads
December 4th, 2012
1:08 pm
Someone above noted that there’s a fair chance that the APS board might pick someone “worse.” Some (it actually appears many) disagree with some of his actions, but my STRONG bet is that he’s only interested in actually making the schools work better. All too often inner city boards pick folks whose biggest feature is their ego. Be careful, Atlanta. At least now you’ve got someone who at least cares about the kids more than himself.
Private Citizen
December 4th, 2012
1:13 pm
Lurker says it better than me. Read their post.
Beverly Fraud
December 4th, 2012
1:23 pm
Since Jerry is here, I wonder what the odds are, statistically speaking, that 4 turnstiles, 3 drunks and 2 urine soaked elevators from the Marta Five Points Station could do a better job than the current 9 on the board?
No expert on stats, but I’d venture to guess the odds are significantly greater than the odds all those wrong to right erasures were legitimate.
Maureen, is there any truth to the rumor Kathy Augustine is going to make a triumphant return to Atlanta and sing Santa Brought Me An Outlier backed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra?
Pride and Joy
December 4th, 2012
1:24 pm
ryan, your rant about the Buckhead elite doesn’t stand a chance. North Altanta High school is located in an expensive area — BUT — the Buckhead elite wouldn’t be caught dead in that school, ryan. Do you think anyone with that much money would send their child to a FAILING ATLANTA PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL?
Of course not.
They have better options. They can afford to send their child to any private school they want. They don’t need nor want NAHS.
NAHS is filled with apartment dwellers who live on the peripheral of the affluent area and by students who are transferred from other worse schools. Sure, a few pioneers or brave souls who can afford private schools do send their children there but not many. I sure don’t blame them. Neither would I.
ryan, you just want to cry “racism!” “racisim!”
It’s a tired old race card.
Pride and Joy
December 4th, 2012
1:28 pm
Beverly Fraud — MY WORD you are batting a thousand today. I think that was your FUNNIEST POST EVER.
Mwa ha ha. I am still laughing.
Maybe you could make a song to those lyrics.
On the first day of Christmas the APS board gave to me…
A SACS accreditation nightmare.
On the second day of Christmas the APS board gave to me…
TWO ….now you write the rest Beverly Fraud…I am sure you can come up with something clever!
Entitlement Society
December 4th, 2012
1:32 pm
Ryan, Ryan, Ryan. Please do some homework before spouting such ignorance about your so-called “Buckhead Elite.” If APS didn’t have the “priviledged Buckhead home owning and tax paying students of parents whose crap don’t smell” of which you speak, I’d hate to think of how much worse it could even be. We parents pay what Mayor Kasim Reed dubbed the “private school tax”, as we pay exhorbitant property taxes for less than adequate city services and a public school system with which we can’t entrust our children, so we choose to pay private school tuition to make sure our children come out as educated, productive members of society. So as you can see by the stats posted above, Buckhead residents have all but VACATED NAHS and left it to people like you. Have at it. You said, “We need men like these two to clean up the corruption of the North Atlanta schools.” Well, by your obvious ignorance of the facts (i.e. what you think is “elite”), we need people like you in the employ of the city’s sanitation services. Have a nice day.
CJae of EAV
December 4th, 2012
1:32 pm
@Jarod Apperson – The real travisty is that the APS board had ample opportunity to establish a search committee and position themselves for this moment that they knew was coming. The fact they haven’t suggests that either they fully intended to keep Dr. Davis on for the long term by renewing this contract or they are completely dysfunctional as a Board and need to be replaced for being derlict of duty.
skipper
December 4th, 2012
1:42 pm
@Entitlement Society…..
Be careful; the truth may hurt some of these folks!!
Entitlement Society
December 4th, 2012
1:48 pm
@ Skipper. My fingers just lost all control! If one more ignorant person falsely labels me “elite,” “rich,” or “wealthy” based solely on living in Buckhead and sending my kids to private school, I’m going to lose it. Some people don’t understand what parents do to be involved meaningful parts of their children’s lives and try to do the best for their kids. Geez.
guest
December 4th, 2012
1:50 pm
Entitlement,
Ignore those people; they’re morons.
guest
December 4th, 2012
1:50 pm
Enter your comments here
Another comment
December 4th, 2012
1:56 pm
The press conference that Errol Davis did, yesterday flanked by Reuben McDaniel and the other tall black man for the Finch elementary school just showed that he suffers from the small mans Napolean syndrome. He is a control freak and a poser. He is also very short just like Pope Benedict who is really only 5′-2″. That photo op was like the Professional athlete or rapper who doesn’t have a clue at the press conference with his handler McDaniel at his side trying to point his way. Both looked like fumbling idiots.
So, Errol Davis has an engineering degree, not by earning the old fashioned way. He has an engineering degree through affirmative action. That was clear, how could an engineer that had worked at the top of the energy business not be able to give some basic answers based on engineering principals learned in undergrad school. Even if he only has an IE degree or a General Engineer.
Engineers speak engineering, we can,t help it. Why are the reporters asking the harder questions. He should have gone into the briefing and stated thAt the school was constructed in 2004 with a centralized hot water boiler system. Right now we are working with our in house Facilities staff, maintained staff, the boiler manufacture ( this is less than 10 year old it may be in warranty), our controls contractor, the fire Marshall etc, to identify the point of failure. It is either a connection in the venting or a crack in the boiler lining. He should have preempted the questions about the CO2 monitors stating that they were not in the hard wired controls package for the school, since they are not a code requirement. he as an engineer feels that is an area that we as a school system need to go beyond the code and find the money to add them to our central controls package in all boiler, furnace and emergency generator rooms. He is suppose to be an engineer by training fist and foremost. Your job is on the line, use your primary training to your advantage think and act with your feet.
Errol Davis doesn’t have it he needs to go. McDaniel an Crew needs to go.
Jarod Apperson
December 4th, 2012
1:59 pm
@CJae of EAV – As my dad always says “a camel is a horse designed by a committee.”
Its hard for 9 people to run anything well. It’s got to be that much harder when some of the 9 don’t have a grasp on their responsibilities.
skipper
December 4th, 2012
2:05 pm
@Entitlement Society,
Amazing that when someone sacrifices for their kids, they get condemned. Many of the so-called “leaders” of this cluster do not realize how many fatherless homes with moms who worry more about cell-phones, etc. than their kids are part of APS. THIS IS NOT EVERYONE, but it is much more prevelant than folks want to admit. This is why folks who have experienced any kind of success at all are not sending their kids to an inner-city cluster. Of course this will sting some, and it should. Until society gets past the anything-goes culture, it will be what it is. Hate on me forever…post vile things. However, lets check back in 5-10 years and see where APS is……the poverty level, education level, etc. will not change until behaviour changes!
Concernedmom
December 4th, 2012
2:09 pm
@Entitlement Society and others like minded: Like many of you,my husband and I have a child enrolled in one of the Buckhead private schools (and no we don’t live in Buckhead, but we do live in Fulton County and are not zoned to a good public school at all). We work hard and make some major sacrifices as a family so that our child receives the best possible education. We do not apologize for our private school choice, as we really feel like we made the best decision for our child. However, “let them eat cake ” attitude that is prevalent relating not just to NHS, but to our area public schools is nothing short of obnoxious. Not everyone can afford private school. It is becoming an option for fewer families as the economy goes through its ups and downs. So, we ALL have to have a vested interest in ensuring that a solid public education is available for all children, not just the Buckhead kids or the North Fulton kids or the East Cobb kids. The world is far bigger than these microcasms. Contrary to your comment regarding “people like you”…..to whom are your referring? People of less socio economic means? People of different ethnicities? Here’s what public school CAN’t do, create an artificial environment of same socio economic and ethnic backgrounds of kids and/or teachers.That’s not the world we now reside in. That’s the 1950s and 1960s and that time period has passed (yes it was a nostalgic time for some and a living hell for others). Until this city and state move past the ignorant mentality of “people like you”, the area’s growth will be capped and our school systems will continue to be the laughing stock of the country. Oh and ps, “those people’s” children attend your child’s school too. Look around your carpool line next time you drop your kids off. So, be really mindful when you spew such ignorance.
Another comment
December 4th, 2012
2:11 pm
An engineer’s job is to protect the life and safety of all who inhabit the buildings that they design, construct, maintain. Same thing with roads and bridges.
Davis should not have told people at then news conference that the school would be open today. Any engineer worth their salt would know you are not opening an elementary school that had the highest CO readings the the fire department had ever seen.
I really hope that they do not have a crack in the boiler lining. if they do I hope they have redundancy with a back up boiler. Error, obviously has never had to encounter what happens when your affirmative action boiler operator that Human Relations makes you promote, even thou he is unqualified blows up one of these hot water boilers. The time line for relining one of these boilers is 6 mos to a year plus. The cost is astronomical. Cutting corners on the maintenance and the monitoring of the operation of these hot water boilers can cost you hugely. It takes years to train people to maintain these properly. you just can’t get a cheaper guy off the street. You just can’ t turn them on and off. You have to maintain the water levels. You have to maintain the steam. We found our best luck hiring the navy veterans, that were used to maintaining them on the subs. They understood life and death depended on maintaining them. If they didn’t maintain them on the sub they would take out them self.
KatKel
December 4th, 2012
2:26 pm
Wow! Lots of hate going on here.
I sure wish someone was brave enough to state what the real problem is. Education is a not a black or white issue. It is not even a socioeconomic issue. It is a mindset issue.
True, many wealthy white families tend to put more of an importance on education. Or at least that seems to be the perception. The fact is, many people (poor, rich, black, green, white) do not teach the value of an education to their children. They teach the value of a handout – a “give me” mentality and if you don’t, well then you must be a racist.
It just so happens that the Buckehead “elite” value education along with having the means to send their children to private school. Does that mean that the poor minority kids that make up the majority of this school do not also value an education? No. But the perception is, seen time and time again, is that their parents do not. And they become parents and the cycle is repeated. Hence why this is a poor performing school.
How about instead of blaming teachers, etc.; parents start blaming themselves. They are responsible for their child’s values, education and commitment to school. Not the teacher or the Board. Learning starts at home.
Guess what, looks like I had the balls to state the real problem.
Entitlement Society
December 4th, 2012
2:30 pm
@Concerned Mom -
People like you = people who blanket label all Buckhead residents as rich, wealthy, elite, etc.
People like you = finger pointing people who spew hate against people who have suceeded.
I come from a very modest background, driven by work ethic. We are able to send our children to private school because we work our tails off as much as we can and still be involved and caring parents who volunteer at school and attend all children’s activities. My “people like you” was specificly referencing the name calling, wealthy envious, stone throwers. Go help the Ryans of the world all you want, but we reserve our goodwill for those who demonstrate a drive to someday become “producers” and will pay it forward.
Concernedmom
December 4th, 2012
2:44 pm
@Entitlement Society: Thank you for your clarification. Here is my follow up question for you: Who of us is so powerful, so all knowing, so arrogant to determine who is to become a “producer” or successful in this world? Do little children come into this world with some marker or distinction to show that they will be a “producer” or a success? Or do they all come into this world deserving of an opportunity, a level playing field (if you will) for a quality education? Like many, I did not come from the most affluent of families. They were simply hard working, honest, kind people who valued a good education and good character and instilled those values in me. Were it not for teachers and parents and folks in my community (right here in Atlanta) who saw and understood the game changer that a good education can be for a child, I would simply be yet another statistic. You see, when you couple socio economic and ethnic factors into the equation (and yes they are a factor), the educational and economic playing field can really factor into one’s road to success. Working hard matters, yes. But it is not a guarentee of success by any means. It simply heightens the chances of success. And that I think is the point that you may be missing here. Giving ALL of our children an opportunity to succeed, not just the ones you deem “producers” or most deserving is the key here and I think it will be Atlanta’s saving grace or its downfall. See ya in the carpool line!
G&G
December 4th, 2012
3:03 pm
It seems that Errol Davis listened to the wrong board members and will now pay the consequences. Even if he ‘believes’ he did the right thing, his withholding of information and blatant lies to the NAHS community following bloody Friday revealed his ignorance, not to mention his complete disregard for the administrators and teachers.
I would like to see a new superintendent, new board members, and new top level administrators in APS. Anyone who worked for Davis and/or Hall should have to reapply for their job. That’s how teachers in failing schools are treated, let’s do the same for the powers that be in a failing system.
I wish the city of Atlanta and APS would step into the 21st century and stop condemning people for being white or wealthy. Let’s just focus on education, please, and stop perpetuating racism by throwing the word around like a football.
Private Citizen
December 4th, 2012
3:25 pm
Entitlement Society My fingers just lost all control! If one more ignorant person falsely labels me “elite,” “rich,” or “wealthy” based solely on having a vocabulary.
I’ve gotten this treatment in graduate school. If you don’t talk about sugarplums and faery dust, people get scared.
Private Citizen
December 4th, 2012
3:33 pm
Concerned Mom, the producers are the people who make the high speed trains. They’re not in Atlanta. Here’s a solid example of production and the good it can do, changing a 4 hour traffic jam commute to 15 minutes of pleasant travel. http://www.abb.com/cawp/seitp202/8dd91e08ab9eb912c125770700402b14.aspx Production is real. You should seek it.
Ok Now I See
December 4th, 2012
3:38 pm
Errol Davis made a big mistake with the whole NAHS debacle. I hope we can all agree on that. He also had failed to explain is actions in an upfront manner, which he owes to the community and at this point is never going to happen. His credibility is damaged.
He did, however, make lemonade from lemons with the redistricting process. It’s a no-win proposition the goal is to make the fewest people angry, a job made even more difficult by the fact that he had to consolidate and reduce budget. There are absolutely some things to not like about it, but all-in-all it was as good a solution/compromise as any. Yes, I know everyone wants to have their cake and eat it too, but that was never realistic.
So is Errol Davis down and out? I’m not ready to throw him out just yet, but the shenanigans at NAHS are serious and if he’s learned anything from that, then perhaps he can still be effective.
I leave everyone with a question: Why can’t these people on the Board of Education just work together? Is this a zero-sum game or something?
skipper
December 4th, 2012
3:46 pm
Concernedmom,
Point taken, but that still does not mean that the way to conquer the world is by sending kids to an inner-city failing school. Nobody wants to tell the truth here…..for every ONE like you who is genuine, there are unfortunately many times more who could care less! Call it what you will……it is not going to happen. Can you TRUTHFULLY imagine the CEO of a big company sending his kids to an inner-Atlanta APS school? The schools may need to improve, but the culture prohibits it in many ways……and many folks will sacrifice much to get their kids out of one of these nightmares.
Private Citizen
December 4th, 2012
3:51 pm
Jerry Eads, you say Mr. Davis wants to make the schools better, but how can a person be so disconnected from reality what the traditions of school experience for young people is to go into a school mid year and yank out the administrators and people who counsel the kids? If I was a student, this would give me hives like the adults are very irresponsible and self-conceited. Once the school year begins, it is not like pulling workers from a warehouse or construction site or something. The move was so bone-headed it is unbelievable, and is compounded by the lack of foundation used as justification. The radical quality of Davis’ action and whoever put him up to it reeks of spite and, too, it reeks of racism due to the collective nature of blaming a group of people for something, those blamed – all white, due to an abstract race complaint. Looks to me like APS top management support stirring up and performing racism, not transcending it. It is completely amateur hour management. I think the whole thing should be court with some hard questions on what was done and why, and those who marched those school-level workers out should be made to account under tough questioning on the reason and method of their actions. It is bad day for Atlanta and when there is crime and no resolve and no justice, things just turn sour. Seems like Georgia state-level officials want to tippy-toe around situations of black government management abuse of power while Obama is in office, even though Obama’s mama is a white lady from Kansas. Georgia has a serious problem with nobody home at the state level doing regulation over the activities of city an county government. It makes for a lawless landscape full of nin-com-poops. Georgia is a fertile place for those who are motivated to use government office for crime and using and exploiting people.
Beverly Fraud
December 4th, 2012
3:56 pm
Thank you Pride and Joy; and despite the holiday season upon us, a reworking of Send In The Clowns might be more appropriate.
@Jared, who notes it is difficult to get 9 people to work together:
Please consider my alternate board does have 7 non-sentient beings…a SuperMajority!
Private Citizen
December 4th, 2012
4:05 pm
In other news: School board with no white male members performs harakari on white male principal and hirees. Maybe the city should buy them laser beam turrets they can mount on the roof of their management palace. But if their aim was off by a few degrees, they might blow up a gas station. Then the unwashed masses could roast a pig and have a wild hullaballo. Cue observation about executives who could not give a care about the common peoples.
Private Citizen
December 4th, 2012
4:10 pm
If anyone does not know this, it is stereotypical for some black students in Georgia to sing the song, “That white teacher should be fired.” Looks like the NAHS Harvard bound student and family won the lottery on this conceit.
Ivan
December 4th, 2012
4:35 pm
Maureen, Can you post how the individual Board members voted? Thanks
fed up with it all
December 4th, 2012
5:22 pm
And the saga continues in Georgia’s public school system. All of the makings for a good reality show.
APS Parent #2
December 4th, 2012
7:50 pm
@Grady Cluster parent. Davis didn’t screw up your redistricting, your board member did. Harsh-Kinnane did NOTHING to address your overcrowding. She should have been real with your capacity issues and either redistricted Lin to the Jackson cluster or Morningside to the North Atlanta cluster. If she had, then she would have lived up to her districtwide oath to put the interests of APS first. She didn’t serve your kids.
Grady Cluster parent, your board member’s failure will cost the rest of us millions of dollars to build on to your middle school while Coan MS sits at one third capacity right below Lin Elementary.
Pretty sure that once APS builds out your middle school, you’ll come a knockin for APS to build out your high school because even those on the southside of town can add. You can’t add capacity to your middle school and not add seats at the high school level. Duh.
Mr. Davis’ crime was listening to the Board Chair Reuben McDaniels and taking the race bait card fo North Atlanta in order to boot Meister from re-elections. Touche. Meister came out the winner in that sword fight it seems.
Not all groups with NAHS parents are upste. StepUp/StepDown group has endorsed the actions of Mr. Davis at NAHS as being well-overdue in terms of eradicating the institutionalized racism. So, please, it isn’t fair or accurate to say that all NAHS parents are angry about Mr. Davis addressing claims of institutionalized racism in APS schools.
StepUp/StepDown, guess you’ll be backing Mr. Davis when the train of glory hits Grady HS too on its way south to clear out the rest of the APS high schools. Grady may have the same issues at NAHS with institutionalized racism, but the other APS high schools need new leadership too since they are at the bottom of too many non-performance lists.
how indeed
December 4th, 2012
9:21 pm
APS parent #2. Where do you get the link of Step Up being in favor of Davis’s actions? There might be a few members of this wide group to be in favor but as a whole. there are many members who do NOT at all favor his actions vis a vis North Atlanta and/ or the redistricting issues. Do NOT make it seem that Step UP as a group is doing any endorsement of Errol Davis.
They stand for something but have some pretty vocal and prominently, or should be said, readily accessible to the media figure heads that claim to represent the group when they really represent themselves and their own potential interests down the road. Future campaign manager for the pending run up in city government for a current board member would require singing the same tune but please don’t make it seem if this is the whole group endorsement of Davis.
Pride and Joy
December 4th, 2012
10:13 pm
To APS Parent #2 — The physical building that is Coan middle school was never an issue with Lin or Morningside parents. We get that there was more physical space in those buildings and we understand that building new buildings is more costly in physical dollars than simply moving kids to a less crowded school.
The issue IS and ALWAYS WAS about the quality of Inman compared to Coan and the quality of Grady compared to Jackson.
Jackson’s high school is much lareger and more beautiful than Grady. Coan sure is nice and roomy — for a reason.
Even those who live next door to Coan don’t want to send their kids there because the education is SO BAD! Failing test scores and rampant teacher cheating!
Board member Harshe-Kinane (sp?) knew exactly what she was doing when she insisted on expanding Inman instead of sending Lin and Morningside kids to dismal, failing, cheating schools.
It isn’t the physical building, APS Parent #2 — it is the QUALITY of the teaching and the integrity of the employees inside the building that matter.
Duh indeed.
jw
December 4th, 2012
10:50 pm
@ 11:42am on 12/4 Jarod Apperson wrote: “Even with Davis’s shortcomings, I’m not sure getting rid of him is the right move. I just don’t have much confidence in the board’s ability to select a replacement. There’s a fair chance they could pick someone much worse.”
I’m with Jarod on this one, though I think there is WAY more than a fair chance that the APS BOE would choose a complete disaster of a superintendent if given the chance.
Ivan
December 5th, 2012
7:47 am
@Pride and Joy – Coan has a new principal and there is a new attitude there. The cheaters are gone and with a small school to turnaround; just wait, Coan will be a great school.
Doris M
December 5th, 2012
9:35 am
I think Davis is a goner due to his handling of the Northside High School debacle and the emergency at Finch Elementary. If these actions are any indication of his leadership, APS would be much better off with a new superintendent.
JB
December 5th, 2012
9:50 am
Let’s compare the performance of other supers. Beverly Hall. Crawford Lewis. Cheryl Atkinson.
APS board members must be acutely aware that it is impossible to please all of the people all of the time, especially when it comes to their children. Leadership is not about making individuals happy, as the above supers tried to do. It’s about moving people in a direction which brings success to the group. Davis led APS brilliantly during one of the most difficult periods in their history which included systemic cheating, possible loss of accreditation, massive budget shortfalls and a redistricting. He managed a Board, which may have had quality individuals, but was completely dysfunctional as a group – they filed a lawsuit against each other. While I may not agree with Davis’ handling of NAHS – one challenge of many — I also know that, because it is a personnel issue, I probably have about 10% of the information necessary to form an opinion. The fact that Davis has kept quiet at great personal cost leads me to believe he has the strength of character APS needs in leadership. I agree with Jarod and JW and am wary of the Board’s ability to function without him, much less hire a quality superintendent.
Justice Seeker
December 5th, 2012
9:51 am
If you think Davis’ decisions are race-based, you should see what will happen if they promote Karen Waldon…and why does no one talk about her involvement in the NAHS scandal?
suga
December 5th, 2012
3:04 pm
This is what happen when you cross the rich North Atlanta, Hall played by there rules and there were no problems, But Davis cause a problem and he’s out.As long as Davis shuting school down in the lower area one No said a word……… But as soon as NAHS WAS CALLED OUT….money & power spoke out and Mr. Davis will lose his job. Northside/North atlanta high, has always been the elite, And now it show’s who can rule, and rule with MONEY.i FILL sorry for the next person who want sell out to North Atlanta Elite, they will loose there job as well.
bootney farnsworth
December 5th, 2012
3:17 pm
Davis is headed out the door (assuming he is) because he and APS reached some sort of deal where he takes on for the team and they pay in handsomely for it.
and then while attention is elsewhere, NAHS is gonna get really ugly
bootney farnsworth
December 5th, 2012
3:18 pm
“Hall played by the rules and there was no problem…”
in what universe?
skipper
December 5th, 2012
3:34 pm
@suga,
Perhaps you should go back to school. There is a profound difference between keyboarding errors and illiteracy, and you appear to be bordering on the latter……
skipper
December 5th, 2012
3:36 pm
Better yet, suga, you may be the perfect example of why school improvement is needed! The so-called “elite” want a better education for their kids…..how the heck do you think thay could EVER get that at an inner-city scholl…..and be honest!
skipper
December 5th, 2012
3:38 pm
Thats “school”. It was a typo, not the massacre of the language you so aptly demonstrated in your post!
Private Citizen
December 5th, 2012
4:40 pm
Skipper the hater, Why so tacky? You should learn to write in standard English without multi-dots, also called ellipsis. Your text reads like a note off your bedside table. You may also wish to lose the whole word capitalization for emphasis and perhaps not ever again put an exclamation point at the end of a written expression of your own opinion in the form of editorial. To continue, using extreme qualifiers like “perfect” does not show detail or particular description, care, or insight, however the most obvious need for tune up is to straighten out your use of capitalization and punctuation lest your breach the borders of making the literate ill. And you be illin’ me. You think you killed it with a line. I think you ran it off the road. If you don’t want to be illin’, and you want to start killin’, go down and empty your pockets at the grammar store and see what is on sale.
I give you one compliment. Standard English does not use contractions and you have made a 100 on that metric.
Private Citizen
December 5th, 2012
4:42 pm
I take it back. And you did not even use the apostrophe. 3 points off.
skipper
December 5th, 2012
5:00 pm
@Private citizen…….
Being a “hater” is not me. Likewise, realizing that “suga” having an opinion on education is apparantly a joke at best does not qualify one as a hater. I loved my grandma: but if I owned the Falcons, she would not (even if she requested) get a tryout at QB! Point being that she was not qualified to try for it, as the heretofore mentioned person is spewing “jealousy-venom” and does not appear qualifyed to do so.
The fact that someone wants to dog-out those who wish for better is enough to bring out the defense mechanism. You know doggone well that the inner-city system is a cluster and will stay so! Check back in five or six years. Think it will be better?
APS Parent #2
December 5th, 2012
7:40 pm
@How Indeed. Take a glance at today’s AJC article referencing parent groups who support or don’t support Davis. StepUp’s co-founder has identified her position with a reference to her title. This is how that group has always spoken and mostly from this parent. She has been quoted in many newspaper articles and on many news clips since the group formed so she is just carrying forward with that group’s platform it seems to those of us who aren’t members of that group.
@Pride and Joy. If you don’t have an issue with the building and you are looking for a quality education, need I point out that the new Coan principal is the same principal who developed Inman’s reputation as an academic school? If you move a lot of kids down to Coan with a great principal, then you will have the same conditions for a quality academic environment as Inman. Which by the way, I have heard from parents at Inman that its quality is eroding so I am not really sure that you have come out ahead wiht so many kids stuffed in a building and losing such a quality principal.
Private Citizen
December 5th, 2012
7:57 pm
To be honest with you, I know very little about the Atlanta “inner city system” schools. I think I know some of the politic, though. Skipper, people are entitled to their opinion. Expressing opinion is good, a good and welcome thing. It’s how people learn. It’s how the humanities are taught. One’s own opinion and references juxtaposed with another’s. It’s how we learn to think for ourselves and hopefully do so in an informed manner.
Private Citizen
December 5th, 2012
8:11 pm
PS suga is right about money and power. It comes in many forms. That’s what politics is, “who has the power.” It would be nice if we were a little more “egalitarian concept oriented” in place of “power” struggles. Power struggles for whom? I’ll tell you this, what Mr. Davis did at NAHS was wrong for one reason only: abuse of labor. Now he’s in a fix. There’s no way to reverse engineer it. If he was truly sensible and dedicated be would visit with the individuals he harmed and they would come forward and say it’s all better now. But that is not what he is doing. As has been the concept from time immemorial, when a person does wrong, they have to step forward and make it right. To not do so leaves the wrong in motion and is basically cosmic pollution, unresolved chaos. If Mr. Davis does something incorrect and makes no effort whatsoever to right it, he has no business being the executive of anything. Higher castes have greater responsibility than lower castes. Even the mighty BP oil company just pled guilty to many crimes associated with the Gulf of Mexico oil rig catastrophe. I guess they had no choice because they had hidden information and evidence and were caught. I suggest Mr. Davis meet with each of those workers he displaced and yield some concern, care, and dignity toward them. He’s got some housecleaning to do and if he chooses to not right his actions, his alternative is a lot of time on a golf course, or to be a visionary achiever somewhere else. In this regard, I am not rejecting the man in any way, but I am setting performance conditions that must meet to resolve the chaos he has created and for every person, including himself to prosper a wholesome manner. Why is this such a thoroughly unacceptable idea in the City of Atlanta? I wonder, I really do. It seems like a woeful juvenile place, and I’m talking about the well paid and conceited adults who appear to have very little skills of by-the-book business diplomacy associated with prosperity.
Top School
December 6th, 2012
2:43 am
oH GAWD! the typo…grammar police elite are out to prove their correctness on a blog again.
Same old APS -BS …and the cover-up of BUCKHEAD’S FINEST continues…
And the beat goes on…
And YES…IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH RACE RELATIONS.
Top School
December 6th, 2012
2:46 am
and YESS………mASTER BUCKHEAD… Davis is GONE WITH THE WIND…
Top School
December 6th, 2012
2:55 am
At least the new Principal at North Atlanta High School can rake in all those holiday bribes …gift cards…while all those Buckhead parents with less than appropriate ethics use their money to buy favors for their children. After all it is common practice in their corrupt businesses practices. Nothing new. Wall Street to the School House.
20/20
December 6th, 2012
8:34 am
Erroll Davis and his administrative team Karen Waldon and Steve Smith all need to go. They are all incompetent. Neither one of them seem to know what they are doing. The blind is leading the blind and Karen Waldon is just country and not ready at all for a bug city. She is so unpolished. Atlanta Public Schools deserves a competent permenant professional superintendent now. Davis and his team need to be dismissed immediately!!!
Private Citizen
December 6th, 2012
10:05 am
The difference between rich people and poor people is that a rich person does not lose your telephone number. For me, this is probably the #1 difference in dealing with rich people and poor people. Poor people tend to have a disorganised “hot mess” when it comes to things like phone numbers and email. This means it takes a week or a month to do something that should get done in a day. It is highly distracting to try and communicate with someone that has a high level of disorganisation with telephone and email.
skipper
December 6th, 2012
3:06 pm
@Top School,
Sounds like racism works both ways………..we see just what a wonderful job the present APS Board has done………..
Top School
December 7th, 2012
2:48 am
The minorities on the APS board and those turning a blind eye to the corruption are the sell outs for their position at the Buckhead table. They are the worst of racists…as they watch their own race suffer the consequences of speaking up without supporting their efforts to speak the truth.
It takes numbers to stand up…and most minorities on the board have their head shoved up Buckhead’s rear end trying to keep their political position and feeding their ego. These minorities made it in the Buckhead Plantation House. They are not willing to sacrifice their position to stand alone to do the RIGHT THING.
Most of the minorities in positions of power in Atlanta have been selling out for years. That’s why their children have a slot in the white Northside BUCKHEAD SCHOOLS. And they keep their mouth’s shut…in exchange.
As does … BEVERLY HALL…if she spoke the truth…it would EXPOSE the Buckhead business communities involvement in the corruption.
She keeps her mouth shut…as BUCKHEAD protects her in exchange.
Carlos
December 7th, 2012
12:07 pm
I’m concerned that comments that “Errol Davis is an anti-white racist” are appearing so frequently.
On the one hand, he seems to have made some administrative decisions concerning NAPS when he was angry that were premature, to say the least. On the other, he had much to be angry about. My guess is that he just “lost it” when he saw the graduation rate of African American students who did not live in Buckhead. Those low rates are unacceptable. The city cannot afford the long term human and economic consequences of school performance that bad.
What I’ve heard about NAHS is that, regardless of race, students from Buckhead were well treated. Students from elsewhere didn’t get the same resources. This may or may not be true; but we need some forensic work done to find out, followed by an evaluation of whether the school gets enough resources, period.
Let’s get back to finding and evaluating facts, rather than making inflammatory attacks. These are just not helpful.
Midtown parent
December 8th, 2012
7:45 am
Carlos is exactly right. We need a forensic analysis of what is happening at NAHS. Were administrators forcing students into various SLCs or were students and parents voluntarily choosing their SLC? Where did the students that were underperfroming come from – Sutton or one of the many underperforming middle schools on the southside? Reuben McDaniel’s simplistic approach is almost childish and shows a complete lack of understanding about what “institutional racism.” Just because he’s black doesn’t mean he is the sole arbiter of racism.
20/20
December 8th, 2012
10:21 am
Believe me Karen Waldon is just evil and she has no class. I can say Kathy Augustine was very articulate and could represent Dr. Hall on any given day. Karen Waldon couldn’t represent my puppy on any given day and if one has noticed she isn’t seen or heard from publicly either.
20/20
December 8th, 2012
10:42 am
If Davis stays more negatives will surface about his true lack of character and integrity as well as his leadership team cause the public in general has lost all trust and confidence in him as a leader. Notice how he appeared at the Finch Elementary news conference. He could bearly look into the camera for fear of telling another great lie while throwing another APS employee under the bus such as the maintence men. He could hardly talk about them not coming forward about services when he himself stood up at the NAHS gym and lied to everyone present that the state would take over the school. So let Davis stay and let the revelation games began. His life will be a living hell with the daily investigations. Let’s start now…..How many active lawsuits are in progress against Erroll Davis and APS by employees past and present that taxpayers will fund????? Can someone get that information?
Third World
December 8th, 2012
3:49 pm
Erroll Davis and has administrative team are untrustworthy and Ms. Meister is on point at this juncture and the rest of the board and community needs to get behind her to stand our ground. This Davis administration is looking a lot like the previous Hall administration with all of the mistreatment of staff and lying. Integrity and trust is very important and Davis and crew have neither at this point.Davis can return to retirement where he should have never left for a job as important and taxing as APS CEO. We need the search to begin immediately for a permenant professional superintendent. No more corporate rejects without education experience sent by Deal/Chamber of Commerce or Broad Foundation alumni. We also need some real caring professionals to prepare to seek school board vacant seats in 2014,
Tired!
December 8th, 2012
8:25 pm
Okay. I have been hesitant about saying anything on this blog for fear of retaliation from APS. But I have had it. I am a principal at APS and have had the worst experience at the past Principals’ Meeting, held December 6th. It was focused on the Pyramid of Interventions; a document dated from 2006 which still had Kathy Cox’s name on it, was used as the major portion of the training session. This session was led by Linda Anderson and John O’Connor (both hired by Karen Waldon, Deputy Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction). The training was PITIFUL; it did not have any new learning. In fact, we, as a district discussed RTI and the Pyramid of Interventions back in 2004. When principals asked REPEATEDLY for a formal DISTRICT-CREATED RTI plan, systematic processes, and clear guidelines for ensuring that we are all following the same protocols to support students in all schools…the response was “we will get there but first we have to know what you guys are doing”. So Anderson and O’Connor asked the principals to use valuable time away from their schools (keeping them from completing the state-mandated TKES evaluations) to read a 6 year old document and complete a pyramid of intervention chart in the auditorium of an APS middle school…yes, the auditorium… because you do great team work in an auditorium, right. Then after a series of ‘busy work’ activities (a KWL chart, think-pair-share, etc.), we had a break to recognize three retiring principals and one principal that took a job with TFA. We were entertained by a song…yes, a Christmas song (with some changed words) from an APS principal and then we ended with a slideshow presentation about leadership. I believe the intended reaction from the video was supposed to rouse enthusiasm and support…however, what was heard were crickets…nothing…not one clap, not one cheer…NOTHING. This speaks volumes!!!! Everyone in the room is tired…tired of being told to be quiet and take it…tired of hearing a lot of jargon from people that do not care. It is a sad day in APS. I am afraid that if the current administration remains it will spell catastrophe for our students!
Pride and Joy
December 9th, 2012
2:24 pm
Ivan, I would love to believe you. How do you know that “the cheaters are gone?”
How do you know that every teacher who cheater and everyone who allowed it is gone from that school?
Pride and Joy
December 9th, 2012
2:26 pm
Private Citizen, there is always the U.S. post office mail and a note home in the book bag. Communication does nto have to include phone calls and emails.
Molly
December 10th, 2012
4:25 am
The APS School board is expected to vote on Superintendent Errol Davis’ Contract this afternoon at 3:00. If you’d like to see a new Super for a Brighter Future, please sign this petition and share – http://www.change.org/petitions/aps-we-need-a-new-super-for-a-brighter-future-vote-for-better-leadership-and-let-superintendent-davis-contract-expire-without-renewal?utm_campaign=petition_created&utm_medium=email&utm_source=guides