Former Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond will be DeKalb interim chief. “Guts, vision and passion,” says Roy Barnes.
DeKalb Schools just issued a statement announcing that former Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond will be appointed interim superintendent
Former Gov. Roy Barnes, at the AJC today for a meeting with reporters, praised Thurmond, with whom he worked for years in state government.
“Michael Thurmond is one of the most inspirational speakers I’ve ever heard. If DeKalb can be brought over with guts, vision and passion, he can do it. For an interim to kind of stir things up, Michael would be an excellent choice,” said Barnes. (More later on Barnes’ view of where Georgia is on education issues.)
Michael Thurmond (AJC photo)
Here is the official DeKalb statement:
“We are delighted Mr. Thurmond has agreed to serve as our interim superintendent,” said Board Chairman Eugene Walker. “Our school district is facing significant challenges, and we need a leader with a strong record of making fundamental changes in large, complex organizations. Throughout our state, you’ll find almost universal agreement that Michael Thurmond has consistently demonstrated those abilities.”
“The board is committed to working with Mr. Thurmond,” said Jim McMahan, vice-chair of the DeKalb board. “Under his leadership, we will work to ensure that every child in DeKalb has equal access to a quality education.”
“I welcome the opportunity to serve the 99,000 students of the DeKalb County Schools,” said Mr. Thurmond. “By all of us coming together across our county – parents, employees, citizens and businesses North and South – there’s no limit to what we will accomplish for our schoolchildren.”
Thurmond is credited with transforming two unwieldy state agencies, first as director of the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) and then as commissioner of the Georgia Department of Labor. At DFCS, Thurmond instituted a shift away from a culture of dependency for welfare recipients to a new focus on employment, job-training and personal responsibility. The Department of Labor underwent a similar change under his leadership, from a department that administered jobless benefits into a statewide resource for Georgians seeking career opportunities and training at newly created Career Centers throughout the state.
“We think that fundamental change is what our parents and stakeholders are demanding,” Dr. Walker said. “We are confident that Michael Thurmond is the leader with the track record and the ability to improve education for all of our schoolchildren.”
–from Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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229 comments Add your comment
bootney farnsworth
February 10th, 2013
6:40 pm
Patton had guts, vision, and passion.
got a lot of people killed unnecessarily.
his troops often said: our blood, his guts.
bu2
February 10th, 2013
6:46 pm
@Concerned
I’ve heard the same rumors from system employees, but that doesn’t mean its true. All it takes is one person hearing part of a story and it gets everywhere. I have no opinion on whether it is true or not. It would be nice to know what the board considers important in such a major decision. But again, they often have to do these sort of keep quiet agreements to settle these things.
Concernedmom30329
February 10th, 2013
7:19 pm
Mr. Edwards
Would you support your board members resigning? Have you asked them to do so?
Call Me Missouri
February 10th, 2013
7:20 pm
@mountain man: I agree with you. If the Board of Miseducation takes the SBOE to court on the taxpayer dime then SACS should revoke accreditation. All these legal fees for former superintendents (and possibly Atkinson if this text message fiasco doesn’t go away) are STEALING from our children! They have to know it. They just don’t care about the students. It is all about THEM! The students have so little left now. Have the board members seen the science labs in our schools? The lack of functional labs that enrich science instruction is shocking. Who the heck takes chemistry without going in the lab to conduct experiments? DCSD students that’s who. Did you have your own frog or cat or fetal pig in high school to dissect in biology lab? I did when I was in high school, but my child did not. If a student is lucky, he or she will WATCH their teacher do the dissection. Have you talked to parents of former DCSD students taking science classes in college? The kids feel like fish out of water because they have so litte, yet necessary and practical lab experience. Field trips? What are those? Heaven help the children whose parents cannot afford trips to the High Museum, the ballet or orchestra, the Bodies Exhibit, Fernbank, the Georgia Aquarium, or even the World of Coke. Trips that provide exposure to science and the arts and enhance classroom learning and stimulate intellectual curiosity.
I just wonder, what do these people see when they look at themselves. Certainly not what is there. I surely hope Mike Thurmond (who was shielding SCW from questioning), Mark Elgart, Governor Deal, and the SBOE saw that Fox 5 report on the two “Sleeping Beauties,” and then watched as Walker denied that he was sleeping. That is what he does best: deny, deny, deny and then blame the parents and employees. I keep wondering when he will get around to blaming the students for being a drain on the budget.
dekalbite@GrD
February 10th, 2013
8:17 pm
“You allow Dekalbite to copy her blog and post on yours, with her ranting and spewing. She (Dekalbite) allows no one to post opposing views on her blog.”
LOL
I don’t even know who runs the DSW2 blog. My understanding is that it is several moderators and that seems logical given that moderator comments are sometimes conflicting voices.
I post data and cite credible sources. If you do not agree with the data or data analysis, then you should post data and cite the credible sources from which you obtained the data. That’s why I cite the sources – so other readers/commenters can view the data and form their own opinions as to my data analysis.
Readers and commenters deserve to see as much data as possible and view the sources of the data so they can make up their own minds based on facts rather than opinion.
I would not have the inclination or time to run a blog. I have had posts deleted from DSW2 by moderators who do not agree with my opinion. Since it is their blog and they take the time to run it (unpaid BTW), it’s cool with me. The blog belongs to the moderator/owner.
Patty
February 10th, 2013
8:56 pm
They are doing the same thing in Dekalb that they did in Clayton County. Please fire the whole school board before it’s to late.
Jolie
February 10th, 2013
9:46 pm
I predict a mass exodus by teachers especially if DeKalb does not start contributing to the retirement fund again; does not restore teacher pay; continues to cut pay and have furlough days. DeKalb has not giving teachers any incentive to stay in DeKalb.
TM
February 10th, 2013
10:18 pm
I think the top three problems facing DCSS are issues of 1) credibility, 2) accountability, and 3) direction. The credibility issue flows from improvements in #2 and #3. I hope and believe Mr. Thurmond’s hiring is a credible first step to begin addressing the credibility gap.
To address these I suggest that Mr. Thurmond needs to quickly develop and implement robust, traceable accountability system. The board needs a vision plan to pursue the DCSS mission. The two need to develop a joint strategic plan to achieve the vision. Mr. Thurmond then needs to develop a measurable operations/ business plan to make the strategy operational. The board needs a reporting plan to frequently measure superintendent achievement of goals and milestones in order to identify progress and the need for additional support.
Robust, verifiable accountability practices with possible punitive measures for gross negligence, misleading, or fraudulent staff reports could allay board concerns about the credibility of staff reports, mitigate interference in operations, and address some of SACS concerns. Additionally, it could better enable DCSS to identify and manage operational and financial management issues. It would also create vehicles to give tax payers and SACS some assurance that decision are more reliably traceable, and thus lead to greater board accountability.
I believe the biggest opportunity facing the system is a board led plan to achieve a common vision to fulfill the DCSS mission and set direction. This would drive the strategic plan and a supporting, measurable operations plan for academic and financial performance.
I believe this approach would better establish board priorities, set tone for conduct and governance, and give cleared directions to interim and future superintendents. It would better focus the board, minimize turf battles, and provide for progressive guidelines and tracks of accountability for the board and superintendents. Without a board level plan to guide Mr. Thurmond’s efforts, I believe there is continued risk of unaligned and uneven board, superintendent, and school system performance, and undermined community support.
whatever
February 10th, 2013
11:51 pm
D=the calendar that was implemented by Atkinson’s calendar crew may be the one you voted for, so what. What the other poster was saying was the board had already approved a calendar for next year, last school year. They approved two years of calendars at one time. This calendar started a week later, etc. So yes, there was a calendar already in place when she came in. She decided that the summer slide could be fixed just by shortening summer this year by a week/two. Hogwash, stupid and completely without merit. She just wanted what she wanted and that was what was gonna happen.
Private Citizen
February 11th, 2013
6:19 am
prof, the dreaded Wikipedia says that Fanon wrote the first work, the one Paulo is all worked up about, in Lyon. It is basically a college thesis, maybe that explains the edgy title. The Wretched of the Earth was written at the end of his life when he had leukemia. Fun times for Fanon.
question: pronunciation of his last name, accent on the first syllable or the second (with a proper French syllabic fall / grunt)?
Private Citizen
February 11th, 2013
6:34 am
The great irony, got to love a guy who goes to school in Lyon (the best agriculture / food region) to write about French oppression, kind of like 20 year old Mitt Romney going to the top post in Bordeaux (the wealthiest region) to do his “missionary” work.
And that, folks, is what Frantz Fanon has in common with Mitt Romney.
Private Citizen
February 11th, 2013
6:54 am
bootney, Patton was killed because he had too much bandwidth / power and went against the system (you’re welcome to read up on this and get the facts) and then after his death Hollywood used his name and person and made a profitable propaganda movie starring George C. Scott. Sort of the one-two-three punch for Patton, wind him up and use him for patriotic service, eliminate him, and then use his notoriety as a commodity. Oh, yes, good times for General Patton, not unlike David Kelly, and then a Parlimentarian legally closed the case, sealed the file, on investigation countering the dopey magic-story that “he went into the woods and killed himself” even though the evidence says otherwise. Well, a decade later his family sued to open the case. Nice, huh, when a politician can seal a case on a hit job on a scientist. (And this, my friend, is why it is a good idea to not have clearances. The minutes you violate them, you’re a target.). Oh and what about the gleeful and oh so serious and popular Ms. Clinton and Mr. President Peace Prize doing a contracted murder on Mr. bin Laden and then dumping the body in the sea exactly like a mafia hit job? Not going to be any testimony now, is there? Not going to be any record of Q & A, when due process is ignored. And let’s not forget the true believer Pat Tillman who actually wanted to get bin Laden, who no one else wanted to get, especially anyone official, and then a bunch of special forces guys showed up and killed Tillman and then left, quick as making a pancake on a griddle, op done, what’s next? move on. Message being: leave the political object Mr. bin Laden alone, that is until a decade later, a new president who wants a little credibility boost so he goes and finishes off the patsy, who was uninvolved to begin with and said as much. Someone online from far away commented the United States has a history of attacking itself.
What were you saying about “Patton?” Hey if you think Patton got a lot of his soldiers killed, look into the human price paid by Russia when they defeated the Germans in WW2. They do not (emphasis) teach this in US schools, it would go counter to the US WW2 war department propaganda films (there were many).
bootney farnsworth
February 11th, 2013
9:24 am
Patton died in a car wreck. he isn’t rooming with Jim Morrision, Elvis, and the 2nd gunman.
the point is simply this: Patton had an out of control ego and pushed ahead recklessly, getting a lot of soldiers killed needlessly. Ike had to intercede twice to save Patton’s stars. there was a reason he was not included in D-Day plans – he couldn’t be trusted to act in a matter which wouldn’t jepordize others.
blood , buts, vision and passion are easily negated by a lack of basic honesty and common sense.
so when King Roy starts invoking these traits -especially considering his term in office – it should make every sane Georgian do a major double take.
flipper
February 11th, 2013
11:51 am
Haha… when I first glanced at the title I thought it said, “Guns, Vision and Passion.” Guess I need more coffee.
Private Citizen
February 11th, 2013
11:51 am
SO bootney, you’re going to tell me that a guy can who lead a battalion through WW2 does not know how to drive a truck on his own military base? And after laying in a hospital bed for three days, presto! (finger slid across the throat, like Latino gang sign. PS You should read-up on his activities, assignment, and his loud-mouth immediately after the war. He was in direct disagreement with big power and he was getting pretty vocal about it. Let’s just say that his idea of playing along was about like Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France. Patton had a point, the US was commanding him to basically abuse the locals and peasants post war and he said, “Huh? That’s not right, that’s not what I signed up for.” Yes, they didn’t put that in “the movie” did they? And they didn’t ask him if they use his person to make a super-patriot for profit propaganda movie, now did they?
Prof
February 11th, 2013
12:40 pm
@ Private Citizen. Fanon (accent on the second syllable because it’s a French name) may have written “Black Skins, White Masks” as a college thesis, but he certainly rewrote it substantially before he published it in 1952. Born in the French Caribbean colony of Martinique, he was prominent in the Algerian Freedom Movement of the 1950s; and “Black Skins” really was a sort of manifesto of anti-colonialism. I can see why “Paolo was all worked up about it.” I can also see the sly relevance of Paolo’s allusion to the present situation of the DeKalb Public Schools, and even possibly the emergence of Thurmond.
Private Citizen
February 11th, 2013
1:29 pm
Prof, I look forward to reading the work. I also bought / ordered a copy of The Wretched of the Earth. I’m due for a new author / reading interest. I welcome the information, will follow-up with you / Paulo re: the subtle relevance to the Dekalb events.
On a different note, I see this book, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Jacobins , said revolt credited with being the blueprint used by other revolts after it. However, to try and juxtapose this with Dekalb County leaves me with an abstract comical feeling. The idea of the playahs in Dekalb County having the moral seriousness of revolt to better themselves just does not seem to fit the modern era of NFL and QuickTrip Disneyesque wall of soda fountain.
Hey, thank you for the tutorial. The price is right. (or is it, considering time investment?)
Private Citizen
February 11th, 2013
1:32 pm
repost:
Prof, I look forward to reading the work. I also bought / ordered a copy of The Wretched of the Earth. I’m due for a new author / reading interest. I welcome the information, will follow-up with you / Paulo re: the subtle relevance to the Dekalb events.
On a different note, I see this book, “The Black Jacobins” about Haitian revolution against the French, said revolt credited with being the blueprint used by other revolts after it. -Looks like it may be a good read. However, to try and juxtapose this with Dekalb County leaves me with an abstract comical feeling. The idea of the playahs in Dekalb County having the moral seriousness of revolt just does not seem to fit the modern era of NFL and QuickTrip Disneyesque wall of soda fountain.
Hey, thank you for the tutorial. The price is right. (or is it, considering time investment?)
d
February 11th, 2013
2:08 pm
@whatever – Actually, the board approved a calendar for 11-12 and 12-13, but until the most recent calendar, nothing had been approved for 13-14. There was a big uproar because she did propose changing 12-13 before this school year started (back in April, I believe), but that was quickly squashed. Please go back and check board minutes and agendas.
Angela
February 11th, 2013
2:55 pm
@Not Johnny Brown,
You made some great request and points. However, Teachers are NOT charity workers. Well, all work for pay. If this county can still shell out money to those who just come in for a second to do nothing, surely they can give us back at least 10-15% of our pay.
Where is all of this new found money coming from? We are hiring new people at a quarter of a million and still paying those who are gone. Where is this money for us. We the teachers are the real backbone. As for academic growth as the old saying goes “you are now getting what you are paying teachers to do.” AGAIN, we are NOT charity workers.
Prof
February 11th, 2013
4:15 pm
@ Private Citizen. The point of Fanon’s book is clear enough–the black colonized try to follow the culture of their white colonizer due to their inferiority complex instilled by the colonizer–in its relevance to the DeKalb schools. Not so sure that James’ book about the bloody Haitian Revolution works so well. Though it might be instructive about what can happen when the truly poor and outcast are pushed against the wall.
Private Citizen
February 11th, 2013
4:44 pm
Prof, Makes me think of Stockholm syndrone, when the victim falls in love with their kidnapper / oppressor. That’s the thing about these authority systems, they take everything away from like sucking the life force from you, and then promises, promises, and then leave you nothing, an empty shell.
A doctor once made a joke to me about paying taxes in the US and the lack of services in return, doctor said, “Yes, just keeping paying… (the future services are a promise not yet delivered)… yes, just keep payin’ (smile).” Doctor lives in a million.5 house with private security at the neighborhood gate.
___________
from the other thread: without economic conditions, surely the state will followthrough with removing health insurance supplementing from TRS. I guess that means teacher health insurance policy cost will be supplemented and then minute they stop / retire, game over on that, full price in the open market. The health coverage thing is a mess. Obama is on camera saying, “Health coverage? Fixed.” Meanwhile, they’re saying Obamacare will cost, I forget, way over what most people can pay, $20k/household annual or something. It’s a mess mess mess.
Private Citizen
February 11th, 2013
4:46 pm
‘Looking forward to the Fanon works.
Prof
February 11th, 2013
5:41 pm
@ Private Citizen. Great. No MOOCs here, though.
GrD
February 11th, 2013
7:23 pm
GrD@Dekalbite…..still your emotional slanted spew. Funny you left out Fernbank Science Center. Post their positions and salaries and how they still have their jobs while field trips to Fernbank Science Center have been nixed.
GrD
February 11th, 2013
7:38 pm
The various so called paleontologists, ornithologist, and other “research scientists”, they too with their $100K plus salaries. Operating cost – about $2 million plus, seeing no students and sporadic, once a semester trip to a few schools. The only schools benefit are private schools in the Dekalb because they have the funds/buses.
Private Citizen
February 12th, 2013
6:54 am
GrD, Do you mean to say that in metropolitan Atlanta, they do not take government schools students to see the symphony, as well?
longterm
February 12th, 2013
9:53 am
great choice. hope he sticks. how many superintendents are we already footing the bill for. the rest of the board needs to go.
Dekalbite@GrD
February 13th, 2013
4:02 am
“Funny you left out Fernbank Science Center. Post their positions and salaries and how they still have their jobs while field trips to Fernbank Science Center have been nixed”
I totally agree. Fernbank Science Center needs to stop being funded by DCSS. DeKalb students do not have any funded field trips there so the remaining 20 teachers are Lways in the schools. Yet they left in place 20 non teaching support staff to do – what? Who do they support. – certainly not the teachers and students since so few come to Fernbank. That’s still two or is three million that is being spent n a center that really is not a center anymore.