If ever there is an issue illuminating the need for more independent charter schools and the right of citizens to self-determination in forming their own city school districts – this is it!

Urgent Action Request

Pursuant to state law (O.C.G.A. § 20-3-519) accreditation by SACS (AdvancEd) or The Georgia Accrediting Commission (GAC) satisfies the HOPE scholarship eligibility requirements.  Many high school communities are asking the Superintendent for permission allowing their school to pursue GAC accreditation with the provision that the school community will pay for it.  So, the budget impact to DeKalb is zero dollars.

Unfortunately, to date after several requests and meetings, the Superintendent has not agreed to allow high schools and their communities to move forward on this matter.  Sadly, the Board of Education has remained silent as well.  Surely our school system and board members can permit the pursuit of GAC accreditation by any school that wants to seek it and is willing to pay the cost.

Dual accreditation is not uncommon.  Columbia County has district accreditation from AdvancEd/SAC and each of their schools is also accredited through the GAC.  Henry County High School is accredited by both Advanc-ED/SACS and GAC.  Ditto for Lanier County High School, North Clayton High School and more.

If you agree with me that the Superintendent and School Board should allow schools to pursue GAC accreditation, please write an email telling them you support this.  We don’t have much time to make this a reality so please send your email as soon as possible.  I’ve listed the board’s emails below.  Feel free to copy me.  Drop me a comment to show your support as well.

CLICK HERE to Email the entire DCSS Board of Education as well as the superintendent.

Called Meeting (Committee of the Whole) 4/3/2013 @ 6:00 PM
Discussion Item: SACS Status
Presented by: Dr. Mark Elgart, CEO\President, AdvancED

The Work Session at 3pm contains the item E.1.a. – “Board Norms”. This item has no detailed documentation associated with it. Previously, the board was provided with a list of “board norms” that included the following ten items to which they are to commit themselves:

1. Adopting policies, providing stakeholder education, advocating the work of the strategic plan, and developing and allocating resources to support implementation of the strategic plan.
2. Setting the superintendent’s annual performance goals in alignment with the strategic plan.
3. Acting to support the superintendent to maintain district focus on work and priorities in the approved strategic plan and to avoid distractions by using the strategic planning cycle to collect stakeholder input.
4. Directing all stakeholders’ questions, input and discussion directly to the superintendent, providing the superintendent and fellow board members with proactive notice of issues or concerns.
5. Using board meetings to discuss board issues, current or upcoming, with the community, not email, social media, other channels.
6. Requesting information from the superintendent or actions by the superintendent by a request to the whole board, rather than individually from the superintendent or from staff or school personnel.
7. Interacting as a parent of a CSD student in ways that reflect the separation of parent and board member roles, informing the superintendent before contact with school personnel regarding parental concerns.
8. When expressing ideas, opinions and intentions to stakeholders, prefacing or clarifying the statements as personal expression, not representation of the board’s ideas, opinions or intentions.
9. Model excellence and innovation in education governance for stakeholders and peer boards.
10. In interactions in which stakeholders request or expect district actions and decisions, in addition to or unaligned with the strategic plan, educate stakeholders in the strategic planning process, as the process for providing input to the work of the district and its priorities.

I have several concerns about these “board norms”. In particular, I am concerned #5 will prohibit board members from communicating with citizens. Would this “norm” be acceptable for your state representative or senator? The majority of your tax dollars (property taxes plus more than 50% of state revenues) are spent on education. These “norms” seem to keep citizens separated from the governmental entity that decides how these monies are spent in DeKalb. That structure seems to benefit the administrative class to the detriment of transparency and accountability. Item #8 seems to contradict #5. If a board member expresses their opinion or intention, would that not be a violation of #5? It’s all food for though. I look forward to hearing the board’s discussion on these issues.

Real-time blog and polls below

DeKalb County School District Board Meetings
2:00pm Work Session
3:00pm Committee of the Whole – Discuss “Board Norms” (below)
5:45pm Community Meeting for Public Comments
7:00pm Business Meeting

1. Establishment of Dates & Times of DeKalb Board of Education Meetings for 2013
Passes 9-0

2. Affirmation of Board Policy, Descriptor Codes BH and BHA
3. Approval of First Amendment to the Employment Contract Between Michael L. Thurmond and the DeKalb County Board of Education
4. Receipt of Findings and Consideration of the Recommendation of the Tribunal in Personnel Case #13-01
5. AMENDMENT TO THE BYLAWS & POLICIES: FIRST READING
a. Amendment to the Bylaws & Policies: Board Policy GAG, Staff Conflict of Interest
Passed 9-0

G. CONSET AGENDA
1. Approval of Minutes
2. Approval of Monthly Financial Report
3. Approval of Human Resources Monthly Report
4. Approval of 2013-2014 School Calendar
5. Ground Lease Agreement with DBOE and GLOBE Academy
6. District-Wide Telecommunications Services (Year 2 of 5)
7. Cellular Carrier Annual Contract
8. Annual Fiber Maintenance Renewal
9. Redan High School Interior Renovations and Storage Facility Contract Award Approval
10. Southwest DeKalb High School Renovations & Capital Renewal A/E Design Firm Approval
11. DeKalb Parks and Recreation 2013 Summer Feeding Program Agreement

I’ve received several requests for my recent column in the Reporter.
From: Reporter Newspapers
By: Nancy Jester

Pursuant to a recommendation from the State Board of Education, the Governor suspended the DeKalb Board of Education and appointed new board members. These events were triggered by the district’s accreditation being downgraded to the status of “probation” by AdvancED (the parent company of the regional accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)) and Senate Bill 84 passed in 2010.

As I told the State Board, I believe DeKalb has three deficits: credibility, academic and financial. Shortly after coming onto the Board in January 2011, I determined budgeting practices were flawed. I publicly discussed my concerns at every stated board meeting during the financial report. I gave spreadsheets to fellow board members and officials showing them the growing financial problem. Until the most recent SACS report, in December 2012, the accreditor (SACS) never mentioned the financial problems. I am the first to discover and state these problems publicly. In my email newsletter of May 20, 2012, Budget And SPLOST Updates, I stated: “For the past year, I have publicly inquired about, and expressed my frustration with, many line items that were significantly over budget. Their consistent variances from the budget suggested that these items were not properly budgeted for years. Still other discretionary items were also over-budget because of a lack of fiscal restraint. These factors, along with a $15 million increase in benefit costs from the state, and falling property tax revenue have resulted in DCSD starting the budgeting process assuming a $73.8 million budget deficit.” I also stated the budget was “a document based on deception”. The SACS Special Review Visit Report contains my research regarding the budget. Anyone can access my blog and see the research I’ve posted. There are a number of other financial concerns I have noted but were not touched upon in the SACS report.

What we have seen with the budget is a symptom of the larger problem: DeKalb has not invested in the classroom. In November 2012, I published a “Salary Analysis From FY2008 – FY2013” that showed every salary category declined except “General Administration”; these salaries increased over 14%. The budgeting practices have led to the academic and credibility deficits. Parents and teachers see increased class size, more furlough days and fewer resources. These developments seem incongruent with having the highest millage rate in the metro area at 23.98 mils. This, along with the opacity of the district and burdensome, often punitive, centralized bureaucratic decision-making, have created the credibility deficit the district faces today.

Our academic deficit is the result of the financial and credibility deficits. The district lost its focus on the classroom. You can see the evidence of this in the drivers of the financial and credibility deficits. Now that AdvancED and the State have recognized what many of us have seen for years, will the system be able to heal itself? Only time will tell. I certainly hope so. I was one vote on a board that did not, as a whole, want to change things. Will the new board, State and AdvancED be able to move the district in the right direction? Replacing the board was one step but it is the administration that has operational control. This insular group has shown little appetite for adjusting their methods. The administration is the driver, while the board is the map. Are the drivers going to stay on the road map? What type of vehicle will they put the district in? Will it be the same vehicle for every school regardless of their needs or accomplishments? Will the administration continue to get the largest luxury vehicle?

I will be writing a series on changes that Georgia must embrace if we are to make it out of the bottom third nationally on achievement measures. Stay tuned for those. It was an honor to serve you on the board. I am happy knowing that my research illuminated the financial problems in our system. I look forward to continuing to serve you in different ways. As always, I remain an advocate for kids and taxpayers.

The Teaching Firm
By: Nancy Jester

Much of the “education reform” talk we hear today gets discussed with the tacit assumption of pitting one group against another. The framework often boils down to parents wanting a better education for their children versus teachers who baulk at increased accountability measures that judge the quality of their teaching and represent a threat to their job security and growth. I reject this paradigm.

The architects and beneficiaries of this faux war are the educational bureaucrats. We now have more administrator than teachers in 21 states, including Georgia. Discussions about accountability are really discussions about creating more jobs for them. Anytime you add another bureaucrat, the classroom teacher is burdened. The growth of these bureaucrats has degraded the teaching profession and created the hostile climate we witness today. Bureaucrats sell parents on “accountability” by making them believe some new program, test, measurement or evaluation system will magically turn their child’s classroom experience into a, heretofore unseen, utopia; opening up educational opportunities previously unattainable. We are just one magic idea away from curing what ails education today. I’m sure some bureaucrats even believe this. Sadly, they burden the teacher, charge the taxpayer and generate false hope in parents, all while collecting six-figure salaries, stretching their bureaucratic tentacles and creating growth in government sector jobs. Well played.

I’m not a Pollyanna. Not all teachers are equal. Some are more effective than others. Some teachers are better-suited for the reserved child; while others do better with gregarious, talkative children. I’m keenly aware some people have made it into the classroom that have no business being there. But I’m also aware that somewhere, a bureaucrat hired them and has allowed them to stay. I also know not every parent is an asset to their child’s teacher. Some parents are incredulous when their child doesn’t get a good grade. There are helicopter parents. There are parents that never show-up at all. And there’s no bureaucracy to evaluate and fix those parenting foibles for teachers.

Parents and teachers should unite behind the idea that they aren’t on opposite sides. Parents, children and teachers are pawns on the chessboard of educational bureaucrats. What’s the alternative? Well, lawyers work at law firms, CPAs work at accounting firms and they manage themselves. Teachers should work at teaching firms and be expected to do the same.

When a lawyer or a CPA begins their work, they practice their profession and do so throughout their career. Yes, they may take an off-ramp, but many work in professional firms from the beginning to the end of their careers. They develop their reputations and their specialized skill set. They may become a partner within their firm. Their firm may also specialize in a particular market segment.

I believe we need to see schools as teaching firms. Just as other professionals manage their “firms”, so should teachers. The Principal should be the managing partner of the firm. Generally the managing partner is someone who has been successful at their career and is seen as an asset to the partners, associates and clients of the firm. The partners of the teaching firm would work with the principal in managing budgets, hiring and planning. Each teaching firm would receive its per pupil funds and the partners could determine their own pay structure and deployment of resources. Of course, they would be responsible for complying with all legal requirements. You could allow schools to specialize in areas. Teachers could recognize their talents with different types of learners and specialize within the firm. Right now, we have no organized way to maximize the talents of our teachers. We expect them to be all things to all people. That’s an unrealistic approach.

The parent compliment to the idea of the teaching firm would be the freedom to choose the teaching firm that works best for them. If parents are allowed to find the best fit for their child, teachers and their firms are freed up to embrace the professional specialization and techniques in which they excel.

The bureaucrats are able to keep control and grow their budgets by creating fear, mistrust and false hope. When teachers and parents realize they are both prisoners in the same bureaucratic gulag, then we’ll have a true reformation. The keys to unlocking the prison gates are Teaching Firms and School Choice.

Live blog and polls below.
Commentary on board discussion on DSW

DeKalb County School District
Business Meeting 3/20/2013 @ 6:00 PM
Meeting Agenda

1. Approval of Minutes

2. Approval of Financial Monthly Report
Report passes 9-0

3. Approval of Human Resources Monthly Board Report
Report passed with no discussions and no questions. 9-0

4. SPLOST IV Acquisition of Support Service Vehicles
Report passes 9-0

5. Approval of Resolution to Phase Out Twelve Instructional Facilities
Report passes 9-0

6. Approval of Plan to Officer Two Surplus Properties for Lease or Sale
Report passes 9-0

7. Approval to Declare 10 Properties as Surplus
Report passes 9-0

8. Dunwoody High School Parking Lot Repair and Repaving Contract Award Approval
Report passes 9-0

9. District Wide Moving Services RFP# 752-13001 Approval
Report passes 9-0

10. System-Wide Imaging Solution Contract Extension Approval
Report passes 9-0

11. Approval of Portable Classroom Lease Extension and Purchase – Williams Scotsman
Report passes 8-1 with Mayfield voting ‘No’

12. Modular Classroom – ModSpace Lease Extension Approval
Report passes 9-0

13. Termination of the DeKalb County School District’s status as a plaintiff in The DeKalb County School District vs. The Georgia State Board of Education

I am writing today to express my gratitude and sincere thanks for the opportunity to serve you during the last two years. Please know how much I appreciate your supportive words, calls and prayers. I am proud of the work I did to expose the deceptive budgeting practices and bring a parent’s perspective to the board.

In the upcoming weeks, I’ll be blogging about various educational issues, legislation and events of importance to DeKalb and our state. We have so much work to do together. As always, I remain steadfastly committed to being an advocate for children and taxpayers.

I look forward to seeing new faces on the DeKalb Board. I hope the new board and administrative team will reflect on what I said at our February board meeting about reforming our district. My remarks are available on my blog. http://whatsupwiththat.nancyjester.com/2013/02/12/308/

For clarity, I wanted to resign from the board in advance of the hearing in February, but refrained from doing so because of the pending court case. If the ruling had gone the other way, the remaining board members would have remained on the board and they would select my successor. I wanted to prevent that. I am more comfortable with the Governor and his team selecting my replacement. Additionally, it is a matter of public record that I voted “no” on February 1st, to the hiring of the attorney to pursue the board’s legal challenges in the first place. I did not support in any way, the filing of legal action and I expressed my opposition in board meetings. Because the court has vacated their previous stay, the board members subject to the Governor’s executive order are now, no longer on the board. Once the Governor appoints new members, the board will have a quorum and be able to meet. At that point, the board will be able to make decisions regarding the use of district resources.

I hope that the next chapter for DeKalb schools brings about a reformation that begins to fulfill our obligation to our children. I hope this next chapter offers the taxpayers a product worthy of their investment. Thank you again for allowing me to serve you. I look forward to working with you to promote ideas and strategies that will empower parents and teachers and improve the educational lives of children.

Regular Meeting Schedule
November 15, 2012 – November 14, 2014 Term

* Sam Moss Service Center is located at 1780 Montreal Road, Tucker, Georgia 30084.
** November 15, 2012 meeting was held from 5:30 PM until 7:00 PM at Ale.
*** Transition meeting consisting of currently-appointed and newly-appointed committee members.

Every month a Board member is asked to deliver inspirational remarks to start the meeting.  Here are mine from last night.

I want to welcome Mr. Thurmond to his first board meeting as our interim superintendent.  You have come to us in tumultuous times.  On behalf of all the children and taxpayers in DeKalb, I wish you much success.

I shared with the State Board of Education, on my blog, and now I share with you –  We have three deficits:
1.  Academic achievement
2.  Credibility
3.  Financial

Please seriously examine and address these deficits.  Focus on returning competence and skills as the only credentials for hiring.  Please make every decision in the best interest of kids and taxpayers.  This sounds simple.  But it often gets confused when the board talks about “things”.  Remember, every dollar spent on something beyond the classroom teacher and other staff directly engaged with children in a classroom, is a dollar not invested in education.  Things don’t teach children.  Programs don’t teach children.  Scripts do not teach children.  Good teachers teach children.  This is especially important for our most impoverished communities.  Nothing can replace the gentle hand of a teacher reading and rereading a passage in a book and encouraging a child to think beyond herself, beyond today and imagine the possibilities of a full future.

Please communicate with the public.  Please don’t let that be one-sided.

Please watch the budget like a hawk.  I will.

Meet every principal and empower them.  Tell them to tell you when they face a bureaucratic obstacle.  Then, remove it for them.  Principals are your CEOs; your field generals.

Empower each school community.  Return discernment to our system.  Don’t let heavy-handed, onerous, administrative regulations put up a wall between the school and the community of parents.  Give principals, indeed every employee, the power to do what is in the best interests of children on the spot.  Support them.

–Nancy