To read the full text from SACS, The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, see below.
SACS Public Report on DeKalb County School System, 2012, Probation
Commentary Regarding the SAC Report: The commentary below is provided after analysis of the public report issued by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) regarding the DeKalb County School System by Get the Cell Out - Atlanta.
Cover Notes (page 1): Note this report covers a three-day, pre-announced observation window, not a six-month investigation as reported by the media. So, the bad behavior by the board was done while knowing SACS was watching. That could mean they are normally even worse, or it could mean the offenses described in the report were intentionally committed or purposefully "set up" for the purpose of working with SACS to turn the system over to the state.
RED FLAG: Three days of observation cannot possibly be enough evidence to point to 10 years of incompetence. What others measures were used to determine that the Probation status was warranted besides interviews with people who work for the system? Why was so much emphasis given to obtaining the feedback of those who are in power instead of those who filed the complaints?
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| Privatizing our educational system - it's all about the money. |
page 2 notes: Is the list provided in order of importance? Were the complaints pigeon-holed to fit into the pre-existing broader categories? Or were the categories created as a natural outcome of summarizing the nature of complaints? Quality research must not go into an analysis trying to fit the customer's feedback into categories already pre-determined as they are often not exact matches and the result can be a misrepresentation of the results and, even worse, a misunderstanding by those in power. If those in power are given a false representation of the problems, the result could be poor decisions or actions based on incorrect assumptions.
What was the specific nature of the referenced 50 complaints? Over what time frame were these complaints made? Have complaints in general trended up or down? Was there a key event that triggered this particular group of complaints? Were the items compared to complaints that have been made in the past? Were they consistent or inconsistent with other time periods when similar events have taken place?
Basically there is not enough of a connection between WHY they came for a VISIT and WHAT they actually investigated while they were here. In other words, it appears that SACS received a series of complaints from a variety of sources and determined these complaints warranted a site visit. However, once on site they interviewed a series of high level administrators as well as the board and Superintendent and just a few actual stakeholders outside the system itself. These individuals are not identified as the same 50 who lodged the earlier mentioned complaints. Therefore, by interviewing a separate group of people, with most of them being from one particular arm of the overall system, that the complaints which led to the Probation are not the same ones that triggered the site visit.
Therefore, we are still left wondering if the initial 50 complaints were ever checked out, verified and determined to be accurate or inaccurate. We do not know if the resulting Probation and any actions that might be taken to correct the issues in the report will actually be helpful at all in addressing the initial 50 complaints, or if they will simply make life easier for the administrators who appeared to be the main group permitted to tell their side of whatever story they chose to talk about.
RED FLAG: There is a disturbingly loose connection, at best, between the actual, formal complaints made by parents and other stakeholders in education and the subject matter that was covered through an interview and observation process conducted by SACS. Worse than that, the majority of the interviews were with the staff who obviously would have good reason to point fingers at the board for a variety of complaints, but that hardly gets to the heart of any of the original issues. We are only reading a report about the complaints of 50 people who may or may not have had any actual complaints until they were called into a meeting and then, basically, told to complain.
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page 3: Reference is made to "numerous interviews" and then later "extensive interviews." Are these the same 50 interviews conducted during the visit? If so, then
44 of the 50 interviews were with the Administration and Board that is accused of the wrongdoing and
only 6 interviews were conducted of anyone who might have an actual grievance with these people.
RED FLAG: Yes, it is true that several board members complained to SACS about each other, the process and the Administration, but they are only a small number compared to the number of complaints that have supposedly been lodged by others who are actual "end users" or "consumers" of the system. That sounds like a lot of time listening to excuses, but no real time investigating the depth and breath of the complaints. The number "50" may be used in a manner that is somewhat confusing and should be verified before any action is taken based on this report alone. The 50 initial complaints may not be the same 50 people who were interviewed and therefore the report is misleading about the true nature of actual, lodged complaints versus ones that were specifically solicited by the interview taker.
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page 4 notes: Then where can the board, the administration, the voters and anyone else who does not understand the role of the school board go to read a description? If the elected officials themselves do not understand their roles, then how can we expect them to be able to find solutions to this problem?
Board members telling the school staff what to do... the problem is that the way that anyone (board, staff, administration, etc.) handles a concerned parent or problem with a child is to recommend a transfer. We have more transfers than any other district in the entire state! The board may not know any other way to address a parent's concern than to help them get their child into a school somewhere else that doesn't seem to have that problem. They are taking the easy way out by asking for a transfer rather than taking the harder way which is demanding an explanation for the bad behavior that led to the parent complaint in the first place. Problems are consistently swept under the rug. If the board member cannot help, the only steps left are a public appeal to the entire board, the media or a lawsuit. SACS is not analyzing the entire process to determine if the "proper channels" actually work or if they have been followed already with little or no results.
RED FLAG: The report is focused on the actions of the board and therefore does not analyze how the action or failure to act by other parts of the system might be affecting the board's behavior. The board is an elected body and therefore they must be responsive to their constituents. They cannot ignore the fact that they are elected by the people. They are a part of a failing system. To analyze only one part is not an effective way to find a solution. It is like taking a car apart because it will not run, fixing the brakes and then putting it back together and being shocked when it still cannot run. The brakes may have been shot, yes, but they are not the reason the car cannot run properly. It takes a whole system analysis to determine why it isn't working and there are often many different things that could be wrong and need to be fixed.
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page 5 notes: What is the chain of command? Why does SACS understand it, but no one else seems to know what it is? What role does the PTA, the parent councils or the booster clubs play in all of this?
Clearly there are so many promises being made to so many groups that it has reached the point where it is impossible to please all parties, yet somehow the squeaky wheels still get the grease. So this system will continue.
In fact, there are often such absurdly objectionable ideas placed before the board on a regular basis that it is part of the process for one community to be so outraged that they drown out the concerns of a different community that is actually the real target for the outrageous behavior.
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page 6 notes: Re: Reports: Asking for a report in order to oversee the financial aspects of the operations is a very common part of being on the board for any organization and should be something that the staff should expect to routinely comply with.
They are not asking for the data to be manipulated or changed in any way, just simple spreadsheets that report what should already be in the database.
If the fields do not exist, that might be more time consuming because the fields would have to be added, but simple reports should not be considered micromanaging and would not be needed if there were no concerns about missing funds.
Re: Textbook funds: Exactly how old are these "old" textbooks? How many years in a row have we included textbooks in the budget and yet ended up using the same old ones? Why haven't any of the parents, PTAs or teachers ever complained about the age of the books? Why haven't the parents been asked to cover the cost of a textbook his/her child destroyed, or why haven't we started collecting deposits for the books that are non-refundable if the book needs to be replaced? Why does it take a SACS investigation to uncover this issue? How many schools were investigated? Were any schools found to have new books in great condition?
If we are talking about years and years of not buying textbooks, then there are others who should be investigated besides the current Superintendent and board. If we are talking about books that are only a year or two old, then what the heck are these kids doing with their books that they are literally being returned in such terrible condition that they must be glued back together?
And, if the students in DeKalb cannot take care of their books, why are we pushing for e-books, when a computer is more expensive, can break easily and, unlike books, a computer cannot be glued back together.
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page 7 notes: And this is a process that continues on down the line... A system of bullies run amuck.
What are the issues that the people should bring to the board? What if the administration is referring you to the board as your only solution?
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page 8 notes: re: board members regress: Board members regress because you cannot have one group operating by a single set of standards when every other group that functions in a system operates by a second set of unwritten laws. The "subculture" of the system is a big part of the problem. Without a board that is committed to turning things around or a Superintendent who shares the same vision as the board, there will never be a cohesive system that functions for its intended purpose, just an assembly of parts that are all fighting for the same piece of pie, or sometimes even over the suggestion that there might be pie.
re: board members should implement a policy to monitor their decisions: Isn't this part of the reason they are requesting the various financial reports that SACS admonished them for earlier? They were attempting to find ways to follow up and evaluate their decisions, but they are not permitted access to the data to determine if policies are even being followed.
re: disregard policies: the board is not the only group guilty of disregarding policies.
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What will be the downside to more gadgets in the hands
of children who are already distracted from learning?
What will be the consequences of giving them
untested electronics that may have lifelong cosequences
if the link to cancer predicted by many in the
medical field prove to be correct? |
page 9 notes: re: board addresses issues that should go to the Superintendent: ... because these are the concerns that the public is bringing to them. These are the issues that are being ignored by the administration and staff at our schools.
re: hindering the staff's ability to handle problems: The staff? Who on the staff is designated to handle complaints from parents?
Teachers will not. Principals will not. Where are parents told to go when they cannot get reasonable answers at the school level? The answer is either your board member, the media or file a lawsuit. The PTA is not an official arm of the school system, yet is often used to disseminate information or prevent complaints from escalating. The regional superintendents are not involved or present. The school administration directs parents to the board who will, in turn, blame the administration.
re: board member meets with bus drivers: Should he/she have refused to meet with voters in his/her district in this case?
Why is there a problem with people being willing to listen to complaints? The larger issue here is that there are a lot of people who refuse to listen to any feedback from any person involved in the system that is not positive and does not support the status quo.
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page 10 notes: There are no job descriptions for district staff. There is no posted chain of command. There is no organizational chart or list of direct reports. The only people that the taxpayers know are the ones at their school and the one that was elected in his/her district.
At GTCO-ATl, we followed a chain of command and it was a pointless dead end designed to waste our time and prevent us from getting any answers until it was too late. Worse than that, even going to our board member and the chairman was pointless. Often, the only way to get answers is to turn to the media and the fear of retaliation often prevents that, too.
re: district administrative staff: Who, specifically, is SACS referring to? Why would a board member be permitted to ask for a report from the staff in this case, but cannot ask for a report on how the funds are being spent that they do not specifically approve by line item?
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page 11 notes: re: board intimidating staff: Yes, and we also have an administration that is so intimidating they have pressured teachers into cheating in order to get results.
If you have nothing to hide, there should be nothing to fear.
Tell the truth and your conscience will always be clear.
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page 12 notes: re: educational vision: Is there one? It seems to change almost constantly. Teachers have already been asked to learn one format of canned curriculum before it was ditched for another one.
A program that was initiated by this Superintendent depends on early intervention in education.
The Superintendent then made cuts to pre-K, the very program critical to success according to the canned program she was advocating.
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page 13 notes: nothing noteworthy other than yes, we are in financial crisis and are being taxed to death.
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page 14 notes: This is why ALL DeKalb voters should be allowed to vote for ALL the members of the board. Since they ALL have the ability to impact our own areas or our own children, we should all have an equal opportunity to select the best people for each district and we should be permitted to know their political affiliations since there are clearly political agendas attached to some of these people and their reasons for running for office in the first place.
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page 15 notes: re: poorly constructed attendance zone plans: Then this plan should be abandoned immediately and anyone speaking against it should not advocate for their own school's best interest, but for the best interest of all the schools.
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page 16 notes: We are clearly not ready to be the first major school system in the U.S. to convert to a digital format. The plans that are falling into place are insanity and there is no evidence that the children are the reason these decisions are being made.
In fact, a great deal of controversy over similar initiatives in other states has already uncovered the corruption that exists with the K-12 online program, the ALEC initiatives and the faulty promises of online educators. We should avoid these same mistakes.
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What ELSE will your kids be doing with
their school-issued devices? How will
the school system ensure they are not
victims of online predators, cyber-bullying and
other serious issues that raise parental concerns? |
Conclusions: SACS has had ample opportunity to sanction and warn the DeKalb School System, yet it took complaints from the "non-partisan" members of the board who have fairly recognizable ties to the Republican party. These ties became very evident after many of them personally campaigned for an issue that was based on ALEC legislation, the Charter Commission Amendment which passed in Georgia during November 2012, but is now tied up in a court battle over the misleading verbiage on the ballot.
The members of the board may have hoped for a state takeover, perhaps as part of a deal to help the affluent Dunwoody gain approval to start its own school system, something that is currently against the state constitution.
What the public (including us) does not yet know is how the next few stages will play out, but this report may just be one step in a larger plan that involves ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council which we have been following and reporting to you about here. You can read more about ALEC at
www.alecexposed.org. Concerns about ALEC legislation should be a concern to us all, no matter if you are Republican or Democrat, because essentially the once-secret association cuts all of us, the people, out of the entire democratic process and has successfully passed thousands of bills across the U.S. that strip us of our rights and freedoms to help the bottom line of big businesses at corporate big-wigs.
ALEC holds regular meetings, including one last year that featured executives from Advanc-ED as the featured speakers. The posh events allow conservative lawmakers to be wined and dined by big money lobbyists who write the legislation. ALEC memebers (the legislators and the business folks) then actually vote on the proposed bills. The ones that pass are taken back to the states and passed off as local legislation that, supposedly, started on behalf of the people, which couldn't be further from the truth.
One big, very active ALEC industry is online education, a subject we will all be hearing a lot more about very soon. These are the folks who invested in all the advertising to pass the charter amendment. These are the folks who want to spend your tax dollars getting rich and then advertising their services in other states while the graduation rates they post are far worse than any brick and mortar school, even in Georgia. But, they are accredited by Advanc-ED, the parent company of SACS despite being under investigation by the Attorneys General in several states, including Florida, for fraud.
So, do not believe everything you read from SACS or, at least, do not believe that their report is a simple end to our complex issues in DeKalb County. We are glad to see that action is being taken, but we will hold off judgment until we see what format the "new" system will take. The largest concern we have right now is that Chip Rodgers, who was the chairman of the ALEC education task force, will be appointed to replace one of our soon-to-be suspended board members. If that happens, we will likely see praise for Atkinson, and a whole slew of computers being shipped to our schools with the cell towers to support them and a lot of layoffs and firings from the top of the Administrative Department all the way down to the teachers.
ALEC wants to see the areas with high concentration of Democrats continue to lose out in terms of education and property values and they will likely help the Republican areas continue to prosper. ALEC is clearly about a division in our country between the upper class and the working class with the abolishment of those in the middle.
Just remember that there is no direct connection in this SACS report between the technology present in our schools and complaints that led to an investigation. SACS went looking for things they already knew they would find because the end has already been determined and they are just a bit player in the larger game to privatize our schools and use our tax dollars for profit while controlling what our children will be taught so they can grow up to be the workers bees of tomorrow's privileged class that can afford to buy elections and votes and rewrite laws to suit their own needs.
Please join us for a public hearing at the state Senate being held on Jan. 8, 10 a.m. - Noon, by Senator Emanuel Jones. The public is invited and there will be time for Q&A. Speakers are not yet confirmed. We will have more details in the coming days. Check our Events page for more details!
