tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post4774372363695807506..comments2024-01-08T03:21:35.616-05:00Comments on DeKalb County School Watch: School Closings and TransparencyCerebrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comBlogger252125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-67025316017610387662010-03-15T22:24:44.686-04:002010-03-15T22:24:44.686-04:00Considering admin and support (8,800) outnumber te...Considering admin and support (8,800) outnumber teachers (7,031) I'm not surprised at the outcome. <br /><br />If DeKalb gets much lower on the teaching side, our school system will drag property values down all over the county. We won't need a national recession to devalue our property. Our school system will do it for us. <br /><br />I moved here almost over 25 years ago for the schools. I sure wouldn't want to be moving here now with children. My husband and I are looking to move to North Fulton. <br /><br />How did DCSS ever get to be such a service job machine? Very sad for people who are trapped here with mortgages that are upside down. Lots of kids in the county, but no one wants to teach - just live off the school system.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-53260357635169345382010-03-15T21:16:57.476-04:002010-03-15T21:16:57.476-04:00These are the latest figures from the employee sur...These are the latest figures from the employee survey suggesting budget cuts - It's telling in a way, that only 371 people actually responded and telling in another way that their suggestions almost run counter to ours...<br /><br />These are posted as suggestion, number of times it was suggested and percentage of total..<br /><br /><br />Move to a 4‐day work week/alter school calendar<br />109 17.67%<br />Increase millage rate 71 11.51%<br />Use resources more efficiently (utilities, paper,<br />repairs, volunteers) 68 11.02%<br />Furlough/salary reduction/benefits reduction 68 11.02%<br />Reduce programs/testing expenses 65 10.53%<br />Other (Items resulting in additional costs or<br />unallowable uses) 44 7.13%<br />Reduce/delay textbook purchases 41 6.65%<br />Reduce marginal/ineffective/overstaffed personnel<br />38 6.16%<br />Generate revenue (surplus<br />sales/ads/property/grants) 26 4.21%<br />Offer early retirement options 21 3.40%<br />Reduce transportation offerings 15 2.43%<br />Utilize job sharing 14 2.27%<br />Consolidate small schools 8 1.30%<br />Enact student fees 8 1.30%<br />Reduce professional travel/regular travel 7 1.13%<br />Administrators substitute teach/reduce substitute<br />teacher pay 5 0.81%<br />Reduce/eliminate Athletics offerings 3 0.49%<br />Reinstate Meritorious Attendance award 2 0.32%<br />Require more documentation for absenteeism 2 0.32%<br />Outsource 2 0.32%<br /><br />Total Number of Suggestions 617 100.00%<br />*Some respondents listed multiple suggestions<br />*Total Number of Respondents: 371<br />11/11/09 Through 01/31/2010Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-86003400496439987872010-03-14T23:02:35.730-04:002010-03-14T23:02:35.730-04:00@ Anonymous 9:31 pm
Great comparison. A lot of wor...@ Anonymous 9:31 pm<br />Great comparison. A lot of work. <br /><br />Seems odd that DCSS standardized test scores haven't improved, but the graduation rate has. How could that possibly happen?<br /><br />Students haven't shown improvement on standardized test scores in DCSS Title 1 schools for the last 4 years. <br /><br />What have DCSS students in Title 1 schools gotten in the way of student achievement for $120,000,000 the last 4 years? Does the state of Georgia have any answers?<br />http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/tss_title.aspxAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-2751132148115457892010-03-14T21:49:13.885-04:002010-03-14T21:49:13.885-04:00We can afford 10 days of the 180 contact days.... ...We can afford 10 days of the 180 contact days.... Why make our kids and teachers suffer 180 bad days. Let's have the best 170 day year education. <br /><br />The State of Georgia is broke. <br />It can't afford to pay for 180 school days. It is 10 day short of money. Why not reduce school by about 10 days?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-88512162617554318292010-03-14T21:30:56.580-04:002010-03-14T21:30:56.580-04:00From Anon 11:16 AM"
"A supervisor may ha...From Anon 11:16 AM"<br />"A supervisor may have 15 tasks, but that does not justify having 15sub-supervisors, one for each task."<br /><br />Truer words have never been written. But alas, this is the DCSS/Crawford Lewis/Ramona Tyson way. Especially with MIS. A highly paid administrator for every single and specific task (with many having their own admin asst.). And this BOE is unwilling to change the paradigm.Open + Transparentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-69888011479315834612010-03-14T20:31:05.540-04:002010-03-14T20:31:05.540-04:00Went to Ga DOE site to get to get AYP figures as f...Went to Ga DOE site to get to get AYP figures as far back as I could. Earliest was 2004-05, most current 2007-08. Did the math. For discussion purposes, this is what DCSS is getting for its Title I bucks.<br /><br /><i>Total Title I budgeted funds:</i><br />04-05 -<br />05-06 up 10.2%<br />06-07 down 1.6%<br />07-08 up 8.8%<br /><br /><i>Percent of Title I schools making AYP:</i> <br />04-05 71%<br />05-06 65.5%<br />06-07 76.5%<br />07-08 62%<br /><br /><i>Percent of Title I schools not making AYP:</i> <br />04-05 28%<br />05-06 34.5%<br />06-07 23.5%<br />07-08 38%<br /><br /><i>Percent of Title I schools with Distinguished Improvement:</i> <br />04-05 61.7%<br />05-06 52.4%<br />06-07 51.8%<br />07-08 38%<br /><br /><i>Percent of Title I schools with Commended (ADQ) Improvement:</i> <br />04-05 8.6%<br />05-06 9.5%<br />06-07 15.3%<br />07-08 18.5%<br /><br /><i>Percent of Title I schools with Adequate Did Not Meet AYP status:</i> <br />04-05 14.8%<br />05-06 15.5%<br />06-07 5.9%<br />07-08 20.7%<br /><br /><i>Percent of Title I schools with Needs Improvement - AYP status:</i> <br />04-05 2.5%<br />05-06 3.6%<br />06-07 9.4%<br />07-08 5.4%<br /><br /><i>Percent of Title I schools with Needs Improvement status:</i> <br />04-05 12.8%<br />05-06 19%<br />06-07 17.6%<br />07-08 17.4%<br /><br /><i>Percent of Title I schools in NI for 1 year:</i> <br />04-05 3.7%<br />05-06 11.9%<br />06-07 11.8%<br />07-08 9.8%<br /><br /><i>Percent of Title I schools in NI for 2 years:</i> <br />04-05 7.4%<br />05-06 2.4%<br />06-07 7.1%<br />07-08 3.3%<br /><br /><i>Percent of Title I schools in NI for 3 years:</i> <br />04-05 1.2%<br />05-06 6%<br />06-07 4.7%<br />07-08 5.4%<br /><br /><i>Percent of Title I schools in NI for 4 years:</i> <br />04-05 0%<br />05-06 0%<br />06-07 2.4%<br />07-08 2.2%<br /><br /><i>Percent of Title I schools in NI for 5 or more years:</i> <br />04-05 2.5%<br />05-06 2.4%<br />06-07 1.2%<br />07-08 2.2%<br /><br /><i>Absent over 15 days:</i> <br />04-05 12.3%<br />05-06 13.3%<br />06-07 13.7%<br />07-08 12.3%<br /><br /><i>Graduation rate:</i> <br />04-05 52.6%<br />05-06 57.4%<br />06-07 67.4%<br />07-08 73%<br /><br />I GraduationDekalbparenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16376422781260452873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-58862305110435033172010-03-14T19:33:54.459-04:002010-03-14T19:33:54.459-04:00Maureen Downey has a strand on her AJC blog "...Maureen Downey has a strand on her AJC blog "Get Schooled" entitled "Metro systems “bloated, inefficient and unfocused.”<br />Maureen says, "I have long felt that DeKalb and Cobb schools are like the Atlanta schools and government in that one of their primary purposes is to be a jobs program."<br /><br />Here is a great post I'm going to repost from someone named "Hard Working Classroom Teacher", a Clayton County teacher. Remember Clayton the system SACS forced to elect a COMPLETELY new BOE and consequently got a new superintendent. BTW Clayton now surpasses DeKalb in percentage of students who made AYP - less wealthy than DCSS and spends less per pupil. <br /><br />"The Superintendent of Clayton County has been recently hired and recruited from California. He appears to be highly effective as reflected in his observations of our system. The majority of the budget cuts are not affecting the classroom teachers. Central office is recommended to be completely reorganized. He is right on target. There are currently administrators in the central office with salaries above $150,000 per year! Totally overpaid- especially in light of the fact that many the central office positions are nonessential.<br /><br />I have observed the many of the metro systems have too many central office administrators. As a classroom teacher, I realize that the positions have minimal if any impact on my daily classroom instruction. I plan my lessons, teach my lessons, confer with parents, grade papers, post grades and continually work at creating an optimal learning environment. Does the central office administrators help in this? No……. I do occasionally see some persons from the central office walking around our school giving their input on watching 10 minutes of a lesson. Great for my progress, right? :)<br /><br />Other positions that are totally nonessential are EIP teachers and Coaches for Reading and Math. They need to be in the classroom. Our school has over 10 EIP teachers and two coaches walking around serving like paraprofessionals by working in small groups with students. In other states that I have taught or interned, this was the job of a paraprofessional. Often one can observe these teachers in their offices or rooms just passing time – you see they do not have a continual daily schedule like the classroom teachers. They have alot of downtime to chat with others, talk on the phone, make runs to stores or restaurants,…..Meanwhile the classroom teachers are with the students all day long. The resource teachers do no lesson planning, grading, conferencing, and do not have their names attached to student test scores.<br /><br />Gifted teachers can also be classroom teachers. The students can be placed with teachers who have that endorsement. The inclusion model is more effective in regards to instruction and costs. Having a Gifted endorsed teacher is a complete waste of money if that teacher does nothing but pull students out of the classroom.<br /><br />Most of the metro systems need to reevaluate the essential needs of the school and completely reorganize the staffing structure. There is too much waste of salaries on nonessential central office and school based positions."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-30146075773184950072010-03-14T18:45:28.514-04:002010-03-14T18:45:28.514-04:00Re: Anonymous @ 11:32pm
"Title 1 under Dr. L...Re: Anonymous @ 11:32pm<br /><br />"Title 1 under Dr. Lewis became a Central Office piggy bank to fund whatever program looked good with absolutely no accountability for student achievement."<br /><br />Might this decision of CL's be due to the fact that the head of Title I for the district is his "mentee"? Whatever Title I demands, Title I gets. No questions asked. If anyone dares to question Title I expenditures, CL summarily punishes them. There is a definite pattern of behavior there. No matter the department, anyone who crosses Audria Berry feels the pain.<br /><br />Hopefully Tyson will have a backbone and will not feel the pressure to allow Title I to run the district's major decisions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-44341072904483911322010-03-14T17:18:09.866-04:002010-03-14T17:18:09.866-04:00As a parent of a school that was closed so Sembler...As a parent of a school that was closed so Sembler could buy the old Kittredge property, a deal that never happened, the excuse given to us was that we had to be equal. If we close a school in South DeKalb we had to close a school in north DeKalb. Sorry to say the other schools that took those students are now bursting at the seams, one has 4 trailers now (Huntley Hills) the other Montgomery is on the verge of trailers. Please stop with the racist comments. We didn't like our school closing but we're doing well at our new school. But with growth in our area still happening, even in this current economy, I worry that the board closed the wrong schools back then. Please redraw the lines to balance attendance at all schools. No racism or anything else just get the right data and make the right decisions. Another way to save money is to fire Pat Pope instead of having her take her extended paid vacation. Plus, fire Crawford so a real administrator, and not a former PE teacher can make the tough decisions for our school system. Also, drop the ridiculous "premier" moniker. Time to reduce Central office staff cut it in half!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-23928819811015548402010-03-14T11:16:08.591-04:002010-03-14T11:16:08.591-04:00The Mommy said “One of the most helpful things on ...The Mommy said “One of the most helpful things on this blog is when we can compare DCSS to other systems.”<br /><br />She is correct. I think we should take this a step further and not just compare DCSS to other metro school districts (which is all that has appeared on this site so far), but also begin to compare ratios from smaller school systems and even private school systems – if we can gain access to their data. <br /> <br />The bottom line is this, we at DCSS are TOP HEAVY (as are other counties). We all know it. There is NO justification for it. <br /> <br />This is not unusual for a government provided service - to see the levels of bureaucracy grow while the level and quality of service dwindle. We see it, we know it’s wrong, and yet we join in the argument how much of a pay cut the actual service providers (the teachers) should take, as though it were the only option. Let’s cut teacher pay by 1.5, or 5, or 6.25%. Or we’ll buy into the argument that “everyone needs skin in the game” and cut everyone’s pay . . . and that seems fair, doesn’t it? This is a great example of faulty logic by use of the either/or premise. We can cut teacher’s pay by this percent . . . or that percent. Then if it’s not the higher percentage, everyone is happy because it could have been more and the teachers should be quiet and be thankful they have a job.<br /><br />In reality, there is another option – not either/or, but not at all. We do NOT need to cut teacher pay because we do NOT need all the non-teachers that are currently employed within the county. Fulton is right to cut jobs, they are just WRONG in which jobs they are cutting. The parents know it, the students know it. <br /><br />This should not be an argument over Title I, athletics, magnet, or busing. It should be a process of discovering just how many county level positions can be cut. Not reduced, but cut. A supervisor may have 15 tasks, but that does not justify having 15 sub-supervisors, one for each task.<br /> <br />When it comes down to it, it may be time to bypass the BOE and go to the state level for a long-term solution. The state legislature can impose spending guidelines (as they already do in the QBE), to control the percentage of funding that can be applied to non-teaching positions within the county. School systems are made to educate, teachers teach, ALL other positions are support and therefore secondary. <br /><br />Some counties simply can't help themselves.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-4826022611321937472010-03-14T08:28:07.981-04:002010-03-14T08:28:07.981-04:00Central office athletic department salaries: 636,...Central office athletic department salaries: 636,000ish dollars!<br /><br />Only 4 of the ten have the word athletics in their titles. Only 9 of the 10 have athletics listed as their department on Community Net, so I removed the one I check them all (hoping that most were shared with other departments, only to be mostly disappointed.) One is listed as the adaptive PE/sports specialist so I think he most certainly works across departments.<br /><br />One of the most helpful things on this blog is when we can compare DCSS to other systems. For the metro area systems that list an athletic director, our director's salary was within the 10 percent range either way. <br /><br />However, this was just the beginning of things smelling funny in the public school athletic world. Fulton County lists no administrative staff for athletics at all on the GA audits website. So, I went to their website and found that they do have a few people assigned to athletics, they just don't call them that.<br /><br />Cobb and Gwinnett only report their athletic directors' salaries, no other coordinators, though we know that Gwinnett spends big on these things. However, when you go to the GCSS website, the pages about athletics (once you can find them) don't mention anything about central office personnel.<br /><br />In Gwinnett each high school has an athletic director. This athletic director is listed as and paid like an assistant principal. When you click on administration, the list of APs includes this person and the only responsibility listed for them is Athletic Director.<br /><br />So, their spending clearly knocks our spending, which isn't really a surprise.<br /><br />Without a doubt, athletics in Cobb,Fulton and Gwinnett (duh!) bring in more revenue that DCSS. Probably a lot more, as each school has its own stadium and many booster clubs have a financial interest in the overall success of their programs. (Revenue stays at home.)<br /><br />One interesting question might be how much are we subsidizing athletics in DeKalb? <br /><br />I also believe that the system should charge a fee, though as Cere says I think it will be difficult to collect from many parents. If they collected, $50 total per athlete a year (not even per sport), that would be approximately 900,000 which would cover a lot of costs of the programs. Even if you only collected from half the kids, you would have $450,000.themommyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01829171693817032539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-66261383978986334322010-03-13T23:32:24.696-05:002010-03-13T23:32:24.696-05:00Title 1 funds do not have to be used for Instructi...Title 1 funds do not have to be used for Instructional Coaches or America's Choice or Springboard or HSTW or any other yearly multimillion program. <br /><br />Title 1 can be used for anything Ms. Tyson wants. The only federal stipulations are that:<br />1. Title 1 funds must be used only in Title 1 schools<br />2. Title 1 funds cannot be used in Title 1 schools to subsidize programs that are schoolwide. For example, I can't supply Springboard schoolwide, but use Title 1 funds to pay for it in Title 1 schools and the general fund to pay for it in non-Title 1 schools. Any program must be "something over and above" what students in the non-Title 1 schools get.<br /><br />In the 80s and 90s DCSS used Title 1 funds to fund Title 1 math teachers in every single Title 1 elementary school. These Title 1 math teachers were not coaches. They were teachers who taught small groups of struggling math students. This also helped lower the class sizes of the regular classroom teacher's math classes, but primarily it gave the struggling math student the opportunity for individualized instruction. <br /><br />Ms. Tyson could decide to let more Title 1 funds expenditures be decided in the Title 1 schools. Dr. Lewis made the decision to buy America's Choice and fund the Instructional Coaches via Title 1 funds (although I'm sure Title 1 doesn't pay the benefits cost of the Instructional Coaches - that's $1,542,490 out of the general fund - our local tax dollars). <br /><br />Title 1 under Dr. Lewis became a Central Office piggy bank to fund whatever program looked good with absolutely no accountability for student achievement.<br /><br />DCSS received $34,000,000 in Title 1 funds 2007-2008, the last year the state has the figures on their website. The amount must be considerably higher now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-64525865408537779852010-03-13T23:09:35.985-05:002010-03-13T23:09:35.985-05:00Has anyone asked their BOE member how they can jus...Has anyone asked their BOE member how they can justify 8,800 admin and support personnel when we only have 7,000 teachers?<br /><br />I didn't read in the minutes where those numbers were discussed. The only positions I read that we discussing eliminating were teacher positions. Won't this make DCSS have an even smaller percent of our personnel as teachers? <br /><br />I don't agree with other posters that larger class sizes are a necessity, but as long as the BOE continues to employ vast numbers of admin and support personnel they will be inevitable.<br /><br />I agree with the Anonymous that said this BOE is causing irrevocable harm to our schools.<br /><br />Please save all of your emails from BOE members. Next fall we may need them when we try to unseat as many as possible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-60860482987211668262010-03-13T22:18:04.193-05:002010-03-13T22:18:04.193-05:00Very few teachers coming out of college could be t...Very few teachers coming out of college could be titled experts in their field. It takes at least 3 years for a new teacher to have experience. Good teachers also receive quality training and keep abreast of the latest findings in the field of education. DeKalb doesn't provide good training for teachers and few teachers that I have met keep up with the latest research findings. Probably, because it's hard to use anyway, because you have to do it the "DeKalb way." I.E. Scripted lessons, or a syllabus that makes little common sense.<br /><br />Good teachers are fed up with the direction that DeKalb is taking, because they realize the children are getting short changed. They may not leave now, but they will leave it's just a matter of time. Teachers close to retirement will leave too, as their salaries go down and aren't helping with their retirement and money isn't contributed to the annuity.<br /><br />I find the answer from the school board member ridiculous, but at least you received an answer. County residents are very concerned about the schools and how they are and will affect property value and possibly increase the foreclosure rate with tax increases and poor schools.<br /><br />It does not seem that the board knows how to make a budget or how to pick and choose what is and is not important. I wish that they'd talk to teachers and county residents about what they see as important. Everything should be on the table. Every child in DeKalb deserves to have a quality education. Yes, one size does not fit all, but it seems like we have haves and have nots when it comes to receiving a quality education. The children are our future and not a way to make jobs for people. <br /><br />Most of the children deserve more than what they are getting and it really saddens me as a teacher and DeKalb resident. <br /><br />Title I funds could provide reading and math instruction for children who are struggling in those areas, it does not have to be used for programs. Title I funds, could be used for training teachers to better understand reading and better delivery or even discipline techniques if that is a problem at the school. Title I funding does not have to go to scripted programs that are not proving to be beneficial to the children. <br /><br />It appears to me that the board's mind is already made up and DeKalb will pay dearly for this decision for years to come. Even if new school board members are elected this school year, the mess that will be created from cutting education while keeping unnecessary people employed will be hard to fix in a year or two. It will take many years to fix the mess, the board will do, if they do not take a serious look at the budget and treat all children the same and by the same, I mean provide all children with the same class size, and a quality education that has people wanting to come to DeKalb.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-37530455335441469932010-03-13T21:01:07.259-05:002010-03-13T21:01:07.259-05:00I emailed all the board reps with my concern that ...I emailed all the board reps with my concern that there seemed to be things that were "off the table" in considering reductions. My rep, Don McChesney, emailed me back with this:<br /><br /><i>I am a member of that committee and nothing has been taken off the table.</i><br /><br />He also replied to an earlier email where I requested Ms. Tyson and the BOE to look hard everywhere before raising class sizes much:<br /><br /><i>You can count on class sizes being increased. I am sure you have read the<br />impact on the loss of tax dollars across the state. This is not unique to<br />DeKalb. It is sweeping the state and the nation. Remember the state came<br />to us last year and suggested we raise our class sizes. It is going to be<br />done. There is no way to meet the budget crises unless we do. Two students<br />per class has an impact of $14 million savings in DeKalb. It is not how we<br />want to do it, but we are in a Draconian situtation. Change is coming and<br />everyone is going to have to deal with it. I have been working with this<br />budget for two months. To balance this budget is a massive job. It also is<br />closer to $ 100-$115 million now. By the time the legislature leaves I<br />have no idea where we will be. The projected deficit for next year just<br />from the state is $2.1 BILLION. That alone will equate to probably at<br />least $30-$40 million in DeKalb and this is without the tax information<br />from DeKalb for a year from now. I hope you can appreciate the depth of<br />this financial disaster.</i>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-76027033395992120182010-03-13T20:34:52.066-05:002010-03-13T20:34:52.066-05:00Anon, I posted about across the board reductions a...Anon, I posted about across the board reductions and I know a fair amount about Title I. I did not suggest that Title I monies could be used for non Title I purposes. What I said (or meant) is that DeKalb county needs to re-examine how they deliver Title I services and use Title I money. DeKalb signed a huge contract with America's Choice but the teachers in the trenches tell us this is garbage. I have long loathed "scripted teaching." When a school system buys scripted teaching programs from private companies it tells me that the administration does not believe that its own teaching staff are competent. <br /><br /> The answer is to eliminate the poor teachers and not to punish the good teachers and stifle creativity. <br /><br />The big problem for DeKalb and other large school districts is that one size never fits all in education. The school system is too big but I understand it would take legislation to break up big districts like DeKalb and Fulton.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-83957671296881198392010-03-13T19:20:51.336-05:002010-03-13T19:20:51.336-05:00Anon @ 11:17 said,
**As a veteran of both governm...Anon @ 11:17 said,<br /><br />**As a veteran of both government and private industry "right sizing" efforts, the entire system needs to look at how it delivers services- including MIS, Special Education, ELL, Magnet, Athletics, Instruction, Title I, Fernbank, Transportation, etc. **<br /><br />Title 1 is an area most citizens need to research and get a better understanding of. Mu understanding is these are Federal, earmarked, targeted dollars and are not a part of the general budget. These dollars must be used as prescribed by the Feds. There are many positions in DeKalb that are funded by these dollars, including Instructional Coaches. One cannot take monies that are for a specific Title 1 school and use them elsewhere in the district, unless they plan to break the law.<br /><br />The budget for FY2010 was approximately $851 million. DeKalb will need to reduce this by slightly over $100 million dollars for FT2011. Budget cuts will impact the general budget NOT Title 1.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-49440433609202804562010-03-13T17:52:51.522-05:002010-03-13T17:52:51.522-05:00@ Anonymous 2:21 pm
"Actually, the research ...@ Anonymous 2:21 pm<br /><br />"Actually, the research shows that teacher quality trumps class size. Certainly, any teacher can provide more individual attention with a smaller class than a larger one, but I would far rather have my student in a large class with an excellent teacher than in a small class with a poor teacher. "<br /><br />How do you propose to attract new college graduates who are experts in their field to become teachers?<br /><br />You don't overwhelm them with huge class sizes, excessive paperwork, scant supplies, and environments that are full of mold, dust and inadequate heat and air and then expect to attract the best and the brightest to your child's classroom.<br /><br />We'll keep excellent teachers near retirement, and we'll even keep some due to the economy, but unless there are some drastic changes to rebalance the teaching staff to non-teaching staff, DCSS will find it harder and harder to get those excellent teachers DeKalb parents want for their children.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-17488577565877311852010-03-13T15:57:33.313-05:002010-03-13T15:57:33.313-05:00My child plays golf at Lakeside, the transportati...My child plays golf at Lakeside, the transportation for the sport has been cut. No bus drives them to practice and matches the parents drive and some are old enough to drive themselves. So why hasn't transportation been cut for other sports teams? Soccer & baseball are provided a bus to their events.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-4978673029368915142010-03-13T14:38:48.930-05:002010-03-13T14:38:48.930-05:00"Do you think there are 1000 excellent teache..."Do you think there are 1000 excellent teachers sitting around waiting for you to hire them or are you perhaps forced to hire the teachers that are available because no one else wanted to hire them?"<br /><br />There are 1000 excellent teachers in the metro area, and many students graduating with masters degrees (and B.A.'s) in May. Teachers like me will leave their current school district to work in a system that focuses on the student and provides teachers with an environment that fosters learning, not bureaucracy and mindless paperwork and unncessary meetings.ionsmaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-62595871576156527892010-03-13T14:21:42.566-05:002010-03-13T14:21:42.566-05:00If Ms. Tyson was an educator she would have know t...<i>If Ms. Tyson was an educator she would have know that all educational studies show that smaller class size is the most effective and consistent way of raising student achievement.</i><br /><br />Actually, the research shows that teacher quality trumps class size. Certainly, any teacher can provide more individual attention with a smaller class than a larger one, but I would far rather have my student in a large class with an excellent teacher than in a small class with a poor teacher. Some teachers don't manage to provide any individualized instruction no matter how small the class. Others seem to manage even when they have high student loads. The most effective way to improve student performance is to hire and retain the best teachers and either retrain or fire poor teachers.<br /><br />Imagine a school district with 100,000 students and a student teacher ration of 1:25. You have 4000 teachers. Reduce your student teacher ration to 1:20 and you have to hire 1000 more teachers. Do you think there are 1000 excellent teachers sitting around waiting for you to hire them or are you perhaps forced to hire the teachers that are available because no one else wanted to hire them?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-88743001680023795812010-03-13T13:37:45.808-05:002010-03-13T13:37:45.808-05:00We need the BOE to list the salaries of all coache...We need the BOE to list the salaries of all coaches. Some sports the stipend is low (track), and some it's very, very high (football, basketball), we have a number of coaches who are paid as full-time teachers but they only teach a few classes and are in fact de facto full-time head football and basketball coaches. But it's much worse in Gwinnett and South Georgia than it is here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-19819867462477984442010-03-13T13:33:38.964-05:002010-03-13T13:33:38.964-05:00School systems across the country charge a fee for...School systems across the country charge a fee for athletics. Should be at least $25 or $50 per student per sport, more for the very expensive sports like football.<br /><br />Great points below by Anon 11:09 PM, summer school and athletics can longer be sacred cows!!!<br /><br /><br />-The cost of athletics to the county is lumped together with food service. What do these two have in common that they should be lumped together? <br /><br />- Why is Summer School offered for free? The taxpayer (the true customers which should be satisfied since they are paying the bills) paid for students to attend school and learn a subject once. Why twice?<br />March 12, 2010 11:09 PMAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-73760752869510491982010-03-13T13:26:33.488-05:002010-03-13T13:26:33.488-05:00What is the "R" in "ROI" in a ...What is the "R" in "ROI" in a public school setting? Test scores? College admission? Jail avoidance?arroznegrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11087001846181768502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-19487131018752601332010-03-13T12:11:22.088-05:002010-03-13T12:11:22.088-05:00@ DeKalbparent 6:33 pm
Pertaining to magnet class...@ DeKalbparent 6:33 pm<br /><br />Pertaining to magnet class sizes, you missed my point which is my fault because I obviously didn't explain it very well.<br /><br />Magnet/theme program sizes are set by DeKalb County which is under Pat Copeland. The class sizes in magnet/theme programs have absolutely nothing to do with gifted state regulations. <br /><br />At Kittredge, DCSS uses a gifted model that allows them to get extra money from the state because all the teaches are certified as gifted. <br /><br />When a school goes away from the Gifted Services Resource Model which sets the class size at 17 for elementary, they can pretty well put as many students in a class as they want - hence your daughter was in a class of 30+ students. <br /><br />DCSS sets the small class sizes at magnets, and DCSS can change them any time they want.<br /><br />As far as ROI - I believe every "program" in DeKalb - magnet, theme, Fernbank Science Center, America's Choice, Springboard, Instructional Coaches, etc. must be looked at for ROI. <br /><br />But FIRST in line has to be the 8,800 admin and support personnel versus the 7,000 teachers in DCSS. <br /><br />The BOE should insist Ms. Tyson cut admin and support a minimum of 10% whether by layoffs, outsourcing, attrition, and any other means before she touches classroom teachers. At the same time, she needs to look at special programs to see if they are giving us the returns they promised and we want. <br /><br />Classroom teachers seem to be the only area the BOE and Ms. Tyson are willing to let go through attrition. <br /><br />The DCSS BOE is at a point where retaining canine dogs numbers are more important than keeping retaining teacher numbers. <br /><br />If Ms. Tyson was an educator she would have know that all educational studies show that smaller class size is the most effective and consistent way of raising student achievement.<br /><br />I spent 40 years in education. I know that if Ms. Tyson continues along the path of increasing admin and support and decreasing teachers, DeKalb will be the worst system in metro Atlanta - oops! I forgot we already have the least percentage of schools that make AYP in metro Atlanta so we are the worst system in the metro area. <br /><br />Dr. Lewis's idea of raising the admin and support from 64,92 to 8,828 and decreasing teachers from 7,350 to 7,031 didn't work out so well after all for our students.<br /><br />But you "ain't seen nothin' yet" once the BOE and Ms. Tyson get through eliminating classroom positions this coming year. You think its bad for your kids now. It's going to get so much worse, and I don't think parents can do anything about it. Ms. Tyson and her vast army of support and admin personnel will never turn over the figures to parents - the figures you are seeking. <br /><br />You can do some very good general calculations using the state Salary and Travel audit and the DCSS website information, but you cannot see "behind the curtain" as Cere so aptly put it. <br /><br />You are threatening 56% of the DCSS jobs machine. They will make it as difficult as possible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com