tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post7234139696255057084..comments2024-01-08T03:21:35.616-05:00Comments on DeKalb County School Watch: The Budget, Schools and RealityCerebrationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comBlogger89125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-44834773257692963562010-08-29T17:34:07.710-04:002010-08-29T17:34:07.710-04:00Anonymous at 11:33, I couldn't agree with you ...Anonymous at 11:33, I couldn't agree with you more about folks hiring family/friends. I asked a prinicipal about a leadership position posted on PATS and he blatantly said, "I already have somebody in mind."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-50572762543331850392010-08-26T18:39:08.077-04:002010-08-26T18:39:08.077-04:00No Duh, Great post! My kid attends CMS, he is a r...No Duh, Great post! My kid attends CMS, he is a resident, gifted student, accelerated math etc.. CMS is great. Parents there have bought in and so far I have seen great communication between parents, teachers and administration. Our Curriculum night is next week, I'll report back what I find out.<br /><br />At our other child's elementary, we have 655 kids, our wonderful principal has requested 2 "learning cottages" for Band/Orchestra and I can't think what the other one will be used for. However all critical learning will remain in the building! We have had a book shortage, because of a publisher and the fact that more resident kids are attending, due to the economy and private no longer being an option. We have also had some larger Multi-family properties open up in our attendance zone. Happy to report, parents are involved, teachers are dealing with the current book shortage, and some parents have even found the books online and are passing links around.<br /><br />Folks, it's takes a commUNITY, to be successful!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-47013963940220608912010-08-26T17:03:43.213-04:002010-08-26T17:03:43.213-04:00Thank You No Duh ! Why oh Why can't people ge...Thank You No Duh ! Why oh Why can't people get it about the magnets?? It is not about being divided, it is not about being "hate filled". I know several magnet parents who readily admit that magnets are not a fair or equitable distribution but , "hey, since I got it, I will take it and I will fight to keep it". Who really blames them? But, the reasonable ones totally get that transporting these kids all over the county at the expense of ALL of the children of the county is wrong.<br /> <br />It is quite simply about the utilization and division of resources to most effectively meet the needs of ALL of the children of the county.<br />Kittridge is indeed not for gifted education and with the " watering down" of criteria, It is not even about the highest achievers.<br /><br />Courage to make tough decisions, Not on this BOE's watch or we would have already tackled redistricting and school closures. Not to mention, doing away with the antiquated and non evidence based magnet system.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-63912241184540701502010-08-26T16:10:29.717-04:002010-08-26T16:10:29.717-04:00Anon 8/25 4 p.m. said: "I think there is a gr...Anon 8/25 4 p.m. said: "I think there is a great deal of disregard OVERALL in the posts on this blog about the needs of gifted kids. The STATE has requirements that MUST be met for these kids."<br /><br />Kittridge is NOT for gifted students. Never has been, never will be. Bloated sham that has become an alatross around DCSS' neck. Can't live with it, can't live without it. Divides communities, drains brains, sucks funds...Don't personally hate anyone and have very good friends whose children attend KMS and the subsequent CMS, CHS. Don't blame them a bit for whining. DCSS needs to get the balls to close all magnets until they can get enrollments balanced. DCSS needs to get the balls to cut all transportation for students to schools they are not districted in -- for any reason! DCSS needs to get the balls to move the pick-up perimeter to 1.5 miles for districted students -- like they said they were going to do!<br /><br />What do our teachers/schools lack? Working copy machines and/or effective back-up copiers when the main ones go down. Textbooks, space, a/c, smart boards, smart board light bulbs...No Duhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14462063673391668451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-25395603933921942612010-08-26T13:26:39.564-04:002010-08-26T13:26:39.564-04:00Are Dr. Beasley's coordinators observing the I...Are Dr. Beasley's coordinators observing the Instructional Coaches? <br /><br />What responsibility do they have for failing to improve the schools? <br /><br /><br />I see Audria Berry, Executive Director of School Improvement reports to Dr. Beasley. How has she improved schools? Not at all. DCSS is at the bottom of the barrel in schools making AYP. Where is the accountability for Dr. Berry for the lack of school improvement (clearly her responsibility since she is in charge of school improvement and it's steadily gone down under her)?<br /><br />BTW the instructional 80 coaches - each of them costing $100,000 a year - are under the Office of School Improvement and Dr. Berry. What does she do to monitor the coaches that are not supporting our students and teachers?<br /><br />The DCSS upper administration and in particular the Office of School Improvement should be held accountable. Dr. Berry should be replaced with someone who can show improvement in our schools. Why is she still there? <br /><br />Dr. Beasley needs to start by cleaning up his direct reports who have not done their jobs. Replacing Dr. Berry would be a start. Maybe then he would have more credibility with teachers and parents.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-85778975525808914192010-08-26T12:45:04.677-04:002010-08-26T12:45:04.677-04:00as a teacher, i'm still worried that more pare...as a teacher, i'm still worried that more parents aren't pushing for explanations about the employment/expenses of preventive specialists/instructional coaches. the first instructional coach we had knocked herself out to help and support us. the next one did nothing but play on his lap top, talk on his phone all day, and condescend to the teachers; the current one roams the building with a clipboard and tries to look busy; in fact, she has done little to nothing to help or support us. and she makes more than we do. the preventive specialist does nothing but walk around with a walkie-talkie all day and say "all right, all right" to the black teachers and cold shoulders the white teachers. it is unclear as to what it is he is "preventing." meanwhile, the a/c and heat in my room take turns going off and on, we barely have any class sets of outside reading novels and plays, and the administration's biggest concern seems to be whether or not our word walls are changed every week. come on, parents, get vocal! dcss does not listen to its teachers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-37750467664400534282010-08-26T12:30:31.680-04:002010-08-26T12:30:31.680-04:00With 15,000+ employees and 6,500 being teachers an...With 15,000+ employees and 6,500 being teachers and 1200 Central Office employees, that leaves DCSS with over 7,300 support personnel. Why are we paying them overtime?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-72498113903359161882010-08-26T12:14:34.812-04:002010-08-26T12:14:34.812-04:00"Back to the divisive post above, what you le..."Back to the divisive post above, what you left out of the history was the part about why the HA program was put at Chamblee. It was put there because the enrollment had shrunk dangerously low. The school was at risk of being closed. Between the magnet program and M to M, the school was able to maintain a viable enrollment, but two decades later and the resident population is still very small. "<br /><br />To add more to this statement, the board voted to close Chamblee HS in 1991. Even back then, the realized there was not a large enough resident population to support this school. Redrawing Ashford Park out of the Cross Keys cluster was an attempt to help the numbers at Chamblee, even though this school was closer to Cross Keys. There was other reasons behind this move that has been mentioned on this blog before.<br /><br />Would we still need to make an investment in Chamblee if the magnet program was removed? It could make sense to close it and send those children to a combination of Dunwoody and Cross Keys.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-46529640376488098382010-08-26T12:14:01.361-04:002010-08-26T12:14:01.361-04:00Very interesting comparison. Depressing, but inter...Very interesting comparison. Depressing, but interesting just the same.Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-90690450589069130402010-08-26T12:09:06.451-04:002010-08-26T12:09:06.451-04:00@ Cerebration 10:37
I agree. I copied and pasted t...@ Cerebration 10:37<br />I agree. I copied and pasted these job openings off DCSS's PATS (Paperless Application Tracking System) website last spring. <br /><br />Below was the job description on PATS for HVAC personnel (BTW - DCSS had 5 openings while they were eliminating teacher positions):<br /><br />"Position: Mechanic, Air Conditioner/Heat (HVAC)<br />Educational requirement: High school diploma or GED <br />Experience: 3 years<br />Salary: $43,111 to $58,665"<br /><br />“The Mechanical Maintenance Department is seeking a qualified HVAC Mechanic. The minimum requirements include a High School Diploma or GED equivalent. A minimum of three (3) years experience in HVAC installation and control systems is required. Two (2) years experience in industrial or commercial HVAC is preferred.<br />Position: Mechanic, Air Conditioner/Heat<br />Salary: $43,111.20 to $58,665.60”<br /><br />Contrast this with PATS advertisement for teachers.<br /><br />"Teacher: Mathematics<br />Location: Southwest Dekalb High School"<br /><br />Southwest DeKalb High School is currently seeking a Mathematics Teacher who utilizes best practices to increase student achievement. The primary responsibility is to implement, deliver and promote high academic expectations to all students. The ideal candidate must work collaborative with team members and must possess excellent written and verbal communication skills."<br /><br />Look at the salary levels for math teachers with a Bachelor's degree: <br />$ 42,288 (salary for a teacher with 3 years of experience)<br /><br />$ 58,248 (salary for a teacher with 20 years of experience)<br /><br />$ 59,376 (salary for a teacher with 30 years of experience)<br /><br />We really should outsource this department, save money, get "cool", and hire more math teachers.<br /><br />I guess no one is out "observing" HVAC mechanics. Maybe Dr. Beasley's people could observe these employees first to make sure our kids are sweltering in hot classrooms.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-80557246015414552952010-08-26T10:37:11.932-04:002010-08-26T10:37:11.932-04:00the Service Center has stacked over 1,900 hours in...<i>the Service Center has stacked over 1,900 hours in overtime in one payroll period</i><br /><br />AAAAAGGGHH! What in the heck did they do all summer?!!! This stuff should have been done - it should not have required 2 minutes of overtime! If I was in charge, I would have fired them for not having the AC running or the textbooks ready - rather than rewarding them with overtime for work they didn't do when they were supposed to. How ridiculous!Cerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-56053361823340507972010-08-26T10:24:45.916-04:002010-08-26T10:24:45.916-04:00It is amazing to me when I read that students stil...It is amazing to me when I read that students still don’t have textbooks, schools still have faulty air conditioners, there is talk of layoffs again and DCSS is expected to receive less money. The Central Office Finance Department recently processed a payroll which includes overtime to the tune of 2,000 hours for pulling and delivering textbooks, working on air conditioners, picking up trash and tree limbs and changing filters at schools. <br />Yes, that is right the Service Center has stacked over 1,900 hours in overtime in one payroll period for the above reasons. It is ridiculous that a few workers have logged as many as 65- 70 hours of overtime within a 2 week period. A couple of workers earned overtime for ‘being stuck in traffic’ yet our schools (teachers and students) are suffering. <br /> All of this is ‘work’ that could and should have been completed during regular work hours in the summer. What did they do all summer? Who knows if they really worked these hours since they are reportedly laughing they are taking back the dollars lost via the furlough days.<br />It is and has been the policy of DCSS that all overtime must be ‘pre-approved’ by the Superintendent, yet these 1,900 hours of overtime was not. In fact, it was not even pre-approved by the CFO (the great Marcus Turk) - yet he passed it through, but what does he care? He doesn't live in DeKalb County. Did the Superintendent know? Probably not.<br />Isn’t this one of the charges against DCSS former secretary Cointa Moody? Yet it is ongoing and stronger than ever. DCSS may have rid itself of Pat Pope but the Service Center is under a far worse fate with two former Principals running it. Steve 'Passive' Donahue (a former Principal) and the current Executive Director sits idly by and allows Michael Worthington (former Principal and Army Man) to run rampant throughout the service center issuing orders and approving overtime at will. I was told Worthington was actually promoted to be the Director of Facilities at the new Mountain Industrial Center and his salary comes from that budget. Why is he still at the Service Center approving overtime?<br />When DCSS is finally cleaned up – don’t forget these two guys – the Service Center is out of control.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-63852805963822925612010-08-26T05:07:35.593-04:002010-08-26T05:07:35.593-04:00Robert Shaw is a theme school, did it not have a w...Robert Shaw is a theme school, did it not have a wait list?<br /><br />Though Robert Shaw is both in the area where DCSS is seeing far fewer students and near the Peachtree Hope Charter School that is opening now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-68083060683477762742010-08-25T23:03:32.593-04:002010-08-25T23:03:32.593-04:00Data - driven decisions....hmmm.
and to the po...Data - driven decisions....hmmm. <br /><br />and to the poster @ 8:17 who said that community members are not trying to divide....did you attend the task force meetings about consolidation?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-11297992377227423692010-08-25T22:52:58.882-04:002010-08-25T22:52:58.882-04:00Back to one of the original questions.. my child g...Back to one of the original questions.. my child goes to PCMS and has not been issued a textbook for any class. There aren't enough. <br /><br />It doesn't matter. All of the textbooks that I've seen in his elementary school years were borderline useless.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-91526932679244148742010-08-25T22:46:31.576-04:002010-08-25T22:46:31.576-04:00Robert Shaw lost two teachers today due to a lack ...Robert Shaw lost two teachers today due to a lack of students. They went to Montgomery. Physical plant problems with a gym that floods when it rains and put of control AC/heat in some parts of the school continue. The problems have been going on for so long think they have given up on getting them fixed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-90969526634341807752010-08-25T22:38:44.308-04:002010-08-25T22:38:44.308-04:00"It would appear that many voters were upset ..."It would appear that many voters were upset with the school board members who were currently on the board and blamed the board members for all the current problems. However, Ms. Woods and Dr. Walker past the buck to the school superintendent.<br />"<br /><br />LOL - After they gave him his contracts and voted yes to everything he wanted. <br />Look at the BOE meeting notes on the DCSS website dated April 13, 2009:<br />"Dr. Walker stated he wanted to public thank the Superintendent and General Counsel for a good job, and as opposed to what had been publicized in the media, he does not have a concern with the performance of either person."<br /><br />December 8, 2008 BOE meeting - both Copelin-Wood and Walker voted to table the BOE's ethics proposal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-17796392435273916032010-08-25T22:31:23.125-04:002010-08-25T22:31:23.125-04:00Oh yes, for a taste of the vitriol these ladies ca...Oh yes, for a taste of the vitriol these ladies can sputter, check out the emails they sent to a community member and very active DCSS parent --<br /><br /><a href="http://dekalbschoolwatch.blogspot.com/2010/08/faye-andresen-writes.html" rel="nofollow">Faye Andresen writes . . .</a><br /><br />Also - I don't know how we never got word about a debate -- please forward any info on upcoming debates to us here for posting --<br /><br />reparteeforfun@gmail.comCerebrationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11161868015604029471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-9631407394878337092010-08-25T21:53:15.578-04:002010-08-25T21:53:15.578-04:00Jim Redovian spoke up a few months ago to challeng...Jim Redovian spoke up a few months ago to challenge SCW and got his head bit off and spit back out. I was horrified. <br /><br />SCW and ZR act like queens on their thrones and now they are feeling threatened. It should get interesting if they are back into a corner.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-78933170928188619552010-08-25T21:51:33.286-04:002010-08-25T21:51:33.286-04:00There was a debate last night? Who sponsored it?There was a debate last night? Who sponsored it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-50480456633400884792010-08-25T21:26:28.140-04:002010-08-25T21:26:28.140-04:00Dr. Walker is a divider not a uniter!
I fault Tom ...Dr. Walker is a divider not a uniter!<br />I fault Tom Bowen and the other BOE members for not speaking up. Ms. Speaks and Jim Redovian tend to forget about us in Chamblee. Let's hope we see some change, but I really think we need to protest and pack the palace board room at the next meeting. The media will take notice if we organize and show up in mass, they love good video! We need to fill up the parking lot with protesters. This is OUR system they are destroying.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-66338666594731380472010-08-25T21:17:38.564-04:002010-08-25T21:17:38.564-04:00Be True to your school,
Thanks for your post r...Be True to your school, <br /><br /> Thanks for your post regarding the history of the magnet, m to m. etc... I'm not sure what the previous poster is talking about, there is no decisive language in your post. Just an honest history, DCSS is a mess and I look forward to the day that Moseley, Tyson, Turk, Thompson, Berry, Mitchell-Mayfield, Ramsey and others are all gone for good! MIS is a disaster and like Dan MaGee said, what the heck have these folks been doing all summer?<br /><br />We had registration 5 days before the first day, you'd think these folks could have at least gotten enough desks distributed to the schools that needed them. How could they not know the numbers? I would have had every central office person the weekend before school starts to have the facilities ready.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-48662957879608780072010-08-25T21:16:21.656-04:002010-08-25T21:16:21.656-04:00Sarah Woods did not have her fan club with her las...Sarah Woods did not have her fan club with her last night in the third district. She was very defensive at the debate in district 3 for the district 3 and district 9 school board candidates. It would appear that many voters were upset with the school board members who were currently on the board and blamed the board members for all the current problems. However, Ms. Woods and Dr. Walker past the buck to the school superintendent. <br /><br />Sara Woods needs to bring her own cheering session to the next debate. She was extremely defensive. Dr. Walker gave us history lessons about his past and told us about how wonderful he had been in the past and told us how he was raised by his grandmother. I am not so sure how that will make him a good school board member for the next four years. I think he just wants to continue to talk about graduating from a colored high school and being raised by his grandmother as this will make him a great school board member and the lady he is running against is white. It is all about race to this gentleman. I really wish we would be more concerned with working together as members of the school board and not trying to divide our school board like it is being divided.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-58254045599773140162010-08-25T20:28:47.783-04:002010-08-25T20:28:47.783-04:00Back to the divisive post above, what you left out...Back to the divisive post above, what you left out of the history was the part about why the HA program was put at Chamblee. It was put there because the enrollment had shrunk dangerously low. The school was at risk of being closed. Between the magnet program and M to M, the school was able to maintain a viable enrollment, but two decades later and the resident population is still very small. <br /><br />Brown's Mill magnet was moved to Wadsworth, where it is now a stand alone program like KMS. It has a smaller enrollment because many of the Brown's Mill parents didn't like the location of Wadsworth and the lack of adequate transportation hasn't helped. However, they have a fairly substantial wait list for this year. Wadsworth has won all kinds of awards and if their test scores didn't best KMS, they at least equalled them. <br /><br />You really pushed all my buttons and brought back memories of some of the ugliest days in DeKalb.<br /> Thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151096942903989101.post-49782272674291128722010-08-25T20:17:14.896-04:002010-08-25T20:17:14.896-04:00The post above is not helpful and is actually terr...The post above is not helpful and is actually terribly devisive. Since I think I can identify you, I will tell you that DeKalb has come a long way since you were last involved. Most parents in DeKalb, regardless of where they live, no longer contibute to the north south divide. While their board members may occasionally engage in such heated language, it is rare to hear it from parents. <br /><br />Dr. Lewis was installed as superintendent mostly because of the actions of a few central and N. DeKalb board members who got a taste of a strong superintendent and didn't like it. <br /><br />Whatever funding inequities existed over a decade ago, have long been corrected. The most expensive magnet by far is DSA. The rest fall below that by a mile.<br /><br />In order to grow AP classes, you need to offer them. At first, not many students will sign up, but then as those students experience success, more students will enroll. I can remember Dr. Halford having public discussions about the need to increase AP classes at high schools and people like you publicly or privately ringing their hands about what it would mean to your school.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com