SACS experiencing backlash

Today's AJC has published a lengthy report regarding the newfound higher level of power and influence of AdvancED, the company that runs the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools (SACS) accrediting.

Private agency, public power

Interesting tidbits include:

• AdvancED, run by hard-charging President and CEO Mark Elgart, has since 2006 built a brand that boasts it drives quality education for 27,000 schools and 16 million students in 69 countries.
• Georgia is ground zero for accreditation trouble: Six of the eight districts that AdvancED has put on probation nationwide are here.
• AdvancED took in more than $21 million during each of the past two fiscal years, records show. It moved into a spacious new building — a sleek, modern glass castle with high ceilings and ample seminar rooms — in an Alpharetta office park.
• While Georgia passed a law last year elevating the importance of accreditation, North Carolina lawmakers are considering a bill that would bar public universities from considering SACS credentials for admissions or scholarships and make the state the primary accreditor, instead.
• Georgia’s education department has little power to intercede if districts have problems, so residents learned to complain to SACS, instead.
• Unlike in states such as Maryland, Georgia’s education department does not provide oversight for SACS’ activities.

Read the article. It's interesting.  

DeKalb Schools Placed On Advisement...

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools has issued its report based on a visit to DCSS in late January 2011.

You can find the entire report here:

http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/newsroom/press/pdf/2011-03-03.2011-03-14.AdvancEd_Special_Review_Team_Report_%282011-03-03%29.pdf

It is a surprisingly easy read. I recommend that you read the fairly brief report.

Our system has until October 31st to address the concerns in the report or risk losing accreditation.

From the latest AJC article:

In the past six months, SACS has received reports of a DeKalb board member engaged in a heated dispute with a legislator, another threaten to slug a reporter and a third belittle administrators during a public meeting. Elgart attributes these behaviors to the board members’ failure to work together.

“We have board members who, once they are elected, forget they are supposed to move to serving; some of them are still running an election,” he said.

http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/sacs-orders-dekalb-to-859629.html

SACS Findings to be announced

Courtesy of the AJC:
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is scheduled to release its report on DeKalb Schools at a 2 p.m. press conference. The board will meet at 4 p.m. to review and discuss the findings.
http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/dekalb-learns-accreditation-fate-858341.html

From the Agenda

1. Presentation of the SACS Findings

Presented by Mr. Thomas E. Bowen, Board Chair

The DeKalb Board of Education will hold a called meeting at 4:00pm, Thursday, March 3, 2011, in the J. David Williamson Board Room at the DeKalb County School System's Administrative & Instructional Complex, 1701 Mountain Industrial Boulevard, Stone Mountain. 

Meeting information can be accessed online by going to: www.dekalb.k12.ga.us, click on Leadership, go to eBoard Home Page and click on the date for the meeting
agenda\information.

https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/meetings/viewmeetingOrder.aspx?S=4054&MID=18738

SACS' visit begins today

According to the AJC -

A team from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools will visit DeKalb schools Monday through Wednesday to determine if the state’s third largest district meets national accreditation standards.

Last week, SACS placed Atlanta Public Schools on probation, a final step before losing accreditation. Atlanta has until Sept. 30 to make changes.

“The DeKalb school system is cooperating fully. The board is cooperating fully. And that puts us in a different place,” DeKalb schools’ spokesman Jeff Dickerson said Friday. “When SACS has these kinds of questions and require action steps, it is important to take them seriously.”

Dickerson also works as a spokesman for Atlanta Schools.

SACS is particularly concerned about the board securing a permanent superintendent, implementing newly enacted policies and procedures, addressing ongoing legal matters and the improving its governing effectiveness. Those issues must be addressed by early 2012, said Mark A. Elgart, SACS’ president and CEO.

“People in DeKalb shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that because Clayton lost accreditation, they will. The goal is to make them a better system,” Elgart said.

SACS will either visit or investigate DeKalb schools

Depending on which AJC posting you find more reliable, SACS will either "investigate" DeKalb Schools - or SACS will "visit" DeKalb Schools. Does anyone know which it is?

By Megan Matteucci
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A school regulatory agency will visit DeKalb County schools to ensure the district is meeting national accreditation standards, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution learned late Thursday.

The school system’s accreditation is safe for now, but the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools told the district they have concerns. On Thursday, SACS told DeKalb officials to expect a visit before Feb. 1.

Or read the other post on the same subject --

By Megan Matteucci
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

DeKalb County schools’ accreditation is safe for now, but the school system will undergo a national probe.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools decided Thursday night to investigate the school system, citing several areas of concern. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned that SACS will visit in February.

To download the letter from SACS in response to DCSS's formal answers to SACS questions, click here.

UPDATE - The new headline at the AJC reads, "SACS will evaluate DeKalb schools". So that's it - they're not investigating or visiting - they're "evaluating".

The school system’s accreditation is safe for now, but the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools told the district they have concerns that must be addressed by early 2012. On Thursday, SACS told DeKalb officials to expect the first visit before Feb. 1.

“This visit is focused on helping them move forward in the challenges they face,” SACS’ president and CEO Mark A. Elgart told the AJC. “They are in a state of uncertainty. They have lingering legal matters. They have an interim superintendent and potential changes in board makeup because of the election.”

Elgart said the review has not reached the level of a full-scale investigation similar to several other systems now under scrutiny, but said SACS has some serious concerns.

Where's the SACS report?

SACS was scheduled to return their report to DCSS by 10/10/10. So - where is it? What's the scoop?  If you have information to share please do so, otherwise, please send a request to your board rep asking for the report from SACS.

Business leaders wary of DeKalb school troubles

Yesterday's AJC tells us that the business community is getting very nervous about DeKalb school system's tribulations.

With foreclosures and business closures already a problem for DeKalb County, threats to the school system’s accreditation are worrying business leaders and prompting them to get more involved.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is reviewing 2,500 pages of documents to address allegations of nepotism, conflict of interest, a questionable procurement process and shaky leadership in the school system.

On Monday, DeKalb County schools’ interim superintendent, Ramona Tyson, told about 120 business leaders that she is confident the district has addressed those concerns. But she was unable to reassure them that accreditation will remain intact for the state’s third-largest school district.

Tyson acknowledged that the school system -- one of the county's top three largest employers -- is struggling to meet federal academic standards, balance budget cuts and respond to ethics questions. That’s one of the reasons she changed the school system’s logo to no longer call the school system premier.

“We got work to do. The district’s premier logo was a beautiful logo, very uniquely designed, very colorful, looks good on paper,” she told the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce on Monday. “But we got to have the backup to be able to carry the name and we got work to do.”

Click here to read the article.

Some good news on new policies

According to the AJC, DeKalb school board protects whistleblowers.

The DeKalb County school board is implementing a whistleblower policy, which officials say is the first in the state to prevent retaliation against school employees who report wrongdoing.

In addition to the whistleblower policy, the school board voted Tuesday to add or amend policies on purchasing, an employee code of ethics and staff conflict of interest. The policies are all designed to deter a full-scale investigation into the district’s accreditation.

Click on the link above to read the entire AJC article highlighting the policies passed as a first response to SACS requests of DCSS leadership.

The August 6 Called Meeting Re: SACS

Check out the new digs! (Photo from Ch46News)

This morning's called meeting was brief and to the point.  Hopefully, this is the way all meetings will be conducted going forward.  Tom always does an amazing job of graciously acknowledging time for comments, but pushing the meeting forward at the same time. He had a tiny bit of trouble with the new voting technology in the impressive new facility, but managed the system very well.

The first order of business was the SACS letter requesting that the school system provide input on a list of topics and evidence that it is in compliance with accreditation standards. The AJC published the letter two days ago which you can find by clicking here. The AJC reported that they acquired a copy of the letter from SACS after the school system did not respond to their request. Ramona Tyson defended her actions by stating that she had requested a deadline extension from SACS and was waiting for their reply before sharing what would be a new version of the letter with a new deadline. She also stated that she has three days to respond to media. That said, a simple acknowledgement of the AJC's request with the above explanation would have, in all likelihood, nipped any misreporting in the bud. Communication is absolutely key in every situation and I think it is one of the most important issues DCSS needs to work on. Like it or not, a superintendent is a very public figure, and as such must communicate regularly with the media or assign a spokesperson to do so. Since our spokesperson was part of the recent budget cuts, Tyson will have to take on this task herself. There's just no way around it I'm afraid.

Several board members made interesting comments regarding the SACS letter. Apparently, several of them accompanied Ms. Tyson to a meeting with Dr. Elgart at SACS on June 23. They were informed at that time that some issues have come up and that SACS would provide assistance and resources to help the system address these issues. Dr. Walker pointed out that SACS issued a letter a year ago stating that DCSS was doing well and then he added his personal opinion that the media does not "master the story" and asked the media to "please give us a fair shake". Womack attended the June 23 meeting and took away that these issues would never have come to the fore without the indictments of our top leadership.

All seemed to agree that they will push forward with these questions from SACS and use their results to improve the system. Tyson has put a 15-member team together to work on this project and promises a "forensic" review of all areas of concern. In addition, she will host a website as well as broadcast all meetings, which will all be open, on the subject.

The board also voted to begin the process of creating a RFP for search firms to submit proposals for a superintendent search. The board seemed unanimous in hoping to find a firm that will conduct a national search and that the firm will not hold a pool of candidates that they represent - they wish to find a firm that will strictly work for DCSS and seek the best candidate for the job, even if it requires recruiting someone from a successful system. The board will also set up a webpage that will track the progress of the search.

All good things. I have always prayed for the day that we will not feel compelled to "watch" our school system leaders. In this age of the internet and Google, the power of the people has become very strong and I think our school board has heard this message. They promise to respond with transparent internet access as well as open, broadcast meetings. Who knows - maybe someday they will even host a blog!

Oh boy, this could get ugly

Yikes. This evening's online AJC is reporting that SACS (the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) has officially put DeKalb on notice. In the article just released, Megan Matteucci reports that DeKalb schools must respond to questions from accreditation group.

Visit the link to read the list.  I have a raised eyebrow over this list.  It seems that SACS is gunning for our board's inability to properly manage our school system. All of the questions seem to highlight board policies such as closed meetings, hiring and firing procedures, bidding and awards procedures and preventing policy breakdown with checks and balances.  To quote:

A national schools group has ordered the troubled DeKalb County system to provide evidence that it is in compliance with accreditation standards.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has obtained a letter the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools sent the DeKalb school system.

The group ordered DeKalb to respond to seven questions by the end of August. That information will be used to determine if a full-scale investigation is needed, said Mark A. Elgart, SACS president and chief executive officer.

This interaction with Chair Tom Bowen is confusing:

“The SACS inquiry letter is not connected to any possible loss of accreditation,” he said. “The inquiry letter seeks to get additional information from the district on whether the appropriate policies exist and were followed in response to a number of issues. ... Although SACS has the power to take away a system's accreditation, its primary function is to improve DeKalb and all systems it accredits.”

Bowen said the district is cooperating and pledged to be transparent, despite the school system refusing to release SACS’ letter to the AJC.

And in even further testament to the new level of "transparency":

Board members Sarah Copelin-Wood and Eugene Walker said they had not had a chance to read SACS’ letter. Cunningham, H. Paul Womack and Don McChesney declined to comment. Board members Zepora Roberts, Pamela Speaks, and Jim Redovian could not be reached for comment.

Excuse me! Wood and Walker hadn't had a chance to read the letter from SACS?!!  I think I'd put my Twinkie down and take a minute to read something this important.

I'm starting to think we're on the Titanic and our board is rearranging the deck chairs. Please, voters, vote them out in November.

===

On another note - (addressing comments on this thread) - yes, the new public school charter, Leadership Prep Academy will be paying over $122,000 in rent to New Birth Church for use of the "West Wing". Below is a photo of the letter to Melvin Johnson of New Birth (Melvin is also on the boards of the Leadership Academy and the private Christian school also located in the church building). Click on it to print it or view a larger version.

Good News Regarding SACS

Below is an email sent out today by Sarah Copelin-Wood.

July 4, 2010

Hello Everyone,

GREAT NEWS FROM SACS.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010 a Delegation of DeKalb County School Board Members and DeKalb Public School System Staff, met with Mark Elgart, President/CEO of Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SACS. I was one of the DeKalb School Board Members who attended the Meeting.

Mr. Elgart informed the Delegation that SACS "was not" investigating DeKalb School Board Members nor DeKalb Public School System. Mr. Elgart advised the Delegation to not compare DeKalb School Board Members nor DeKalb Public School System with Clayton County, as our circumstances are totally different.

Mr. Elgart stated that SACS' primary Goal is to assist School Boards and School Systems with improvement in education.

Mr. Elgart also stated that SACS is available to assist DeKalb School Board, upon our request.

Needless to say, I was ecstatic to hear these statements directly from Mr. Elgart. I hope that you are also. Please “share” this information with other interested persons.

If I can provide additional information, please let me know.

Thank you for very much for your support of our Students and Schools.

"Working Together, We Will Make A Difference In Our Students' Education."

Sarah Copelin-Wood, Board Member
DeKalb Board of Education - District 3
(404) 371-1490
schoolsandcommunity@yahoo.com - personal
sarah_copelin-wood@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us

Well, this is not good...the board has not even begun the search for a new superintendent

According to today's AJC, "The DeKalb County school board fired its superintendent two months ago, but the troubled district has taken few steps to find a new leader."

The article goes on to inform us that little has been done to even begin a search for a new superintendent. Since the search for a superintendent takes 12-18 months, it looks like Ms. Tyson will end up serving as interim for quite some time. This interim leader is in addition to our newly appointed interim of curriculum (teaching and learning) and our interim COO and head of construction.

One reason the board has not begun the search is that the board can't really tell if they are allowed to meet behind closed doors on the subject.

Board attorney Joshua Mayes, of Sutherland firm in Atlanta, said the Georgia Open Meetings law allows the board to discuss “employment and personnel issues” in closed session.

But the Georgia First Amendment Foundation maintains the board should be meeting publicly to discuss the search process. Once the board has candidates, it can meet behind closed doors, said Hollie Manheimer, the foundation’s executive director.

“The personnel exemption is very narrow and allows the public to be barred only in very limited instances,” she said.

Now SACS has announced that they will be watching the process very carefully.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which accredits DeKalb and most schools in the Southeast, will also be watching the superintendent search.

Mark A. Elgart, SACS’ president and executive director, said DeKalb will have a tough time finding a qualified candidate because of its size.

“There are a very limited number of superintendents who have the background and skills to run a system that size,” Elgart told the AJC. “It will take a long search because larger systems are more complex. It will be a challenge because of the size of the district and the dynamics.”

SACS is conducting a preliminary probe following the indictments. In the next six weeks, SACS officials will send the DeKalb school board a list of questions to answer in response to the indictments and other recent incidents.

“Based on their responses, we will determine our next steps,” Elgart said. “We’re looking at all of the information we’ve gathered over the past year. A full-scale investigation is within the realm of possibilities.”

Oh boy.