Friday, December 17, 2010

Educational Adequacy Reports

The School by School Education Adequacy reports are now available on line. A huge amount of kudos to Dan Drake, Director of Planning and Forecasting, for putting all this out there for us to see. As we go through the reports, DCSS faces some tough questions. Of the 134 facilities evaluated in the report, only 42 scored 80 or above in adequacy. Most of those were newer or have been extensively renovated and/or had additions. Contrast that number to the fact that 50 facilities scored poor or unsatisfactory! And there are a lot of schools that ranked fair that are actually just a point or two points better than poor!


NEW INFORMATION IS NOW AVAILABLE.


This is the guidelines that were used to evaluate each of the criteria.


http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/www/documents/vision-2020/suitability-report-setup-detail.pdf


I recommend that you start with the summary report here to get a sense of the range of scores.


http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/www/documents/vision-2020/educational-adequacy-and-technology-readiness-scores.pdf


You can find the school by school information here:


http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/vision-2020


Scroll down to the bottom for the school by school report. The school reports are fairly self explanatory. If a school is scored less than good on a criteria, then the report explains the deficiency at the bottom.


Here is what the scores mean:


http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/www/documents/vision-2020/educational-adequacy-and-technology-readiness-scores-explanations.pdf


Having read through some of the reports, but certainly not all, there are a few things that really stand out to me.


  • Several of the newer schools have classrooms that don’t meet DCSS’ own size requirements. What is up with this?
  • There are some easy fixes out there for some of the issues. Lack of sprinkler systems, adequate fencing, etc cost money but can be corrected.
  • There are some very complicated challenges out there as well. Many schools have spaces that are smaller, sometimes far smaller, than they need to be.
  • The gyms that were added in SPLOST II to most elementary school are smaller than DCSS standards.

Once we have the engineering reports to combine with the adequacy reports, it is necessary to begin to develop a process to decide what we can live with and what we can’t. If every kindergarten classroom in a school is 50 square feet too small, what should we do? If the library is too small by 1500 square feet, what should happen? What problems are ones that we can live with and which demand solutions?



And now a brief word about the technology readiness reports. Again, these reports are straightforward, clear and concise. What is missing from the reports is an acknowledgment that most of those older elementary schools with high scores are there because the parents have invested a tremendous amount of time and energy and money modernizing their community schools and bringing in technology. Vanderlyn doesn’t have Smart Boards in every classroom because the system provided them; they have them because parents did! I think this should be indicated so both the board members and the general public understand how and why this has occurred.

76 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yea, I was right PE was part of Arabia's low score along with storage, classroom size (small classrooms are plus in my books because they mean smaller classes, storage space and "adjacenies". Al

Anonymous said...

Let's see if I understand this:

Chesnut Charter ES is considered a "white" school because it's in the north end of the county, and the technology that is there is a result of the parents, so by the BOE's estimates until now is considered "rich" so state/county money has to be redistributed elsewhere. The classroom size is a function of its age, but because they're "white" (according to people who have never set foot inside) they have to deal with it.

Dunwoody ES is only 5 years old and no one bothered to confirm that the architects' design met the DCSS standards. AND, the BOE signed off on it knowing it didn't meet its own standards.

The same BOE wants more money redistributed because these schools are allegedly "rich" and "white".

Is that the size of it? It looks to me like the BOE set up these schools (and probably others) to be inadequate from the beginning. But for what purpose? "Fairness?" "Equality"? Bring those bad white people bad facilities and inadequate support so others in the county can feel equal? Blow off putting in sprinkler systems in an elementary school, maybe let some of those "rich" kids die in a fire?

The BOE is sick in the head. I've gone from thinking the BOE is incompetent to being sure they are criminally deranged. Nancy and Donna have their work cut out for them.

Anonymous said...

Dunwoody should have been a K-5 school but the BOE did not have the guts to do the redistricting needed to do it. Moreover, it almost seemed that making it grades 4 and 5 was in retaliation to the spirited discussion about who would attend. Certainly it was sawing the baby in half. I do not however remember anything in the on line reports that said Chestnut is "white" school. The per student numbers decide funding through the point system. Title I schools get more moeny as per federal mandate. Title money is based on economic status not race. The two people most responsible for building Dunwoody ES have been fired. These reports are to help us plan to fix the schools and in the obvious cases close some schools. What's past is prologue. We are now trying to move on from what has been done or not done and do what needs to be done.

Anonymous said...

@Anon 12:44
That all sounds wonderful but what are we going to "move on" to? How do we know the BOE will make better decisions? How do we know the incumbents won't retaliate against Nancy and Donna by making decisions that suit their personal egos and shortchange the kids and their teachers even more?

The thing about leaving the past in the past is that if it gets forgotten, it gets repeated. This is such a critical time that the past has to be remembered so that we can ensure that the future is different.

Anonymous said...

It isn't about retaliation as much as it the fact that each board member really is one vote.

For all her noise, Sarah Copelin Woods is really terribly ineffective.

Cerebration said...

Wow. I see Oak Grove scored really low. 59 in Readiness and 66 in Technology... yet they manage to pull such high test scores in spite of such little county support. Parents. Plain and simple. Apparently that's how it goes in DeKalb, if you have parents who can bring it on, then you'll have a great school. Otherwise, good luck even getting to "adequate"...

Cerebration said...

Same with Redan - what a pitiful score - 39 and 45 - but great students - FAB band... Do you suppose the county has ever done the promised technology refresh there? How can there be such huge inequities? Look at Avondale, Chamblee, Cross Keys and the International Student Center.

What an enlightening report... Lots of work to do.

Anonymous said...

chamblee and lakeside hs score low but they seem to be successful schools. I suppose that the building is only part of the picture. who knows maybe with good buildings they would even do better?

Anonymous said...

cchs received an '83' on the technology adequacy report. how come their people always complain about the lack of technology there?

Anonymous said...

But we can afford to give the interim a$73,000 dollar raise.... Wonder why teachers' morale is down, parents are pi$&13#!!!ed and students are not learning. Impeach the board. Where's the governor when it's dekalb in trouble? Where's SACS? Is she going to take the money and run? I feel physically sick. The board members deserve to be puked on. Our kids are not in adequate facilities, outcomes are in decline, but administrators get raises.

Anonymous said...

I work in one of those low scoring schools. These reports speak to the quality of the facilities where we are educating our students. The fact that many of these low scoring schools are successfully educating students has more to do with the hard work and determination of our teachers than the quality of the school facility. A good teacher can teach without all of the bells and whistles. It is a lot easier when you have everything that you need to get the job done.

Anonymous said...

I haven't spent much time looking at these reports, but at first glance, it appears that there are a lot of things that we can do to improve the scores of many of our schools. The scary part is what we will learn when they do the building condition assessments.

Anonymous said...

Why argue? DCSS just needs more money!
It will be well spent. It will make all of the children above average, at least (chuckle)

Maybe triple SPLOST IV from one to three cents to speed up the process.

Anonymous said...

Seriously, I'll vote against SPLOST IV. We can afford to give our INTERIM super a $73,000 raise (see the article on the vote TODAY in the AJC), but we cannot ensure that every elementary school has a gifted coordinator, we cannot ensure that all schools have adequate technology. I DO NOT TRUST THE BOARD IN ANY WAY TO MAKE DECISIONS THAT ARE ABOUT AND FOR OUR KIDS!!! Once again, they have demonstrated a lack of concern about the local schools, and utter disregard for the communities. We have to consolidate (I'm not against this) to cut budgets but can afford this raise????? Why not put the funds towards our kids? I'm at a school that does not qualify for a gifted point with over 65 kids qualified as gifted. Trust me, her raise could have provided IN JANUARY NOT NEXT YEAR funding for someone who can push these kids to excel academically. BUT OUR BOARD DOESN'T CARE. VOTE NO ON SPLOST IV - THEY CANNOT CONTROL ADMINISTRATIVE SPENDING. VOTE NO.

Anonymous said...

splost funds and operating funds are not the same. Anybody who wants to vote no on SPLOST is advocating building more jails for the failures we will generate. Let's throw the baby out with the bath water. Let no innocent person go unpunished as long as we can punish the guilty. The innocent might include our children. Many of our teachers are doing a fine job but we have tied their hands. If we do our job then we should get a board that will do theirs. We have met the enemy and it's us.

Dan Magee said...

Anon 4:20. SPLOST IV can wait a year or two until this BOE and Central Office proves they are capable, ethical and competent enough to spend hundreds of millions of dollars of our tax money. That is not the case now, and almost all of the upper administration that was part of the Lewis/Pope team is still in place now. It's not like we can count on Ron Ramsey to provide any checks and balances.

Anonymous said...

But the people making the decisions on how to spend those funds are one and the same. This board consistently demonstrates an INABILITY to make decisions to do what is right for educational advancement of the children of this county. I know that these are different funding sources. I also know, through demonstrated actions, that this board will make the wrong decisions EVERY TIME. Seriously, there needs to be a court mandated oversight of this board. I simply do not trust them to make good decisions with MY money for MY children and the children of my neighbors. If they could, the money that we had from the last funding session would have been spent as it was sold to the taxpayers. Time and time again this blog has demonstrated that those funds were not spent as promised.

Do you really support this board's decision to give a raise given with teacher morale at the lowest I have ever seen it? Who cares if we have pretty buildings when we will not be able to recruit teachers under this current administrative structure. Really, I don't get your support for this. I am baffled.

The board and the administration are corrupt. Until they can demonstrate otherwise, through administrative decisions and actions, they should not receive taxpayer dollars to spend. The PTAs are doing a better job with their money than is the county. Another SPLOST would just provide them with more of OUR hard earned dollars to blow on corrupt friends and family.

Anonymous said...

http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/dekalb-oks-73-000-780298.html

See the story. Read the votes. Ask your school if they could have used this money for an additional teacher or two to serve the kids who need it. THEN, tell me the board is capable of making good decisions with our money.

Anonymous said...

FYI-- It appears the Henderson Mill ES and Henderson Middle School's suitability reports and technology readiness are backwards. If you click on ES it's displays the MS report and vice versa. Interesting reading for sure.

Anonymous said...

What will happen to our property taxes if we vote no for SPLOST IV? What would happen to schools that need repairs? Would the district have to pass bonds?

Anonymous said...

Interesting note about Henderson Middle School's technology: "For the most part, the MDF/IT equipment is located in a secure space." This on the heels of a recent theft of 30 laptop computers, an lcd tv, and a few Macs. Not so sure about that security!

Anonymous said...

The DeKalb delegates to the state assembly (your state representatives) are concerned that the DCSS BOE has become so dysfunctional as to cause businesses not to want to locate here. They are trying to pass legislation that will allow voters to decide if we need 7 BOE members rather than 2. Personally, I think 5 is plenty. That's what Gwinnett has. Only APS has 9 and that's not working out too well for them is it?

If you are concerned about the raise Ms. Tyson is getting as she lays off schoolhouse employees rather than highly paid Central Office and Support employees, call or email or write your legislator and/or SACS:

See below for information regarding contacting SACS and state representatives.

State Representatives:
Here is a guide to call or email your state representatives:
1. Go to this website:
http://www.votesmart.org/official_state.php?state_id=GA&go2.x=13&go2.y=12&dist=

2. Type the 9-digits of your zip code (hyphen between the 5 digit code and the 4 digit code - e.g. 30033-5786) in the search box at the top of the page to the right of Find the Candidates. Your representatives will be displayed.

3. Click on the name of the representative you want to contact, and you will be taken to his/her information page.

4. On the right hand side of the page, mid-way down, you will see the email and phone number of your representative.

SACS:

SACS Regional Headquarters:
1866 Southern Lane
Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097
Phone:(404) 679-4500
Fax: (404) 679-455

Council on Accreditation and School Improvement:
Commissions on Elementary, Middle, and Secondary Schools
Phone: (888) 413-3669

Mark Elgart
President of SACS
melgart@advanc-ed.org
Phone: (888) 413-3669

Copy and paste this into an email and email all of your friends and neighbors. Your representatives and SACS need to hear your voices.

Anonymous said...

DSA 42 and Avondale HS 45. Did you all know that the amount of money allocated for the renovation at these schools was not all spent? The music facilities at both schools are inadequate. And PE, and art.

And after the vote today on a raise for Ms. Tyson (as opposed to a one-time bonus), how do we trust the school board---even with two new members--- and administration to spend SPLOST IV money responsibly?

Anonymous said...

Avondale HS has a low score but just walk on the campus and its even worse. The school is NI5 with no signs of getting off the list. This school needs to be shuttered. It will benefit the students as well. The only students left at Avondale are those who can't afford to leave or have zero parent involvement and don't care. They would benefit by going to another school with higher standards of expectation. But then again, in DCSS you can't hold students accoutable by failing them when they do nothing and you better not write too many referrals or you'll get called into the principals office. This district is a documentary waiting to happen.

Anonymous said...

Why are the reports saying Dunwoody Elementary opened in 2005? The school has only been open for 2 years.

Anonymous said...

No credit for an interactive smart board in every classroom and no projectors is a negative. Was this a nineteen ninety assessment?

Anonymous said...

It is a sad irony that the educational adequacy reports have been published in the same week the Board votes Ms. Tyson a salary increase of over 40%.

Anonymous said...

Chamblee high school's technolgy labs are adequate but that doesn't give the whole picture. The interactive boards are run on computers that are either the teacher's work station or an OLD computer scavenged from the redone computer labs. Officially the students are not to use the teacher's station so they shouldn't be using the boards either. My IAB runs on an OLD computer and often freezes or crashes in the middle of a lesson. Buying IAB's without new computers was a Tyson decision when she was at MIS. In addition, the wireless does not work well in that building; the laptop carts use old XP laptops that take 10 minutes to start up. The rating must be due to the updated labs, but it sure doesn't give the whole picture.

Ella Smith said...

I was not shocked to see Lakeside and Chamblee High Schools as having the lowest academic readiness in the county.

Both of these schools really do need the money being spent on them. I think it says volumes to the quality of education in these schools with the educational readiness of the facilities.

Anonymous said...

"the laptop carts use old XP laptops that take 10 minutes to start up. The rating must be due to the updated labs, but it sure doesn't give the whole picture. "

If this group thinks 2 computers for 34 high school students is adequate technology, they have no idea what it takes to have technology integration in the classroom. Please tell me how teacher would use technology in the classroom with a ratio of 1 computer to 16 students.

Look at this quote from the old DCSS Technology Plan (2004-2009). Little has changed, and no labs have been added:

"In the high schools, access to computers to use with students as part of their instructional program varies widely. Only 16% of the high school teachers have substantial to virtually unlimited access (from 2 to 6 hours per day) to computers to use with students as part of their instructional program.

The remaining 84% of high school teachers have an average of 16 minutes per day of access to computers to integrate technology into their curriculum.

This disparity occurs because most of the labs are dedicated to a small
number of teachers such as the Business Education teacher, Technology Education teacher, Reading teacher, and in some cases the ESOL teacher or gifted teacher.
Core teachers (e.g. Social Studied, Science, English, Math, etc.) make up the majority of teachers who have little access to instructional technology.

Even these numbers vary from school to school as one school may provide
their core teachers with 6 minutes a day while another may provide up to 30 minutes per day. Core teachers in some schools may take their students to the lab once or twice a week, while core teachers in other schools may take their students to the lab once or twice a month."

Once or twice a month to take your students to a lab is totally unacceptable. Since the number of labs hasn't changed, the technology situation hasn't changed. What happened to the SPLOST technology millions to be spent on technology. Ms. Tyson oversaw their expenditure. DCSS had very little progress while she headed MIS.

source:2006-2009 Tech Plan:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBsQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dekalb.k12.ga.us%2Fmis%2Ffiles%2Fe0079762382040f5ab783682d4d3c5d3.pdf&rct=j&q=dcss%20technology%20plan%202004&ei=IysOTeOfPMWt8AawyoDSDQ&usg=AFQjCNGE0o0akJC6recrT2YhKu08IOthUw&sig2=bCc-MSkw0zpGzaXmyahRXg&cad=rja

Anonymous said...

I found a number of errors in Robert Shaw's report (http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/www/documents/vision-2020/suitability-report-robertshawes-(2010-12-10).pdf) Most notable was that there is a large number of students from Spanish speaking countries. We have very few children from Latin America most of our immigrant students are from East Africa and the Middle east. The statements regarding the teacher's lounge are way off base. We have a dreadful teachers lounge that is more of passage to the tiny staff restrooms. In this room is a coke machine, a frig, microwave, a small table, a few chairs and a die cutter. They also failed to mention that the HVAC in certain parts of the building is troublesome on a continual basis giving us climate control that is for the most part out of control. With this in mind I hope other staff look at the reports and post any invalid information.

Anonymous said...

"Chamblee high school's technolgy labs are adequate but that doesn't give the whole picture. "

Do these evaluators understand what's necessary for technology integration in the classroom. How can they consider 2 computers in the back of the classroom adequate for a class of 30+ students.

Nothing has changed with respect to the number of labs so that situation is still terrible. Look at this quote from the old DCSS Tech Plan 2006-2009. The computers might be new, but the access problem is still there:

"In the high schools, access to computers to use with students as part of their instructional program varies widely. Only 16% of the high school teachers have substantial to virtually unlimited access (from 2 to 6 hours per day) to computers to use with students as part of their instructional program.

The remaining 84% of high school teachers have an average of 16 minutes per day of access to computers to integrate technology into their curriculum.

This disparity occurs because most of the labs are dedicated to a small
number of teachers such as the Business Education teacher, Technology Education teacher, Reading teacher, and in some cases the ESOL teacher or gifted teacher.

Core teachers (e.g. Social Studied, Science, English, Math, etc.) make up the majority of teachers who have little access to instructional technology.

Even these numbers vary from school to school as one school may provide
their core teachers with 6 minutes a day while another may provide up to 30 minutes per day. Core teachers in some schools may take their students to the lab once or twice a week, while core teachers in other schools may take their students to the lab once or twice a month."

Ms. Tyson oversaw MIS during these years. What progress did we see in MIS meeting the needs of students with all of those SPLOST millions earmarked for technology for students?

Anonymous said...

2006-09 DCSS Tech Plan if you want to read it yourself. Very little has changed with regard to student access to technology. This document is much better than the newest Tech Plan 2009-12 which doesn't really have any significant data.

DCSS Tech Plan 2006-09:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBsQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dekalb.k12.ga.us%2Fmis%2Ffiles%2Fe0079762382040f5ab783682d4d3c5d3.pdf&rct=j&q=dcss%20technology%20plan%202004&ei=IysOTeOfPMWt8AawyoDSDQ&usg=AFQjCNGE0o0akJC6recrT2YhKu08IOthUw&sig2=bCc-MSkw0zpGzaXmyahRXg&cad=rja

Anonymous said...

@ anonymous 11:23

"Core teachers (e.g. Social Studied, Science, English, Math, etc.) make up the majority of teachers who have little access to instructional technology. "

Well, that makes no sense. The Content area teachers have the entire responsibility for Making AYP on their backs. It seems like everyone including MIS should be bending over backwards to provide whatever the content area teachers need. The content areas are the ONLY way DCSS can make AYP. Yet it seems we shortchange those employees.

Anonymous said...

$10 mil tradeoff?! What the blank is Foghorn Leghorn, er, Paul Womack talking about? They throw around millions without a second thought yet screw teachers every chance they get!


http://www.championnewspaper.com/news/articles/705lakeside-high’s-multi-million-dollar-overhaul-begins705.html

Representing Lakeside, District 4 board member Paul Womack also spoke to the crowd and said politics and parents made it all possible.

“I want to thank my fellow board members for accepting a little tradeoff of about $10 to 11 million to make all this happen. I guess it’s politics,” Womack said.

Anonymous said...

Lord only knows. He gets confused sometimes....

Anonymous said...

Silly me - I thought SPLOST made it all possible. WTH is Womack babbling about?

Anonymous said...

Where's the educational adequacy report for the staff at the Central Office, affectionately called the Palace? Mr. Drake needs to do one on the MIS Dept. how many non-schoolhouse personnel really know what they're doing?

Ms. Million Dollar Tyson oversaw the DCSS MIS Dept. for years. She even had no idea employees were hiding out, not reporting for their real jobs, after being given significant pay increases and also had no idea how to do their jobs.

Jamal Edwards, son of former BOE Chairperson Francis Edwards, comes to mind first. How many more clueless folks do we have at the Central Office? Do I even have to ask this question? Can you believe it? A person does not report to their new job, with a pay increase, for 6 months until parents at a school discover this person has been hiding out. How come Tyson didn't know this? Today, Tyson is given a 44% raise and this Jamal Edwards continues to work for the system? I smell a huge rat and it's Ms. Tyson.

She shouldn't be given a raise she should be shown the door!

Anonymous said...

calling all Lakeside fundraisers....I don't understand why the school has to fundraise to bring the school any where near the standard of other high schools when it is at the very bottom of all high schools (23 is it?) when Tucker and Chamblee are both getting (have gotten) complete overhauls without the need for the parents to raise any of the needed funds (fyi the parents are trying to raise appx $5 million to "finish out" what they think is needed for the renovation -- not including replacing HVAC units that never should have been installed in the first place because they were way too loud for the rooms). Just wondering why this makes any sense at all.... I think Lakeside scored a 23 and the next lowest is Redan at a 39 ... all other HS are much higher and Lakeside is one of the best on academic performance... something just isn't right.

Anonymous said...

Is it true the rennovations and building expansion at Lakeside were necessary to fit the principal's ego?

Jim Bohica and Ben Dover

Anonymous said...

@ Jim Bohica & Ben Dover (?!)
"Is it true the rennovations and building expansion at Lakeside were necessary to fit the principal's ego?"

Uncalled for. Lakeside has been in desperate need of repair, updating, renovation, remodeling and expansion for YEARS. So your comment is a personal dig at which principal over the years?? This work has nothing to do with the ego of a principal, but everything to do with DCSS's contempt of a high-performing high school.

Anonymous said...

Lakeside received $11 million in SPLOST III (like other high schools) for career tech and performing arts additions and renovations to the main building. As Womack admits (call SACS everyone!), he used politics (translate: Do this for me and I 'll do "x" for you...) with other BOE members to get LHS an additional $10-11 million for a new classroom addition...then Colman went back to the BOE and asked for another $2 million for roofing when the bids came in too high. Watch Womack - he and Don M. are already gunning for Coralwood to get $10 million of the unallocated SPLOST funds for their 209 students even though they have been completely renovated - bet he gets it too - despite all the other needs in the county!

A fundraising campaign is underway for $1.5 million - it is for the "extras" and it is being driven by the principal: he wants astro turf (controversial), rubberized track, a concession stand, all the fields lit, and more. He announces the "Valhalla Project" at every LHS event and hands out donation fliers - even if the event is a sports banquet that should be about the student athletes.

Booster clubs and their teacher sponsors are feeling pressured to make a donation to the Valhalla Project. Heck the band director announced at the Fine Arts holiday concert the band was giving $3000 - much to the shock and anger of band parents who had no idea and had just finished a major fundraiser for what they thought were band needs. Teacher and student issues are falling by the wayside while attention is focused on this fundraiser. Staff, student and parent morale is quickly falling.

Hopefully, the school will have all the instructional components when it is finished to score well on an educational adequacy assessment but no guarantee! The sad story will be if the Valhalla Project gets all new sports items but there are unmet instruction needs (almost guaranteed based on other shcools' stories of renovations)...anyone want to take bets?

Cerebration said...

What happens if they only raise $100,000? Is there a trigger in place for milestones (ie: what the money will be spent on at certain points) or are they required to return it if they don't make the goal -- or do they just continue to fundraise for X years until they meet the goal? It's a pretty lofty goal - I wish them luck in this economy...

Anonymous said...

Great question Cere! There is no prioritized list that has been published. If less than $1.5 million is raised, everyone that has given will likely expect the funds to be used for the project they were most interested in - but seems no one is thinking about that right now. Word on the street is Womack and some LHS folks think they can get the BOE to finance the rest of the funds if LHS can show a good faith effort toward fundraising. And with politics mentioned earlier, maybe he can but it would be a shame unless all educational inadequacies in the county are met first. Stay tuned!

Cerebration said...

Now that I"ve had a spot of time, I went back and looked at some of the reports and to tell the truth, it's a bit depressing and over-whelming. Obviously, some consolidation HAS to occur. We have tiny little schools and programs all over the place sucking up resources and costing a lot in admin staff as well as needing their own library, science labs, etc. This simply waters down the resources for everyone and it looks to me like the highest achievers are most left in the dust.

Take for example, Lakeside's score for technology readiness (52.5) vs the score for the Alternative School's technology (a school currently located in a shopping center!) (73.3)

Or how about the fact that we have Avondale HS and DSA now located on the same property, but not merged (like the HS of Tech North merged with Cross Keys utilizing one principal and admin staff for both) Cross Keys population is now approaching 1000 students and their tech score was a 95 after the recent renovation! However, the building suitability is still just 69.3 due to things like terrible outdoor facilities, bad cafeteria, no clinic, no auditorium and little storage.

Oddly, after spending over $10 million moving and renovating space for DSA at Avondale, the school scored a 36.68 in suitability. I guess Avondale should be proud to have scored a 44.79 in the same category - when they are located on the same campus! Gee - what would happen if we made these schools consolidate - or made DSA consolidate with SOMEONE - it is outrageous to me that these 322 students get their own principal, who actually makes more than the principal of the 589 Avondale students (same campus mind you) - their combined salaries totaling over $200k. PLUS each school has a full staff of APs, counselors and teachers!

FWIW, DSA scored 73.4 in tech readiness while Avondale scored 59.2.

Cerebration said...

To look at the alternative programs, one wonders why we can't consolidate a few of these as well - at least administratively! Each of these schools has it's own facility, principal and full admin staff as well as it's own library and librarian.

DeKalb Alternative - (Principal making $102k, plus 3 APs, 3 Admin Assistants, 30 core teachers and 3 or more other teachers. Quite nice when they only have 166 day students and 95 night students.

DeKalb Transition Academy - for students who are transitioning from juvenile detention. They apparently stay here for one semester. The current enrollment is 37 students, and the school has a $97,500 principal, 2 APs, a guidance counselor, a social worker, 12 teachers and one librarian at $47k.

Then we have DECA (DeKalb EArly College Academy) vs Gateway (a high school program culminating in an Associates degree at Perimeter College). Gateway appears to be run by Perimeter College at the Clarkston campus. However, DECA is housed at the Stone Mt facility along with - but separate from the Elizabeth Andrews alternative high school. DECA has 187 students, its own principal ($104,500) an AP ($97,700) a librarian ($66,000), a counseling staff and 8 "professors" (teachers). (Notice the 1:2 ratio of admin to teachers!)

Could this program not combine somehow with Eliz Andrews with their 534 students, $105,000 principal, 3 APs, 8 clerical staff, 5 resource officers, 7 custodians, 11 English teachers, 10 social studies teachers, 8 science teachers, 11 math teachers, 6 career tech teachers, 4 world language and art teachers and 2 special ed teachers?

Why do we continue to cram more students into regular classrooms at regular schools when we have such small, expensive programs scattered all over the county usurping funding? This is not equitable whatsoever.

Cerebration said...

Or how about Destiny Academy - A charter school also targeting at risk students led by Frankie Callaway's husband, Clarence and housed in a former school building now owned by New Birth church. Enrollment in the past has hovered around 100 students. There is little information available regarding the costs associated with this school - their FTE was not included in the recent DCSS postings even though all other school system charters were. (For example, the Leadership Academy, headed by Frankie Callaway and actually housed in New Birth has only 180 students -- but a full admin staff.) How are these charters paying their bills with such low enrollment?

Anonymous said...

Let US not start fighting. Let us not put Gifted vs ESOL vs Magnet vs Alternative vs Special Ed vs North vs South. All students can learn but all students cannot learn in the same manner. Some students need more support. Speak to a parent about a student with emotional problems, or one who does not speak any English or one who is bright and gifted. Ask them if one size can fit all students. Before we start throwing each other under the bus, we should spend some time learning about our different schools. We also must consider the needs of our students. Shouldn't any system also be judged by how we treat the "least of these." I do not think that the prayer of any parent is "Let my child be born with special needs and behavioral problems that could impact his or her entire life."
In the quest for the best for a certain school, let us not try to get it by tearing down other schools. You remember that saying about 'they' came for certain groups and the person said nothing. Eventually they came for the person and there was no one left to speak.
We have to find a way to speak for all students.

Anonymous said...

I am have been perusing the New York Times this morning, and without exception their special programs all share buildings. Is it always easy? Not really, but it is either share or shut down.

DCSS must streamline these programs. They can be separate but the they must share facilities.

Cerebration said...

North Springs HS is a very successful magnet for the Arts in Fulton Co. Ella teaches special education there. I don't see why we couldn't simply try to emulate that program at say, Lakeside. Lakeside could EASILY absorb DSA and most certainly GROW the program, as Lakeside has nearly as many talented students of it's own. They just choose Lakeside because it offers sports and more social interaction than tiny DSA. Why are we running TWO completely separate programs when we could combine them into a North Springs-like school?

Same for the Alternative school and some of the others. Let's find out where we can consolidate and save money before we go increasing regular class sizes willy nilly. It's time to do some very hard work. Ramona - start earning that raise!

Cerebration said...

ps, Anon 2:04 PM - I don't think we're "fighting" here. I think we're identifying some places where we can save considerable amounts of money AND provide more effective programs.

Anonymous said...

Cere, did you know that BOTH DSA and Avondale High School received huge state STEM grants for science labs? Two individual grants for ONE building. DCSS refuses to disclose the reason, but Chamblee Middle school was linked with DSA for the STEM grant instead of linking Chamblee High School. All the other grants went to middle/high feeder programs. And the county applied for these STEM grants last year- long before there was any talk or proposal to use stimulus bonds to build a new Chamblee HS.

Many of the other programs could easily be consolidated and some should be discontinued. I don't see how the DSCC administration can ask parents to close an elementary school of 250 students but keep a separate school fully staffed and funded for 37 students who are juvenile delinquents.

Anonymous said...

WHY???????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please explain this to me Tom Bowen, Ramona Tyson, Gene Walker, Paul Womack, etc.::

DeKalb Alternative - (Principal making $102k, plus 3 APs, 3 Admin Assistants, for 261 students and 33 teachers?? Why do we need 3 gosh darn AP's????

DeKalb Transition Academy - A $97,500 principal, 2 APs for 37 students and 12 teachers??!! Why 2 AP's???


This stuff is OUTRAGEOUS and another reason why we don't trust the then Lewis now Tyson led Central Office.

It's all about administrators at the expense of students and teachers.

Let's pay master teachers more than AP's. Let's right the ship.

Anonymous said...

Cere, did you know that BOTH DSA and Avondale High School received huge state STEM grants for science labs? Two individual grants for ONE building. DCSS refuses to disclose the reason, but Chamblee Middle school was linked with DSA for the STEM grant instead of linking Chamblee High School. All the other grants went to middle/high feeder programs. And the county applied for these STEM grants last year- long before there was any talk or proposal to use stimulus bonds to build a new Chamblee HS.

DSA does not have a feeder middle school - thus they chose CMS to partner with. The grants were awarded by the GADOE, not DCSS.

Cerebration said...

Yes, we discussed this after the last board meeting on this thread

Technology: A 2020 Vision

In addition, Avondale HS was awarded 64 laptops, carts, projectors, 2 digital cameras, 32 headphones, surge protectors, software, professional development, KSU Learning and money for infrastructure costs.

Same for Avondale Middle - only 32 laptops, plus most of the above and 32 desktop computers and 32 TI calculators.

Cedar Grove HS - same stuff - 32 laptops, 32 desktops, etc.. 2 digital cameras...

Cedar Grove MS - 32 laptops, 32 desktops, TI calculators

Dunwoody HS - 32 laptops, high def video, 2 digital cameras, headphones, 32TI Calculators, 32 desktops

Chamblee MS - 64 laptops, 32 Ti calculators, headphones, etc...

DSA - 64 laptops, high def video, projector, audio, 2 digital cameras, 32 headphones, interactive board, 32 Ti calculators, etc.

Peachtree MS - same middle school pkgs... 32 laptops, etc, 32 desktops, etc, 32 TI calculators, 50 professional development packages.

Anonymous said...

"I don't see how the DSCC administration can ask parents to close an elementary school of 250 students but keep a separate school fully staffed and funded for 37 students who are juvenile delinquents."

These students are out of jail on probation, and if they mess up they'll be back in jail. Needless to say they have some pretty strict controls. Would you like these students moved to your school?

Anonymous said...

Anon at 7:30 p.m.

My kids school is already full of juvenile delinquents and many have seen the inside of jail. So if we got 12 more tachers for just 37 students, YES, we'd take them. Most of our classes now have 32 students for ONE teacher.

Anonymous said...

@ anonymous 8:37

So write your BOE members and express your opinion.

Go to the home page of DeKalb School Watch and on the right hand side you can click on a link that will allow you to email all BOE members.

Anonymous said...

@ Anonymous 8:37
That's no t a bad idea to close the alternative schools and blend them into the other schools.

Auntie Gerrymander said...

Separate alternative schools benefit not only the regular students by keeping the kids with behavior problems away from typical kids, they also help the kids with behavior problems by breaking the ties with their old social group. Moreover, the process of being "panelled out" can be a big wake up call to kids and parents that otherwise would have their heads in the sand. Keep those kids miles away, if you please. YMMV.

Cerebration said...

If that's truly what we want to do, then we can't complain when funding isn't available for regular schools... there's just not enough money to do it all - and there will be less next year.

Anonymous said...

It cracks me up that the same posters who complain about overcrowding and lack of facilities at Lakeside also want to move move students there by merging it with DSA.

Anonymous said...

@ Cere

Can DeKalb meet the restrictions on these students in a regular school? For example, in some of the most severe alternative schools in DCSS, they are not allowed Internet access. And many are extremely behind in the most basic of subjects.

The teachers I worked with at the high security alternative schools were very competent and totally devoted to their students. These kids know that if they mess up, it's jail for them, and the teachers know this too. These separate schools and tiny classes are very expensive for DCSS, but not handling the problem is also very expensive.

I remember what happened in 1996:
DeKalb Alternative (High) School, Scottsdale, Georgia

Wednesday, September 25, 1996
"It only took a week for 16-year-old David Dubose, Jr. to bring violence to Scottsdale, Georgia. The teen had been enrolled at DeKalb for less than week when he brought a .38-caliber revolver with him to school today. He repeatedly fired it into the chest of English teacher Dr. Horace P. Morgan, 49, who had been at the school for ten years. Dr. Morgan died from this attack. "

Cerebration said...

That's a truly sad story. I don't know what the answer is. I would hope that the juvenile justice system would offer support of these programs and not leave the bulk of the responsibility with the school system. It's a societal issue.

Also - regarding merging DSA into Lakeside. If the transfers (estimated to be between 400-600) were not at Lakeside, there would be plenty of room for everyone. Basically, there are so many out of district students in that building for one reason or another that it has forced the school to add 21 trailers - making students who live in the district have to contend with the over-crowding and the trailers. If Lakeside were converted to a North Springs type charter, there would be room for regular in-district students as well as charter students. In fact, now that Lakeside is getting an enormous addition, I predict the school will end up with the largest capacity in the whole system.

Anonymous said...

@ Cere
"I would hope that the juvenile justice system would offer support of these programs and not leave the bulk of the responsibility with the school system. "

I would not count on the state's juvenile justice system. However, I believe the state does give DCSS a substantial amount of extra funding for these students. Maybe another poster knows if that is true.

Anonymous said...

The law requires that students be educated. Even if a student has been charged with a serious offense depending on his or age, the child must be in school. Even if a student is over 16, there are times that the court will mandate that the student remains in school or get some type of training.
Alternative schools do serve a purpose. There are students that because of their offensives should not be in a regular school setting. It does not mean that these students cannot learn from their errors and be merged into a regular school in time.
But to take a student who has been in jail for an extended period of time and send that student back to a traditional school is not a good plan.
This is the world that we live in today. It is sad but even our young people do violent and dangerous crimes, but the law requires that they be educated. A pubilc school system has to try and find the way to meet the needs of students from all levels and all backgrouds.

Cerebration said...

Please scroll back and reread my comments. I in no way stated that we should forgo these programs. I questioned why we have so many very small ones (anywhere from 37-100 students) and if they could not somehow be consolidated under one administration? (ie: shared principal, APs counselors, library and librarian, custodial, security, teachers, etc...) As it is now, they each have their own complete staff -- $$$.

Same for DSA and Avondale... If Chamblee magnet can share space and staff with regular Chamblee then why not DSA?

Anonymous said...

Dear Cere,

My comment was not intended to suggest that you were stating that we should eliminate the programs. It is just a complex problem. When students have some very serious issues, it is sometimes hard to educate them in a traditional school. This is for their good and the good of other students. DeKalb Alternative Night School and Dekalb Alternative Day School share the same building. I think that the school for students that were truant closed at the end of last school year.

Anonymous said...

If you go and take a look at a school -- somewhat similar to Northsprings -- in NJ -- Union County Magnet High School, Scotch Plains, N.J. -- it is a selective-admission school that focuses on science, math, and technology --if you were to look at it's campus you would find that it shares, community college style, with vo-tech schools -- we could model Cross Keys to do the same -- build the new Chamblee on the site (retain the name); bring Cross Keys up to state of the art; add in DSA for the performing arts magnet -- run them as separate schools, with admissions designed to actually fit what is best for the individual students and faculty wanting to actually help those students, but consolidate the administrative resorources and share "sharable" facilities (cafeteria, gym, track, auditorium, library, A/P classes even). It could be an incredible school serving the teens as adults in a way that would leave people wondering in the dust why all high schools weren't operating like this....

Anonymous said...

Cross Keys is bout as uncentral as we can get in DeKalb.

Anonymous said...

I find the idea of combining Lakeside and DSA intriguing. Lakeside has a very strong arts program with more involvement than DSA has students. I know of very talented students who have transferred from DSA to Lakeside because of the music department at Lakeside.

As far as the Valhalla project goes, I think it only makes sense to make all the improvements to the school at once. Mr. Reed is trying to make Lakeside a school we can be proud of in many areas -- academics, sports, and the arts.

Anonymous said...

"Cross Keys is bout as uncentral as we can get in DeKalb. "

Not really. It's less than 2 minutes from I85.

Anonymous said...

"I find the idea of combining Lakeside and DSA intriguing. Lakeside has a very strong arts program with more involvement than DSA has students. I know of very talented students who have transferred from DSA to Lakeside because of the music department at Lakeside."

I'm a big Lakeside fan and combining DSA isn't a bad idea.

However, the Lakeside site just can't handle any more students. And traffic there is horrible during drop off and pick up, with little pedestrian access (the David Guillory-led DCSS Transportation Dept. is doing a pathetic job with Safe Routes to School).

The orginal LHS site was never designed to hold as much as it's holding now. Unless there was a parking deck added and a second & third story added (as the Gwinnett School System is doing at South Gwinnett High on 78), Lakeside is literally built out.

I'd rather see DCSS secure a site near Lakeside to build brand new and sell the existing site to the county for a park. There is real estate behind the mini-mall with Jason's Deli that will never be this cheap again. This is the best time ever for DCSS to either acquire property or do a swap out with the county.

P.S. There really should be two DSA's. With the rush hour traffic in the county, there should be two. Memorial Dr. has a ton of available real estate. Another good location would be near the county's Porter Sanford Performing Arts Center.. An arts campus is something that even this county and schol system should be able to agree on work together, and reap the economic benefits from. It's not fair for students by Stonecrest to travel to a DSA at Lakeside, and vice-versa.

Anonymous said...

The Lakeside site would function well IF there weren't so many administrative transfers there. if it was just filled with students from its sending district, the campus would be fine. It's still too small, but there are hundreds of students there out of district, and Ramona Tyson still hasn't gotten AT's under control.

Anonymous said...

Though Fulton, Gwinnett, adn Cobb all have performing arts magnet schools, that are within existing high schools, every high school in those systems have outstanding arts departments on their own.

Every school. We can't even come close to saying that in DeKalb. In the last 6 years, our neighborhood high school hasn't consistently been able to offer choral music classes because there hasn't always been a teacher. For a high school, this is inexcusable.

We need to fix the inequities first before creating more of them.

Anonymous said...

one big reason the lower performing schools stay lower performing is because so many gifted and talented students go to magnets leaving the home school bereft of what and who could help become strong arts programs in each school. dekalb is geographically elitist but apparently no one wants to talk about or admit that. and i've been teaching in one of those lower performing schools for almost 20 years.