DeKalb has fallen down for special education students

According to information sent to the blog, it appears that DeKalb County school system is not doing a good job of providing the legally required "adequate" education for special education students. This is extremely important because much of this funding comes from the federal government and special education services are protected by the IDEA Act.

Special Education services in DCSS cost approximately $90,000,000 a year, nearly 10% of the entire budget. DCSS employs 1,369 Special Education teachers (almost 20% of our total teachers versus 87 Gifted teachers). Per Ms. Tyson’s cost per teacher of $65,000, this would equal $88,985,000 in salaries and benefits spent for Special Education teachers alone.

The state of Georgia has put DCSS under Focused Monitoring with respect to mathematics for our students receiving Special Education Services.

According to a Georgia Department of Education (DOE) study conducted at the end of 2008, DeKalb County services for Special Education students with respect to mathematics are not in compliance in a number of areas, and we may be subject to sanctions from the DOE if we do not show the necessary improvement.

Much of the findings have to do with Assistive Technology. Does the DCSS Information Systems group have a plan to provide these students with the assistive technology they need? DCSS taxpayers spend $19,000,000 in annual personnel costs for our MIS group, millions more for Dell to install and maintain the computers and Activboards, and even millions more for eSis and SchoolNet, integrated systems that are supposed to give teachers the information that will allow them to individualize instruction.

Another area of concern was the Student Support Team process. Educators involved in SST didn’t seem to understand the process.

Individualization for Special Education students was found lacking. For example, flexible grouping and materials organized in advance for students with special needs were weak areas.

Finally, training was seen as a weak area. 35% of all professionals were not familiar with the Special Education manual and 60.8% of paraprofessionals said that they need more training to assist them with accommodations/instructional adaptations.

How can we spend so much while our Special Education students receive so little?

"Summary of On-Site Findings:
The monitoring team found noncompliance in the following area(s):

• Some students with disabilities are not receiving a free and appropriate public education (FAPE).
• Some student referrals are not preceded by evidenced based academic and/or behavioral interventions.
• Some students with disabilities do not have appropriate Transition Services in place to facilitate the student's movement from school to post-secondary services

Required Evidence of Improvement:
The system's 2011 assessment data must meet the annual measurable objective of 75.70% proficiency in mathematics by making AYP for the students with disabilities subgroup. Systems that fail to meet the target and fail to meet compliance criteria within one year may be subject to sanctions from the GaDOE
A review of the data shows that when DeKalb County School System is compared with the 12 other systems in the same size group, the percent of students with disabilities meeting standards in mathematics is below State Target. A review of previous years’ data also shows that the percentage of students with disabilities meeting standards in mathematics was below State Target.”

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Many thanks to "DeKalb Parent" for this blog post.

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For more info:

Direct link to the GA DOE report;
http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/DWPreview.aspx?wid=188&obj=121396&fm=1&mode=1

Wikipedia has a pretty good overview of IDEA.

The Office of Special Education Programs offers an informative parent and teacher tool kit on teaching and assessing students with disabilities. Click here for the link.

An open letter to DeKalb parents, from the county's school board chairman

By Tom Bowen
9:14 p.m. Tuesday, June 15, 2010

DeKalb County parents and taxpayers have a growing number of probing and legitimate questions following the racketeering and corruption indictments handed down by a DeKalb County grand jury against former Superintendent Crawford Lewis and three others, and they deserve answers.

First of all, the DeKalb Board of Education does not condone unlawful behavior; neither do we allow indicted employees to remain on the job until a reporter starts “asking questions” as the AJC reported recently (“Indicted school officials cost DeKalb taxpayers,” News, May 28).

School board members started asking questions about the continued employment of the district’s former chief operating officer, Patricia Reid (then Patricia Pope), more than six months ago.

The board decided that the best course of action was to remove Reid from any decision-making over the construction program and reassign her to another position until her contract expired.

The board then decided not to renew her contract. The board considered this the best way to address concerns about the construction program.

Parents are again rightly asking why she remains in our employ until her contract expires June 30.

The answer: To take further action could trigger a fair dismissal hearing, which, according to DeKalb County District Attorney Gwen Keyes Fleming, could jeopardize testimony in upcoming criminal proceedings.

There have also been questions about why the board was unaware of the activities alleged in the indictment.

But District Attorney Fleming has been very clear on this point. “The indictment alleges that Board of Education members were intentionally misled,” she said at a news conference announcing the charges, adding that no board members were implicated in any way.

Ultimately, however, the final responsibility rests with the board. We accept that responsibility and will review our public bidding procedures and strengthen our ethics policies.

When internal reviews reveal irregularities in bidding and other procedures, we will report those to the proper authorities, as the school system did in this instance.

Whenever the focus of our board and administration, parents and supporters is shifted away from education, we face a challenge far greater than the controversy that distracted us.

We ask, therefore, for our community’s support in staying focused on the work of educating nearly 100,000 students who will return to classrooms in less than eight weeks.

We will continue to cooperate with legal authorities. We’ll continue to adhere to employment law and to respect the rights of the accused.

In the meantime, we need for our community of parents and public school supporters to pull together for a tough time ahead.

Especially during a time of public controversy and severe budget cuts, we need to do all we can to stay focused on educating our kids.

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Tom Bowen is chairman of the DeKalb Board of Education.
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/an-open-letter-to-549921.html

Huh? Somebody 'splain this to me, please.

Ok, today's AJC has a very strange report. In it, we're told that Pat Pope's attorney, Manny Arora has been knocking on the doors of the homes of members of the grand jury. He says he can legally do this. Chief Assistant District Attorney Don Geary says that he can't—that jurors are sworn to secrecy and speaking with Arora would violate that oath. Judge Cynthia Becker issued a temporary protective order barring the lawyer for an indicted school administrator from contacting members of the grand jury. We also learn that Pat Pope is still on the payroll until the end of the month and that there will be a hearing on July 12.

That's not the odd part. The odd part is the last part. Can anyone explain this:

In addition to the criminal investigation into bid tampering, bribery and theft, the grand jury is now conducting a civil investigation into school board operations, Geary said.

The civil investigation cannot result in charges.

So, are they going to investigate school board operations? If so, to what end, if it cannot result in charges?

Update: Bloggers have shared some interesting input. First, we were directed to an informative article at Law.com titled, "Lawyers in Ga. School Racketeering Case Reflect High Stakes" that explains the key lawyers, their experience and who they are representing. Another article explains the Differences between Civil and Criminal Law in the USA.

The Friends and Family Plan

Ok - we've had so doggone many comments posted about the "Friends and Family" plan that we have decided to create a permanent page to collect all we can as to "who's related to whom" and what their job is - how they got it - if they are qualified - and how much they are paid.

Add your knowledge to the comments below.

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UPDATE: This thread has been reopened with the following request.

Just post the facts - use a simple format that looks like the below....

Person, title, relative/friend (description of who that person is), salary (if known)

FOR EXAMPLE:
Philandra Guillory, Oversees DCSS 24 (title) Mother is Frances Edwards (former DCSS Board Member), $100K+
Please add in parentheses who the relative or friend is.."

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ANOTHER UPDATE: Check out our post entitled, Important new nepotism legislation could cause problems for Zepora Roberts to find out about the nepotism clause inserted into HB 251 and recently passed into law. This new law could actually prevent Zepora from seeking reelection due to the fact that one of her daughters currently employed by DCSS was promoted to Assistant Principal in 2009.

Michelle Obama's Wise Words

Our first lady recently gave the commencement speech to students at Anacostia Senior High School in Washington, D.C. Below are a few excerpts I found inspiring. I hope we can all take a minute to internalize her message, have faith in our teachers, our students and each other and move forward in our healing.

I know this has been a long journey to get here, full of warm memories, your friendships and teachers, and maybe not-so-warm memories with rules and papers and tests. And I know for some of you, there may have been times when you weren’t quite sure you’d make it.

But you are here. So I want you all to soak it up. Just soak it up. You’re here! You made it to this day. I want you all graduates to pat yourselves on the back. Do a little patting. I want you to be proud of what you’ve accomplished to get here today, because I know your families are proud of you. Your teachers are proud of you. And I am so proud of you all. I really am.

And looking out at all of you, I’m reminded that many of you have overcome a lot to be here, much like the community of Anacostia itself. Founded back in the 1800s for folks who worked at the Navy Yard across the river, Anacostia eventually became a place where people worked hard as clerks and civil servants, and as teachers and tradesmen, where families looked out for one another, where strong churches were the heart and soul of the community.

And yet, we also know that this community has had its share of struggles. And for a long time, Anacostia was segregated. In its early years, it was even illegal for African Americans to own land in parts of this community. And even after those barriers were torn down, others emerged. Poverty. Violence. Inequality.

But, despite these challenges, Anacostia continues to push forward. And that’s what I admire about this community and what I admire about all of you all. See, in the face of incredible struggles, you refuse to be defined by the hardships or the adversities. . . .

As all of you know, I’m talking about Frederick Douglass. (Applause.) We remember him today as one of America’s most eloquent and beloved leaders. But I want you all to just think for a moment about what it took for Frederick Douglass to become that kind of leader. Just think about it. I want you to think about the odds he faced when he was your age. This is a man who was born into slavery. His mom died when he was a boy. He never knew his father. Because it was illegal to educate slaves, he taught himself how to read and write.

And when he was just a couple of years older than you all are today, he escaped from slavery, traveled all the way to England, and made friends in Britain who eventually bought his freedom.

After he returned to America, Frederick Douglass became a leading abolitionist, an advisor to President Lincoln, and an inspiration to people of every creed and color, fighting for equality not just for African Americans, but for women and others, until his final days.

So I tell you this story because it is one of the best examples in our history of the American spirit. It’s an example of someone picking themselves up in the face of adversity, persevering through thick and thin, and proving to the world that nothing can stop a person from pursuing their dream. And that’s the same perseverance, the same character and the spirit that I know we have in so many of you.

I imagine that for some of you all, getting this far hasn’t been easy. Perhaps there were those who wanted to write you off, maybe because of assumptions they made about you or your school or your community. But every day you’re proving them wrong. You're proving that it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about you or what you can achieve. The only thing that matters, rather, is what you think about yourself and what you’re willing to do to achieve your goals. That's all that matters. (Applause.) How hard are you willing to work, how big are you willing to dream? . . .

Maybe you feel like no one has your back, like you’ve been let down by people so many times that you’ve stopped believing in yourself. Maybe you feel like your destiny was written the day you were born and you ought to just rein in your hopes and scale back your dreams.

But if any of you are thinking that way, I’m here to tell you, stop it. Don't do that. Don’t ever scale back your dreams. And don’t ever set limits on what you can achieve. And don’t think for one single moment that your destiny is out of your hands, because no one’s in control of your destiny but you. And it is never too late. You can do anything you put your minds to –- and I mean absolutely anything. It’s important for you all to know this. (Applause.)

But what is true is that building a purposeful life for yourself is never easy. No one achieves success overnight. You know life doesn’t work that way. Anything worth having takes time and perseverance. You’re going to have to push yourselves beyond your limits. You’re going to have to step outside of those comfort zones. You’re going to have to ask for help when you need it.

More importantly, part of being a mature and functioning adult in this society is realizing that life is a series of tradeoffs. If you want a career that pays a good salary, then you have to work hard. You’ve got to be on time; you’ve got to finish what you start; you have to always keep your word. If you want a life free from drama, then you can’t hang out with people who thrive on drama. (Applause.) You have to pick your friends wisely, pick your friends -- surround yourself with people who share your values and your goals. . . .

So today, to all the family members, this is your day, too. So we got to give the family members a round of applause. (Applause.)

And if you’re anything like my parents were when I graduated from high school, I can imagine how you must be feeling today. I know you’re proud. I know you’re a little relieved. (Laughter.)

But I suspect that some of you may also be feeling a little nervous. Maybe you’re worried about the tough job market, and how your child will find a job in this economy. Maybe you’re anxious about how you’re going to pay tuition. Maybe you’re hesitant about having your child move away from home to attend college. Or, if your kids are the first in your family to go to college, you may be wondering how you’re supposed to help them navigate experiences you’ve never had.

I understand those worries, because my parents had similar worries. See, my parents didn’t have the money to cover college tuition for me and my brother. Neither of my parents went to college or had any idea how to support us.

But, family members, know this: You don’t have to have lived the kind of life you want your kids to live to help them excel. Your kids don’t need you to be a doctor or a lawyer. Your kids don’t need you to be rich and famous. What they need from you is your wisdom. What they need from you is your support. What they need from you is love, that unconditional love -- (applause) -- the kind of love that lets them know that you will be there for them, no matter what. That’s all your kids need.

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Visit the link below to read Michelle's entire speech:

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the First Lady
For Immediate Release June 11, 2010
REMARKS BY THE FIRST LADY
AT ANACOSTIA SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY

Show Us, Please Show Us!!

"My record speaks for itself," said Zepora Roberts. Well, let's turn up the volume.

One another thread, a blogger asked residents from Roberts', Copelin-Wood's; and Walker's districts to help us all understand exactly what these BOE members are doing to better the educational opportunities for the children of DeKalb County. Please let us know, with all their years on the BOE (Walker in public service), why they need to stay (or go) as representatives in their districts. Everyone likes to point out the obvious negatives, but we need to be fair and hear about the strategic advantages of having Zepora, Sarah and Gene continue on.

Below is a link to an excellent article by Maureen Downey written before the 2008 elections. She offers many good thoughts on what to look for in a BOE candidate. In particular, she cautions against candidates that hope to use their BOE position as their sole source of income.

“How to pick school board members: look for involvement, ideas, cooperation.” [Editorial Opinion]. October 10, 2008. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A12. This article can be helpful as you are evaluating candidates for the board of education races."

Also, check out the wealth of information at Adelle Frank's blog, Where to research political candidates for elections in DeKalb County, Georgia Adelle Frank