I couldn't resist

The recent story coming out of DCSS is beyond ridiculous. I thought - this doesn't make sense - who would put their whole career at risk for one student? Worse - for a student who apparently didn't care enough to actually attend school? And why harass that student's teacher? There simply must be more to the story. I found a very funny website where you can make your own little animated movies so I couldn't resist trying it out. I may have to start making movies for all of our posts - it's the only way to add some humor to what seems like an endless stream of bad news that makes no sense. I hope this one serves to point out how silly it would actually be for someone to put their neck out by changing grades for a student. It's an absurd assumption.

The site is called XtraNormal - give it a whirl - it's too fun!

They're back! The Georgia legislature is back in session...

Let's see what our legislators are up to regarding education.

Have you read SB 90 lately? Check it out - here's the overview:

"A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary and secondary education, so as to provide the option for parents to enroll their child in another school within the local school system, a school in another local school system, or in a private school under certain conditions; to provide for definitions; to provide for the amount of scholarship and method of payments; to provide for rules and regulations; to provide for limited liability; to provide for an annual report on the program; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date and applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes."

To simplify, this law would provide scholarships for current public school students to attend any school in the state, public or private.

STATUS: Recommitted to Senate Education and Youth Committee on 1/11/10

Another education-related bill to watch is HB 908 which reads, "To amend Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the "Quality Basic Education Act," so as to temporarily suspend certain laws and requirements relating to expenditure controls, minimum direct classroom expenditures, maximum class size, additional days of instruction, and salary schedules; to provide for statutory construction; to provide for automatic repeal of such suspension; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

And, SB 307 provides a "teacher's bill of rights" of sorts. The overview states, "A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary and secondary education, so as to enact a bill of rights for Georgia teachers; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes."

STATUS: Read second time by the House and referred to the House Education Committee on 1/13/10.

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Let's keep an eye on these bills as they progress through this legislative session.

Did Frankie Callaway encourage cheating and then hurriedly retire?

Don't click the picture - click this link to view the WSB report.

It seems we have yet another disappointment in a DCSS leader. Frankie Callaway (a $165,000 Deputy Superintendent) apparently asked a "Ms. Patricia Patterson" last May to change her statement about pressuring a teacher to alter the grades of a certain student who had under-performed and skipped school, yet still expected to graduate at Redan HS. Astonishingly, she did graduate - thanks to some magic grade changing by someone. When DCSS began an investigation, (prompted by WSB's investigation) Callaway requested that Patterson "clarify" or change her statement to school investigators. Patterson did, stating that "I have made the changes you requested. The changes are actually counter to the facts." Georgia Tech educated teacher, Kesha Lanier left the school system in protest due to this grade-changing event. And guess who DCSS asked the state to investigate, saying she acted unethically? You got it - the teacher - Ms. Lanier. Not Ms. Patterson and certainly not Frankie Callaway. Nope - she retired one week after "clarifying" her own statement to investigators. A school spokesman told Richard Belcher, "Dr. Callaway retired and there are no documents to the contrary. She had 34 years of wonderful service."

As one of our bloggers pointed out, "I can absolutely assure you that DeKalb teachers come under intense pressure to change grades for students who have have failing grades. The pressure comes from parents and flows through to the teacher from the principal. Teachers should not quit - rather they need to seek legal recourse. It is against the law to force a teacher to alter student records. DeKalb officials need to be held accountable for such actions. In the end it is the student who suffers for these unethical actions. Giving a student a passing grade he/she has not earned is dishonest and unfair to all students."

So, what's the scoop with the budget?

The AJC is reporting that Governor Perdue plans further cuts to the state budget which will definitely effect our schools and teachers. To quote, "Gov. Sonny Perdue just released his budget proposals for the remainder of the current fiscal year and the 12 months starting July 1. The headline: pain.Public K-12 education faces an additional 3 percent cut in the current fiscal 2010 budget, while most all other state agencies must find 8 to 9 percent to cut before June 30. All state employees, including teachers, must take three furlough days before June 30."

As Greenie pointed out, the $56 million budget cut to DeKalb schools that we already know about is the amount the state is cutting from the annual allocation. Added to more than $100 million already cut in past 2-3 years. Local taxes will also be lost based on devaluation of property.the school tax portion of the property tax bill is separate from the "county operations" part of the bill for which Ellis wants to increase the mil rate.

School board does not anticipate increasing the mil rate on the school tax part of property bills (which is approximately 70% of your total property tax bill) so, DCSS WILL have another budget cut as well - related to whatever decrease occurs due to lower property values.

Add to this, Governor Perdue's plan to implement merit pay for teachers by 2014 and we seem to be relatively uncertain as to the future of our schools and our ability to attract and retain quality teachers.

Kathy Cox to chat with ELPC

A message from

Emory Lavista Parent Council

Brad Bryant, Georgia State School Board Member,
4th Congressional District

Invites DeKalb County Parents
to a dialog with

The Honorable Kathy Cox
Georgia State Superintendent of Schools
including updates on Georgia's "Race to the Top" application

Friday, January 29, 2010

10:00am - 11:30am

Mercer University, Atlanta Campus
Atlanta Administration Conference Center Auditorium, 2nd floor
Mercer University North Entrance
2930 Flowers Road South

DIRECTIONS TO MERCER UNIVERSITY (ATLANTA CAMPUS)
Traveling north on I-85
From downtown Atlanta, take Exit 94 and turn RIGHT onto Chamblee-Tucker Road. At the second traffic light, turn RIGHT onto Mercer University Drive and then an immediate RIGHT on to Flowers Road.

Traveling south on I-85
From outside the perimeter, take Exit 94 and turn LEFT onto Chamblee-Tucker Road. At the third traffic light, turn RIGHT onto Mercer University Drive and then an immediate RIGHT on to Flowers Road.

Traveling on I-285 north/west
Take Exit 34 and turn LEFT onto Chamblee-Tucker Road. Proceed for 1.2 miles, than turn LEFT onto Mercer University Drive and then an immediate RIGHT on to Flowers Road.
Traveling on I-285 east

Take the Chamblee-Tucker Road Exit, turn RIGHT onto Chamblee-Tucker Road. Proceed for 1.2 miles, than turn LEFT onto Mercer University Drive and then an immediate RIGHT on to Flowers Road.

DIRECTIONS TO ATLANTA ADMINISTRATION CONFERENCE CENTER

After turning onto Mercer University Drive, take an immediate RIGHT onto Flowers Road (Flowers Road completes a circle around the campus with Mercer University Drive). The Atlanta Administration Conference Center will be the first Mercer entrance you come to on your LEFT – 2930 Flowers Road South.

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To receive our notices, send an email to EmoryLavistaParentCouncil@gmail.com
or visit our web page www.emory-lavista.org

The Governor's Plan for Merit Pay

In order to compete for some of the Race to the Top federal education dollars, Governor Perdue has developed a plan to "develop, compensate and retain quality teachers". He is proposing legislation introducing a compensation system that encompasses a statewide teacher evaluation tool that determines a teacher's effectiveness by evaluating "observation of planning and instruction and the degree to which teachers help students grow academically." Perdue's legislation will "enhance the current salary structure by adding a performance-based compensation system for all new teachers and for existing teachers who choose this option." These initiatives will go into effect in 2014. Teachers have apparently been very involved in developing this program and Perdue hopes that this plan will not only bring RTTT dollars to the state, but will focus on student achievement.

Click on the photo of the letter from Perdue to see a large version.