Get Schooled

By Jeff

July 24, 2007 10:30 AM | Link to this

Further proof that the CES can’t handle ANYONE - be it teacher or administrator- with a backbone.

Clark. Escalante. Neese. Jeff. Now Pulliam.

And there are HUNDREDS, if not HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS over the years, that could be added to that list.

Good teachers sacked because they had a backbone and wouldn’t take the crap from weak-kneed politicians.

By sportsmommy

July 24, 2007 10:46 AM | Link to this

This is another black eye on the Clayton County School system, a few months ago a piece was done on why they can’t sell homes in Clayton County, well people here you have it. Who in their right mind would choose to place their children in a school system that is akin to a sinking ship. I certainly wouldn’t.

By Ernest

July 24, 2007 10:58 AM | Link to this

What I find interesting is that the resignation of superintendent for the 5th largest school system in GA got a 3-4 paragraph mention on page 3 in the metro section of the AJC. I understand not having a dedicated education reporter for that school system means some events don’t get the same coverage as some of the larger school systems in the area. But to have this happen 2-3 weeks before school begins in big news IMO. Heck, the blog intro is longer than the story in the paper.

Best wishes for the stakeholders in Clayton County. It will be tough in the short term but as the saying goes, “this too shall pass”….

By Hollis

July 24, 2007 11:01 AM | Link to this

Such a waste. Clayton County Schools USED to be a great place to teach and learn. Then our infamous school board went to work and destroyed the system. Running off our superintendent. Placing CCPS on probation with accreditation. Hiring a superintendent from the North who was incompetent. Great teachers left the system. Good people moved out of Clayton County which was replaced with Section 8 trash. It will never return to what it once was. Gone With The Wind.

By Zoe

July 24, 2007 11:05 AM | Link to this

Jeff- You didn’t teach in Clayton so I am assuming your comments are tongue in cheek- at least I hope so.

If you had taught in Clayton you would realize that Pulliam does not have a backbone. Otherwise you wouldn’t have administrators giving out spreadsheets with a list of teachers and how many referrals each teacher had that semester and recommending that teachers not write so many referrals. Or have an administrator tell a teacher that wrote only two (TWO!) office referrals (in one semester) to stop writing so many referrals and get control of the classroom.

The teachers wanted Pulliam gone for a myriad of reasons. You always seem to have an opinion about everything on this board- you do know how to get something started. But in this case, you really don’t know what was going on in CCPS and your assumption that she was a hard line adminstrator being chased out are incorrect. She drove out hundreds of experienced teachers and school level administrators, Henry and Fayette counties are still reaping the rewards of Clayton County staff development. Right now 75% of the Clayton teachers have 5 years or less experience. Tell me, is that the sign of backbone or micromanagement?

I would be embarrassed to place myself in the same catagory as Joe Clark and Jaime Escalente. Joe Clark didn’t respect his teachers and the reason he was run out was because instead of encouraging his teachers he belittled them and drove them away (Hmmm, Pulliam must have been taking notes) Also, you should read up on Escalente, the movie doesn’t do him justice. No, the kids didn’t learn Calc in a year and yes, the kids did cheat however that wouldn’t make a good Hollywood ending would it? Doc Neese? Driven out, but according to all reports, is happy in his new school and probably got the better end of that deal. You? You had a sucky year, everyone has sucky years. Yours just sucked a whole lot more than a first year teacher’s first year should. Yes you were driven out but do not equate your situation Pulliam’s. She brought this situation on herself, you didn’t even dream of the hell your first year could be.

By holdingAJCaccountable

July 24, 2007 11:16 AM | Link to this

Would it have been different for anyone else? Yes, it would be different for someone who would support the teachers right to maintain discipline, instead of ordering administrators to “reduce suspensions” in order to maintain the apperance of improved discipline.

Yes, it would have been different for someone who put teachers and students first instead of trying to sneak administratives positions into the budget to take care of her friends, positions mind you, that she couldn’t even provide job descriptions for.

And it will be different for a superintendent that understands you cannot have good learning conditions until you have good teaching conditions and that you can’t have either without discipline.

And for those of you who want to dismiss the Metro Association of Classroom Educators as “weak” (and resort to ad hominen attacks, because you can’t refute the philosophy of MACE, nor their desire to empower teachers) ask Barbara Pulliam just how “weak” she thinks MACE is today.

As far as infighting on the board, sure it exists. But I didn’t see much last night, because the board knows that teachers have had it. They’ve had it with the lies, and “expert” programs, with being held “accountable” for the administrative failure of Clayton to provide the good teaching conditions that are a “must” for student success.

They are either leaving Clayton, or joining MACE in numbers that are allowing MACE to strongly advocate for what’s best for students and teachers, as Barbara Pulliam became acutely aware of last night.

It’s a step in the right direction; hopefully one of many to come.

By Lashonda

July 24, 2007 11:32 AM | Link to this

What is going on in Clayton County every three to four years the board is running away superintendent. Is this a cycle in clayton county. Not good for the kids.

By holdingAJCaccountable

July 24, 2007 11:32 AM | Link to this

Jeff,

Zoe is right on this. You’ve got it totally backwards when it comes to Pulliam and backbone.

If she had “backbone” she wouldn’t have tried to cover up the millions she overspent on a land purchase.

She wouldn’t have tried to sneak positions into the budget for cronies, positions (when confronted at a board meeting) she couldn’t even provide job descriptions for

And she would have dealt with discipline not ordered principals to reduce numbers to give the apperance of dealing with it.

I could go on…but thankfully the board saw that she needed to “go on”. Good riddance.

By Jeff

July 24, 2007 11:33 AM | Link to this

Zoe:

I am PROUD to align myself with Clark and Escalante. I know enough from news reports and other sources other than Hollywood to be well aware of the actual story. And still I like the men and their methods.

Pulliam, I was reacting to Bridget’s blog posting which describes her as having a backbone. Honestly I know nothing about her from experience, and remember little about her from previous articles.

By holdingAJCaccountable

July 24, 2007 11:59 AM | Link to this

(From the blog topic) “There was no way she (Pulliam) was going to put up with hooligans attending her campuses.”

Bridget, if you want someone who’s shown with words and actions that he’s not going to put up with hooligans in Clayton, it’s Norreese Haynes on the school board.

A large part of the reason that Pullium is gone is that, rather than “politics as usual” he held the light up to Pulliam’s actions for all to see.

The other board members soon realized that they would be judged in that same harsh light if they continued to support Pulliam and her less than honest, less than ethical, actions.

That “seeing the light” may be why her biggest supporter, Chairman Ericka Davis, confronted her openly in a June board meeting about the blatant attempt to circumvent the law to provide patronage jobs to her friends (Imagine how embarrassing it was to Queen Babs to be told in public that she had a legal obligation to inform the board before she tried to add several hundred thousand dollars to the budget in administrative positions; and that it might help her credibility if she could at least provide a job description for those positions)

Sorry your first impression was wrong. Everybodies’ was wrong, with one notable exception: MACE. They called into question her qualifications and actions from the start; sad that it took the rest of Clayton three years to catch on.

By Lynn

July 24, 2007 12:01 PM | Link to this

The AJC has some nerve!! You never covered Clayton schools even when you had reporters in the county, so how would you know anything about the operations of our schools.

The superintendent was NOT “no nonsense”, just ask the hundreds of good kids who were attacked by thugs, only to have the thug returned to the same school.

Ask the kids who attended schools led by her incompetent administrators who had neither the experience nor the education to even be principals.

Ask taxpayers who are paying these overpaid, underqualified administrators.

Now pretend for one minute that we are Cobb, Gwinnett, Forsyth or some other district and ask yourself if parents in those communities would put up with the crap we have been forced to deal with — all at the expense of our children.

Shame on you AJC — what hypocrisy!!! You should have been writing about the incompetence and bad decisions — like you did with DeKalb and Cobb!!

By shell

July 24, 2007 12:54 PM | Link to this

As a parent who used to have two children in the Clayton County school system, I can tell you first hand it’s not only the administration. It’s the parents. One year we tried to put uniforms in the elementary school it failed because a bunch of parents wanted to have their children wear their Sean John and Baby Phat to school. My middle schooler was told by her classmates she acted like a white girl because she actually read books and I don’t allow her to watch ‘R’ movies. It’s not only Clayton, but look at Atlanta Public Schools. We are raising a bunch of superficial materialistic wannabe thugs and video vixens. I lived there for ten years until one of my daughter’s teacher recognized she was a gifted music student and advised me to have her attend a Magnet Art and Sciences high school. She does and she loves it. She actually has friends that want to talk about SATs and getting good grades. We as black parents must stop worrying about who has the biggest house and the biggest plasma TV and start raising our children. They are getting left behind.

By concerned

July 24, 2007 12:54 PM | Link to this

Ask teachers about what really went on! Even with the big raises this year there is over 100 jobs posted for Clayton County Schools. This teacher, after 30 years, just could not stand it any more. Students walking out of class, throwing things, refusing to bring books, paper, or pencils to class..just the cell phone. You were not allowed to write up a kid even if blood was drawn. You could not call in police for a fight. I even saw a student steal from my closet and was told it was my fault for not keeping it locked. And the grades!! What a big lie! You were told that every grade had to be 70 or better, even if the childern did not do the work. Wavers were mailed home to parents when 5th graders failed the CRCT..and they wonder why Middle Schools are failing. I once had a class where everyone failed the CRCT in fifth. By the end of 6th 93% passed…I killed myself trying to get he kids to do the work. I just could not do it any more. And, teachers were made to feel like everthing was their fault. It will take a long time to “fix” Clayton. They have been ignored for years as Atlanta has dumped their trash out and cleaned up. They have been sold out to low bid developers and cheeted by thier leaders. I am glad my house sold.

By Moe

July 24, 2007 1:15 PM | Link to this

Shell hit the nail on the head in her comments about the Black community not demanding more from their children.

I used to teach in Clayton County and I experienced some black students, who were trying to get an education, labeled “White” by their peers.

Awesome comments.

By SET

July 24, 2007 1:20 PM | Link to this

An interesting subject. I’m not up on the people involved. However there have been many instances of black schools calling in a black administrator to “save” them. Often it ends badly. Patricia Roberts Harris was locked in her (Dean Of Students) office by Students at - was it Howard? She soon departed - she could be a US Cabinet Secretary but couldn’t deal with those brats. A Black Judge from Berkeley CA was once brought in as Dean to save Howard’s Law School from losing it’s accreditation and had a controversial time there. Take my word for it, Black Judges from Alameda Co CA are pretty tough, they had to be to get to the bench and stay on it. Joe Clark got a movie deal about his situation. I have spent time talking privately with a previous Morehouse College President (many years ago) and I don’t know how he kept his cool after hearing their ups and downs with crazy behavior on campus. I would have cleaned house more forcefully. He wasn’t the personality for anything dramatic.

It’s bad enough dealing with adult schools.

In my job I have had occasions to sit in on conferences wherein secondary school acting out is discussed. The setting was combined social worker & law enforcement/legal staff. It didn’t go so well. The strange thing was that the social workers/educators got upset about things the legal people thought were no biggie, and the social workers downplayed some things that the legal staff insisted called for police response and arrests. There was little common ground. We only agreed on the most obvious things. We were from different planets.

I admit that I sometimes wonder how I would manage if I ever accepted an offer to go in and deal with any of these situations. I could do it, but why would I subject myself to a war zone when I can run my own (more stable) war zone elsewhere?

You’d need a Condi Rice/Barbara Jordon combo type to deal with an urban school due to the political nature of the job, and such people aren’t in the candidate pool.

I think retired military brass should be used.

It would help if the clean up woman was up front about what she was doing and transparent when it came to board oversight. When you catch them sneaking around with the payroll they have to go - if that’s what happened. Better luck next candidate.

By thomas

July 24, 2007 1:39 PM | Link to this

There are many misconceptions about CCPS.

For one thing— BARBARA PULLIAM DID NOT “RUN OFF” HUNDREDS OF TEACHERS. This is a blatant lie. The truth of the matter is that hundreds of teachers left the system BEFORE Pulliam arrived. They left, as did I, because they did not want to be in a difficult teaching environment. Quite frankly I had a positive experience working with the school system staff. I even met Dr. Pulliam once. Yes, there were things- initiatives, programs, rules put in place that I did not agree with. But this is not why the VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE JUMPED SHIP. People have been leaving since the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Now the teacher turnover is actually going down.

As Zoe stated earlier, Henry and Fayette counties have gotten the benefit of CCPS’ staff development and experienced teachers. These are the first places former CCPS teachers run to after leaving Clayton.

We all know that Clayton County (or if you didn’t, you do now) has become the new home for the downtrodded of the metro Atlanta area. Not only did all the former project dwellers from Atlanta come here, but “other people” from other parts of the country. What was one of the places Katrina victims gravitated to after the storm? Clayton County. What’s the crime capital of the metro area? Clayton County. I know a retired Clayco teacher who can’t sell her house down there. It’s just that bad.

By Jamal

July 24, 2007 1:45 PM | Link to this

Clayton school board needs to stay out of the day to day operation of schools and let a Superintendent do what they are hired to do.

and everyone thought that Nedra Ware was the problem a few years ago…..

By Attn: Clayton County parents

July 24, 2007 1:50 PM | Link to this

Thomas,

I understand your point about other factors, but when you have more than 3,000 fights (as documented in the AJC) and her response is to order principals to reduce suspensions in order to create the apperance that discipline is improving, do you think that helped teacher retention?

Sure there are other factors at play in Clayton, as you have pointed out. But from the land deal, her attempt to pad the budget with administrative positions for her friends, the reading program and far too many other things to mention, her tenure was a complete, total, unmitigated, well documented failure. She won’t be missed.

PS To Earnest, thanks for the props. Maybe sometimes the blogsphere does have some value.

By Moe

July 24, 2007 1:58 PM | Link to this

Jamal, Nedra Ware WAS the problem. She started all this. She announced that she was the “new sheriff in town.” She fired our superintendent who was doing a good job and cost us $400,000 in salary settlement. She got us on probation and hired Pulliam. She WAS the problem.

By Steve

July 24, 2007 2:01 PM | Link to this

Cracks me up how many of you blame things on the school board, the schools going bad, administrators without a backbone, etc. (one pathetic miscreant named Hollis even alluded to the idea that she was from ‘up north’ somehow contributed to the problem). How many (or how few) of you have considered the real cause of the problem, which is the fact that Clayton has been filling up with nothing but riffraff for years now? Duh. “Axe me fo ma’ opernion on da Claykon skoos! Dey bayd!” Sad. Very sad.

By blah, blah, blah

July 24, 2007 2:29 PM | Link to this

Did anyone happen to read the school violence statistics that were published in the paper recently. Clayton County was 3rd behind Fulton and Dekalb for violent crimes committed on school property. They need someone tough to deal with the problems in the schools. It used to be about education, now it’s more about crime control. They also need to start holding the parents accountable for their delinquents behavior.

By ahhh

July 24, 2007 2:46 PM | Link to this

Kudos to many folks on this blog that have spoken up about what the real problem with Clayton County is! The influx of people who don’t want to work, don’t go to school, have NO respect for anything or anyone, who are looking for a hand out and think they are above the law, have found a home in Clayco. There is no accountability and the Sheriff’s office is a joke. Hill should have been run out of town - acts more like a gansta than a man of the law. Clayton County is well on its way to outpacing Fulton and Dekalb when it comes to the worst possible benchmarks! This will not change until the good citizens of the County take it back. You can’t expect the schools to do what the parent’s should be doing!

By thomas

July 24, 2007 2:59 PM | Link to this

“3,000 fights” is not what made most teachers leave Clayco. I taught in an elementary school. I had very few fights. So did most of my co-workers. My former school had its entire staff turnover in five years, starting in the early 2000’s.

The reality is that most teachers want to be in a place that they feel comfortable and that their work is valued. Sadly, many former Clayco teachers didn’t feel that way and went searching for greener pastures.

Clayco had a lot going for it. I had a lot of resources, both material and human, when I worked there. All the time I taught there, I was either in a new classroom or a newly renovated one. I had access to the best equipment- whiteboards, overhead projectors, books, maps, audiovisual, etc. I left that palace and ended up in a one room schoolhouse.

But I will tell you one thing— when I left, their was no comparison between the students and parents I had to work with. Even working with Mexicans was better than what I had dealt with down there. *Hey, I had to learn Spanish, but….. *

It’s the students and parents that make life hllish for a classroom teacher in Clayton. I can honestly say that the most STRESSFUL time of my career was as a classroom teacher in Clayton. Pure hll. Dealing with Dr. Pulliam and the central office was the easy part. In fact, I still have happy memories and good feelings of working with the staff in Clayton. There are some good people there.

I finally stopped having nightmares of my experiences in the Clayton classroom. This, after a few years away from it. Wake up in the middle of the night just SCREAMING!!!!! Ok, I’m exaggerating. But those first few years were murder.

There are some HARDCORE hoodies down there— I KID YOU NOT. The middle and high schools are warzones. The schools are run like PRISONS. They regularly go on LOCKDOWN.

Regular, kind, gentle students can’t even use the restroom for fear of their safety. Heck, one of the biggest high schools in Clayco keeps the restrooms locked to prevent violence and vandalism in there. A former co-worker told me that when her daughter attended this high school, she could never use the restroom at school because the they kept the doors locked. I asked her “how the hll did she manage that. D_n.” She replied that it was tough for her. (WHICH, I HAVE TO ADMIT THIS DAY FOR THE RECORD, WHY I UNDERSTAND WHY THERE MAY BE SOME APPREHENSION FOR PARENTS TO PUT THEIR KIDS IN CERTAIN SCHOOLS. I WILL HOMESCHOOL MY CHILDREN BEFORE I WOULD EVER PUT THEM IN THAT KIND OF CRAPHOLE. Will homeschool and be GLAD TO DO IT!!!!)

My former middle school did the same thing in 2000. We had to unlock the bathrooms to let kids in. There were designated restroom times. God forbid if you had to go at the wrong time. This same middle school had a race riot (between blacks and Hispanics) a few years ago.

This county has been going downhill FOR YEARS.

By Allison

July 24, 2007 3:28 PM | Link to this

SET- You are sad. Everything dealing with Black people is negative, huh? The Howard brats? The behaviors of the students on that campus (Morehouse). Give me a break you would be surprised what goes on at Non HBCU’s. I have experienced both and you truly have a closed minded way of looking at things. Get your head out of the sand. It’s sad that you have so much self hate. There are issues within the black community. And regardless of the topic you always bring the up but the differences in behaviors on black and white college campuses is not relevant here, especially when it’s obvious you have no idea what you are talking about.

By Teach10

July 24, 2007 3:36 PM | Link to this

Puliam was a joke from the start. She did not have any real credentials, and she was inarticulate.

An inept superintendent trickles down to every school in the county.

There seemed to be a fear of parents. Why? What is the biggest threat they could muster? I’ll sue or take my kids elsewhere. Bring it on!

In Clayton, a student can be expelled from one school and simply go to another school in the same county.

There is no attendance policy for high school students, so there are students who miss half the school year and are allowed at the end of the semester to make up ALL of their assignments because of AMNESTY.

This year they gave summer school scholarships for students to make up classes.

There is open enrollment for AP classes, and there were students who barely passed their 11th grade English class taking AP English.

I teach in Clayton, and we are putting our house on the market soon, so we can move out of this county; we know it will be difficult to sell. There is no way I would want my child to go to a middle school or high school here.

By Barbie Girl

July 24, 2007 4:18 PM | Link to this

I for one am sad to see Dr. Pulliam go. I am a single parent which bought a home in an excellent area of Clayton County 19 years ago. Due to the state of the educational system in GEORGIA, not Clayton County, per se, I sacrificed and enrolled my child in the best private school that I could find until he graduated from high school, yes 18 years. I saw Dr. Pulliam bringing concern, empathy, discipline and a standard of excellence to Clayton County. However, just as Fulton County’s failing DFACS system recently ran off the best Director they are ever likely to get to even take the job, Clayton County manages to do the same.

Funny thing, I returned to school to get my Masters degree in educational Leadership, so that I can contribute to the Clayton County school system. I will graduate with a 3.7 average this fall. I can’t even get a response to my letter of interest from the dept. of personnel….

No, the county gets no sympathy from me on this issue. Thanks Dr. Pulliam for what you tried to do. Let’s see if the schools continue to meet the No Child Left Behind annual yearly progress. For the sake of the children, I hope so.

By SET

July 24, 2007 4:27 PM | Link to this

Allison: Tell me more… let’s hear something about your life and where your point of view comes from.

Your immediate impulse to make a personal attack in public discourse tells me plenty about your age and maturity. That’s OK. I’m not in business to make other people happy and neither is this blog.

But exactly what are you talking about?

Maybe things are different in GA. In public schools in this state - race is very important due to NCLB requiring racial reporting and racial qualifications to avoid being bad listed. As a result, the schools are busy changing their already questionable behavior to skew the racial results. And yes, ghetto schools around here are “bad” schools. I don’t think they have to be, but no one wants to fight for much anymore.

And as far as the “brats” at Howard giving Patricia Harris a bad time.. I can tell plenty of stories about what went on at Stanford, UC Berkeley and several other schools in this state in those years. Because I and my family and friends were there at the time. Other family and friends have been at HBCs since before your parents were born. I have no illusion as to what happens at a college or a high school when authority is not maintained. Do you?

I don’t call other posters names - I try to understand their perspective and see what I miss in my view. You will eventually do the same.

Take me on with your point of view - that’s what everybody is here for.

Your turn.

By DAD

July 24, 2007 4:43 PM | Link to this

Read the posts at this site:http://community.cnhi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/84310459/m/401104139/p/1 You will get a clear picture of what transpired in Clayton County. The resignation and acceptance was the most dignifed move both the board and superintendent could make!

By Concerned

July 24, 2007 4:50 PM | Link to this

Barbie Girl…What do you mean Clayton county made AYP..This has not been done for thel ast two years! The standards set have actually gone down.

By DG

July 24, 2007 5:28 PM | Link to this

C’Mon people, just say it please, since the county has been invaded by ignorant black folk who don’t know how to own a home, raise a family with two parents and exempilfy good morals ie. (Bill Cosby said it) you all are doomed to Hell on Earth, sad very sad………

By Barbie Girl

July 24, 2007 5:33 PM | Link to this

Hi Concerned,

Pardon me, please allow me clarify my comment. Not all of the schools made AYP, however, several did. As you drive around the county, you will see that listed on their collective exterior front signage boards. I would agree that standards need to continually improve, however, there are many fine teachers and administrators in Clayton County that worked hard to help the schools to achieve AYP. Let’s not discount that and give some credit where its due.

By Attn: Clayton Parents

July 24, 2007 5:34 PM | Link to this

Barbie Girl,

Explain to us specifically how Pulliam’s ordering of principals to reduce the number of suspensions to give a false impression that discipline is being dealt with was in any way shape or form “bringing discipline” to Clayton?

How was attempting to pad the payroll with administrative positions that she couldn’t even provide job descriptions for “bringing excellence” to Clayton?

You sound like a sycophant who was bucking for one of Pulliam’s patronage jobs. It’s a little late to be kissing the EX superintendent’s posterior isn’t it?

Again, give us some specifics on why Clayton should have allowed the malady named Pulliam to linger on.

By Shannon

July 24, 2007 5:38 PM | Link to this

Well, too little too late for us. As much as we hated to not support the school system (teachers mainly), we pulled our children out several years ago to home school. Once they became high school age, we felt it necessary to enrolled them back into school. We could not afford private education, and frankly, Henry, Fayette and the surrounding counties are headed in the same direction Clayton is in. It took us moving 700 miles away, but we are in a #1 ranked state school system. Yes, it was a drastic measure, and yes, I miss my family and friends terribly, but my children are worth it. Kudos to those who stuck it out - and I sincerely hope things will change for the better for you. Jonesboro will always be my home, but I wanted my children to have a better chance and more opportunities for success than what they were being offered under Pulliam.

By Concerned

July 24, 2007 5:57 PM | Link to this

Barbie—I was one of those who stuck it out till about half way through this year. I was a mentor to over 20 new teachers as well in the past 30 years. So I do know there are many fine teachers. I also know most teachers this year will be young, easily intimitated, and need much help. I hope its there . Many new teachers have had a real baptism by fire the last few years. I had a young man grab me and refuse to let me go—I am 56 and was told he could not help himself and to please give him a second chance. I retired and pressed charges as he left me with bruises (6th grade). I had had enough. He had gang markings. And yes my temperment is to give second, third, and even fourth chances. I am a very good teacher and 95% or more of my class in reading always made AYP. I did my teaching the old fashioned way. Not so much group work, not so much fun, and I have been subject to racial slures and abuse. But, I have always loved kids and tried to do what is best. There are also many good administrators. Unfortuately many of the ones with backbone have left for greener pastures.

By SET

July 24, 2007 6:03 PM | Link to this

DG: I’m in CA so I don’t know the territory there directly. The “ignorant black folk” you are referring to that invaded… where are they coming from? What’s pushing this group in what direction? We are having a serious real estate upheaval around here.

In CA the Black ghettos are being overrun by the Mexodus and their black population is being pushed out of the coastal areas such as LA and SF metro areas into the interior of CA. Upon arrival they find that the locals won’t tolerate their pathology very well. It’s like they’ve been seen coming. Even the local black gangs fight (kill) with the displaced blacks. They don’t assimilate well.

Behavior that was typical in the coastal ghettos gets them state prison terms (or gets them killed) elsewhere in CA. I don’t know exactly what the schools are doing - “Zero Tolerance” is talked about and the lower class schools typically have police on site making arrests and booking kids into juvenile court or use heavy duty non-sworn security that are very intimidating who call in the police to make arrests.

It’s not a good situation. My beef is that the schools don’t seem to want to triage the newcomers and find a way to salvage them. They mainly want anyone who would upset the NCLB stats to leave.

If we are having a serious population shift I wish the MainStream Media (MSM) would cover what is happening. Is such a shift going on in GA?

I’m a product of the Black migration to CA after WWII. I still remember relatives driving up with a trailer carrying all their things and living in our house for a month or two until they got settled. But everybody worked. And jobs were plentiful then. And no one dropped out of school - you got drafted. The difference now is that the displaced people are damn near unemployable and unhousebroken. I blame this on the public schools - thus my rants on this blog.

I have seen lots of people drive from across the country with their clothes and children on a hope and a promise of finding work and housing - in the 1950s. I have never seen such uneducated losers… as the current bunch. I suppose the difference is the female headed households - and the schools that don’t teach deportment, morals and reading. That all took off with the US Government’s 1960’s Great Society Programs.

Brave New World

By Karen Hanson

July 24, 2007 6:04 PM | Link to this

I am extremely sad and angry to see Dr. Pulliam leave. Dr. Pulliam was busy planting seeds to make Clayton County Schools a better system while also educating the parents and the community that bottom line, in Clayton County we don’t really have Corporate America jobs … what we really have out here is housing and schools. It is really apparent that Dr. Pulliam had to deal with people that could not truly see the bigger picture.

Now we are left with a substandard replacement and a terrible Board that knows not what they are doing. Now we are left with out a true leader. Now we are left to pick up the pieces and continue to educate this community which is extremely difficult to do when so many in the community are uneducated themselves.

Yes, those of us that can afford to move to better places could do that. Yes, those of us that can afford private school situations can do that. And, yes, those of us that choose to continue the fight for bettering this community can continue to do that. Sometimes I hang my head and can hardly believe I live here in this pittiful place, but I’m not going to let this challenge stop me from living in my home or this community.

Dr. Pulliam, God be with you. To the board, I hope your days are numbered and they you are not empowered any further by this community.

By Barbie Girl

July 24, 2007 6:15 PM | Link to this

For Concerned:

My hat goes off to you for your service in and to the system. It is professionals such as yourself, that have been so beneficial to the students and to teachers performing their practicums, and I am certain that have endured atrocities in the system which never should have occurred. Further, I agree with you, I know that I would not have tolerated that type of student behavior, nor dismissed the administration if it looked the other way when it occurred. I know that there are good, solid reasons for great teachers to exit, and they should not be denigrated for that choice.

By Barbie Girl

July 24, 2007 6:19 PM | Link to this

For Karen Hanson

Well Said!

By Ernest

July 24, 2007 6:26 PM | Link to this

SET:

Just to give you some insight on your question at 6:03. Plainly speaking, we are seeing ‘social engineering’ going on in Atlanta and it’s partially being sponsored by the Atlanta Housing Authority. They are tearing down many of the projects around the city and replacing them with more upscale housing. The hope is to attract residents who are tired of commuting long distances to get to downtown Atlanta. They are setting aside a portion as ‘workforce housing’, a term which is subject to interpretation. The head of the housing authority Renee Glover indicates she wants to create environments where people of different socioeconomic classes live together. Obviously not all of the former residents will be able to move back so ‘vouchers’ will be provided to help them move elsewhere.

Because housing in more affordable in Clayton, many of those residents move there. DeKalb also received quite a few because of the access to public transportation (MARTA). Interestingly, DeKalb County does not have projects per se, but the City of Decatur does. Ironically, those that moved to Clayton and did not have health insurance realized they did not have easy access to Grady hospital. As a result, we are seeing more activists raise concerns about that along with the displacement of residents.

Interesting world we live in….

By Attn: Clayton Parents

July 24, 2007 6:26 PM | Link to this

Just like “Barbie Doll,” Karen Hanson gives us nothing when it comes to the specifics of how Pulliam was “planting seeds to make Clayton County schools a better system.”

Was she “planting seeds” when she overspent by MILLIONS on the land deal? The grand jury, and the attorneys hired by the board to look into it, didn’t think so.

Was she “planting seeds” when she tried to sneak hundreds of thousands of dollars of administrative postions into the payroll, for “positions” that she couldn’t even give the board job descriptions for?

Was she “planting seeds” when she ordered principals to reduce the number of suspensions so that she could perpetrate the fraud that discipline was improving?

Those who wanted Pulliam gone have presented specifics and substance.

Why is it that the apologists for Pulliam can provide neither?

Without substance, your credibility on the matter is about on par with Michael Vick’s credibility in critiquing the Humane Society.

By cathy turner

July 24, 2007 6:47 PM | Link to this

I work in a high school in Clayton Co. I do not know who is totallu responsible for this but I am so tired of seeing the girls wearing clothes very tight,no bra,no underwear on, breast hanging out!!!! plus wearing cell phones around their necks. The handbook says it is n ot permitted. Oh, don’t forget the ball caps the boys are wearing, along with their pants hanging so low that we have to view with color their underwear is. I am really “sick and tired” of this. The principal tells them they can not do these things but it continues every year….Tell me one thing, control has to start somewhere!!!!!!!! Yes they are “thugs”!!!!!!!!! If it walks like a duck andtalks like a duck…then it must be a duck!!!!(thus or is it wanna be gang brats)

By Attn: Clayton Parents

July 24, 2007 6:49 PM | Link to this

Quote By Barbie Girl “For Karen Hanson Well Said!” WHAT DID SHE SAY? Nothing! Platitudes WITHOUT substance. Those who wanted her gone cite specifics. Specifics supported by the the grand jury and by attorneys hired by the board. And that’s for starters.

Again, address the specific shortcomings of Pulliam’s performance or else you look as foolish Bush thanking FEMA head Brown after Katrina.

What’s next? “You’re doing a great job, Pullie?

By HS Teacher

July 24, 2007 6:51 PM | Link to this

Our school system is in ruins. Test scores are even lower than before. There is no discipline. Dress code-a laugh. I have not seen a single store with clear or mesh bookbags for sale, and that will be ignored again this year .

As a tax payer, I am still paying for several past Supt. This one, will get 9 months of severence pay. What line item will that be in the budget? How much will the interim Supt get—what is the line item in the budget for that? What about those people elevated to high paying positions—will they go too? I hope so.

If the rules currently in student hand books were enforced, our system would be so much better. Get rid of Kaplan and Direct Instruction—let us TEACH.

By SET

July 24, 2007 6:54 PM | Link to this

Earnest: So it seems that Atlanta is tearing down their roach hotels - public housing. Clayton County has inadequate defenses against incursion of the roaches so it gets hit. What’s wrong with Clayton County?

Renee Glover isn’t a student of Cultural Anthropology so she parrots the lie that people welcome diversity (they actually loathe it). Atlanta’s rebuilding of the Ghetto will result in - what, market rate housing? Civil Service housing? Whatever, the roach hotel residents will have moved on.

As you may have guessed, I never did believe in public housing. It is not the business of the municipality to create non-market rate housing so that some people can escape free markets and behave as they’d like to, instead of how the market requires them to. The result is such temples as the Cabrini-Green project… I think that was dynamited one fine day.

Must make things interesting for the local schools.

By SET

July 24, 2007 7:12 PM | Link to this

cathy turner: In a Sacramento (CA) County school district I once worked in at the Middle school students were students were suspended for being caught outside of a classroom when class was in session. Every classroom doors was closed and locked when the tardy bell rung (selected students were given the “honor” of closing and locking the doors) - anybody locked out was rounded up and taken to the office. The policy was implemented after tardies got out of hand. I never thought it would work. It did. Tardies dropped to essentially nothing and a few certain students left the school.

What do you think they would have done to anyone they caught violating the dress code? That school gave a damn about the kids and it showed every hour with the rigid enforcement of the tardy policy. They literally kept the kids running and kept control of that school. This was the only school in the district that had this policy. The principal of this school was known for not having problems for long.

Once the penalties were ramped up the kids seemed to treat not violating as a challenge and they either “won” the game by meeting the rules or they just transferred out to an alternative school.

It was a good school. It was “diverse” also. And everybody learned how to read a clock too. I don’t remember a dress problem at that time. I can imagine what that principal would have done to nip that in the bud.

By nice

July 24, 2007 7:15 PM | Link to this

I can’t believe all of the negative comments that I’ve read about Clayton County School District because it has become 90% black. I moved here and I graduated from a high school system similar to this one. There was school about ten miles from my school that was similar to Henry County School and 15 minutes like Fayette. My school was considered the worst school because it was all black and we had similar situations and problems as Clayton Schools. You better believe that we had just as many students at our school to be teachers, attoneys, principals, engineers, doctors, nurses and other professions as the other school and private schools. It is what you instill in your children. Sometimes, you can instill the right values in you child, and they still may go astray. So watch want you say about other people and their children. On top of that, you can’t shelter them from what is and will happen around them enventually. You may not be around them when they get in college, and they may be exposed to similar situations when they get older. They are going to need to know how to deal with situations ( I did).That why my son will continue attending Clayton County School. I agree that middle and high schoolers’ behavior is horrible. Put what are we doing to fix the problem. Complaining. Go out and volunteer your time and mentor to some of these students. You just don’t know what they are going through. Everybody is not fortunate enough to give their children the life you are giving yours. Some of these children are hoping to have food on the table and light turned on. Truly, education is the last thing on their mind. It is sad, but it is true. With the economy as bad as it is, it is going to get worst. I just hate when everybody blame everything on black people. There are a lot of wonderful black people who are trying to make a difference. Let stop putting each other down and lend a helping hand.

By SET

July 24, 2007 7:23 PM | Link to this

Barbie Girl: I have to disagree. People who stay and work in a school that has become a government nuthouse are also responsible for the problems. The responsible thing to do is to quit as fast as possible. You are responsible for the organizations you remain a part of.

I know there are retirement issues, etc. But if you can possibly transfer elsewhere, the moral thing to do is to not be part of the horrible school the writers here describe.

If the “good” teachers would publicly leave and denounce the school and it’s administration as unsound, change would follow. By not doing so one makes the bad school able to go on being bad.

By Attn: Clayton Parents

July 24, 2007 7:26 PM | Link to this

Well I see when Barbie Girl and Karen Hanson are confronted with facts, they pack up their keyboards and go home. Ironic how they mirror Pulliam’s performance on addressing the discipline and other problems in Clayton: Spineless. Gutless. Useless.

On the other hand, it IS quite an honor to be inducted, along with “Baghdad Bob” into the sycophant hall of fame…

By SET

July 24, 2007 7:44 PM | Link to this

nice: My family taught in and went to middle schools, high schools, and colleges that were 100% black. They were segregated schools.

They didn’t have anyone cursing the teachers, dressing like prostitutes and thugs, or raising a hand to anybody. Some of the teachers were white and some black. Some men and some women. They were not required to be “nice” and they sure weren’t expected to be the student’s friend. They were teachers.

If you think we are putting the race down by talking about what urban schools have turned into you are wrong. You are too young to remember what black schools were once like before Brown vs Board Of Education.

A black school means an out-of-control school only since the 1960’s. Not before. Something happened in the ‘60’s and discipline went out the window. Maybe it was when we started caring how students “felt”.

If I had my way the urban schools would be perhaps smaller than now - because I’d eliminate those who wouldn’t toe the line. But I do not see any US school as being the hellholes described here. I don’t care what race predominates. If the school administration means business, most school aged people can be put into line and kept there. White or Black.

It does help to have a program that is not likely to bore them or not address their needs. I probably mean testing and tracking. And teachers capable of keeping the attention of the students are required also.

I still think it can be done again, as it was before. The Catholics mixed blue collar and white collar students from the poorest and best parts of the cities in their grade schools in CA and made it work. Of course the Nuns wore costumes and hit people… Maybe we could improvise.

By Concerned parent

July 24, 2007 7:57 PM | Link to this

Nice—-The economy is the best it has been in 20 years. Unemployment is very very low! I guess you missed economics in public school.

By J-Dewitt

July 24, 2007 8:04 PM | Link to this

Clayton County has the most dysfunctional school board that I have ever seen! Take the time to read over the minutes of the last 4 board meetings and you will see what I mean. Dr. Pulliam was NOT the problem, the problem is the unprofessional, unethical and unprofessional board. The board is so dysfuntional, that they would name a principal as interim superintendant over the assistant superintendants. How unprofessional is that! My advice- until Clayton replaces the board, they will never see the results that are expected from the Clayton community.

By Truly a Shame

July 24, 2007 8:48 PM | Link to this

Curious after reading through the posts on this site, I was encouraged to examine the Clayton County BOE website. I have just reviewed the information regarding the members, and also some of the past meeting minutes. Yes, they need guidance, it is very, very sad. Are there any citizens out there that possibly attend the monthly meetings and speak out? I really feel for the educators and students of Clayton.

By Teach10

July 25, 2007 8:31 AM | Link to this

You have to be ignorant to beleive that the influx of the low economic class has not caused the problems that Clayton County is facing.

I’ve taught in a white school and black schools. Race is not the issue- socioeconomic class is the issue. Poor white kids act just like poor black kids.

The county is now an urban system with urban problems, and our pathetic superintendent could not see it that way.

Nor did she or many principals know the cardinal rule in education: Keep your teachers happy. If the teachers are supported, then many problems will be handled. However, when you have principals telling teachers to cut down on referrals, sending disruptive students back to class, going off on teachers in front of their students, lack of supplies- you will have problems.

The ignorant school board who hired her and the higher ups in Clayton are to blame, and they probably could care less.

By Advocate

July 25, 2007 8:33 AM | Link to this

AJC-

You may want to take another look at the headline for the “Clayton Superintendent Resigns Story.” You have a misspelled word in the subhead. Just FYI.

By Jeff

July 25, 2007 8:56 AM | Link to this

Concerned:

You are FAR nicer than I. I would have grabbed his other arm, twisted him around, chicken winged him, then possibly slammed him in to the hardest available surface. THEN I would have gotten Security and had them escort him off campus.

My students learned real quick that if they grabbed me like that, I WOULD subdue them as quickly and safely as I could, and that the only way they stood a chance was to either get one of the two really big boys (bigger than me, and in 6th grade!) involved or get the entire class involved.

Ah, the things that Bobby Jenkins personally sanctioned in his efforts to drive me away…. had I known what was coming anyway, I probably WOULD have sent a couple of them to the local hospital (the two that gave me the scars and the one that jumped on my back trying to choke me)…. as it was, I was trying to handle it as quickly and efficiently as possible while still keeping it in the classroom…

By WFC

July 25, 2007 9:04 AM | Link to this

I’m recently retired after thirty yyears of teaching and administering, the last twenty in Fulton County. We had similar problems as Clayton with the Board and superintendents. However, there was one big difference: the quality of the students and the integrity of the family unit. Some thoughts on quality education.

By formerccpsteacher

July 25, 2007 9:09 AM | Link to this

Former CCPS teacher here, and I’ll just say this: after my first year teaching in CC, I volunteered to go to Iraq rather than go back another year. I case you are wondering, that tour in Iraq was FAR less stressful than my tour in CC. It’s sad…there is so much potential in those students, and as long as you (in Clayton) have the school board that you have, it will never get better.

By thomas

July 25, 2007 10:08 AM | Link to this

BOMBSHELL NEWS!!!!– DUNCAN DID CHEAT WITH TESTS

Earlier a respondent to this blog reported that Dr. Gloria Duncan was once fired for falsifying student test data. After conducting some simple research, IT’S CONFIRMED!!!!!!!!

In 1995, Gloria Duncan, principal of North Clayton Middle School at the time, provided language arts teachers with information directly from the ITBS test that would be administered to students and instructed her teachers to make sure the students knew the material. Two teachers who didn’t like Duncan blew the whistle and consequently she was fired by the Clayton County School Board. Duncan appealed the decision to the state board of education. Here is the actual legal summary of the case:

http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/_documents/doe/legalservices/1996-10.pdf

The PSC recommended that Duncan be suspended for thirty days without pay, but the local board voted to terminate her. Perhaps this is why she left in 1996, as reported by the AJC, to teach at Mercer University.

What I don’t understand is: a) why she even got a job as a janitor at Mercer University, and b) why she was rehired by CCPS. Think of it: the lady returns to CCPS, the same system that busted her for blatant cheating on a major standardized test, gets a job as AP in 2000, moves up to principal, and then years later ends up as interim superintendent. Go figure.

Let this be a lesson to us all:

It is not WHAT you know, it is WHO you know. Some of the smartest people in the world are living in the gutter or selling newspapers to make a living. Yet folks with average skill and intelligence are in positions of power.

And people want to know why school is devalued by Americans. Any real person knows that the hash we sling in school is garbage. It the social component, the WHO part (and what you look like), that really matters in society.

By Ernest

July 25, 2007 10:23 AM | Link to this

I was critical of the AJCs coverage of this story on Tuesday but was pleased to see more in depth coverage in today’s paper. It even appeared on A1. Perhaps the AJC was under a deadline Monday night hence the small mention earlier.

I understand the nature of the business with cutbacks at the AJC however I feel Clayton should have a dedicated education staffer. At a minimum, there should be a shared education staffer between Clayton and Henry counties.

By Ernest

July 25, 2007 10:37 AM | Link to this

Obviously I was composing my message before I saw Thomas’s posting at 10:08. Looks like the Clayton County BoE has some explaining to do. AJC, here is your chance to follow up on a lead from a GetSchooled blogger…

By Advocate

July 25, 2007 10:50 AM | Link to this

Ernest, Perhaps it was your criticism of the AJC’s coverage that prompted them to give the story more ink. The truth is, the AJC has made a decision NOT to devote resources to the Southside. I would bet you that it has more to do with too few subscribers and certainly too few advertisers.

Does anybody remember the coverage devoted to Redding in Cobb and Brown in DeKalb?

I agree with you, at a minimum, there should be a staff writer or perhaps even a freelancer covering Henry and Clayton schools. Eric can not cover schools, county government, etc. Those are two distinct beats anywhere else.

But again, it appears the newspaper is placing its resources where it has the most competition (Gwinnett) and where it makes its money.

By thomas

July 25, 2007 10:53 AM | Link to this

A lot of good points, WFC.

A lot of people would WANT to be super in Clayton for career reasons. Unless you had a total disaster it would be good for your resume.

You are DEAD ON the money with these two statements:

Schools are “good” because of the quality of the students and their families.

My competent teaching accounted for no more than 10% of the success.

SO TRUE. SO VERY, VERY TRUE!!! This is a reality I learned years ago. You can take an average, ordinary, run-off-the-mill teacher and put them in front of a “good” class and they will be successful. Put this same teacher in front of an average-below average group of kids and they will struggle.

You don’t see the decent private schools, schools in Forsyth Co., North Fulton, North Gwinnett, East and West Cobb, etc. having problems retaining teachers. In fact, people are WAITING IN LINE to get one of the three positions that open up in this schools. And we ALL know the reason why- the students of those neighborhoods share our same culture and have been groomed for success in school.

This is what I was telling people about reading the other day. You can screw up teaching reading (via Whole Language, “Balanced Literacy”, etc.) to these children, BECAUSE MOM AND DAD WILL FILL IN THE GAP AT HOME. We call it “working with your kids at home.” And indeed many of these parents do provide instruction and reinforcement at home. I have seen several parents purchasing those “Summer Bridge” books for their children at Barnes and Noble, etc.

(This is one of the things that irritates the most- Teachers and staff who work in a “good” school who think they are all that and superior to everybody else on Earth. Arrogant and pompous. YOU ARE NOT!!! If fact, most of you are quite ordinary and are no different than the teachers in a “regular” school.)

A teacher can be less than 100% efficient with these children and still be successful. You make your bones in the ghetto. Places like Clayton separate the men from the boys and the women from the girls. If you can teach successful in Dekalb, City of Atlanta, Clayton Co, you can teach anywhere.

I CANNOT SAY THIS ENOUGH- IF YOU ARE TEACHING A “GOOD” CLASS, YOU ARE EXPECTED TO BE SUCCESSFUL. BECAUSE YOU ARE FORTUNE ENOUGH TO BE IN THAT POSITION, DON’T GET ARROGANT AND POMPOUS. YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN THE TEACHERS IN CLAYTON. THAT’S A FACT JACK!!!!

I know what I’m talking about. I’ve been around. I have worked in the $600 and $700,000 neighborhoods, I have worked in the barrio, and all in between. It’s not the teachers that really make the difference- IT’S THE STUDENTS AND FAMILIES. This is why schools in working class and poor neighborhoods have a higher teacher turnover. Teaching in a white, upper middle class school- elementary, middle, or high- is like having ready made success. Only a moron can screw it up.

By sharon

July 25, 2007 11:28 AM | Link to this

Some very interesting thoughts on this topic. I agree with many of you. The school system is bad. I’m in a position where I cannot afford to sell my home and if I enroll my child in a school out of district for a better education, then I’m breaking the law. So, the question is: what do I do? My county has changed drastically over the last nine years I’ve been here. My neighborhood has remained the same in large part because I still have the same neighbors. My neighbors are not section 8, thugs or uneducated as many of you have generalized. There are police officers, retired educators, ex-professional football player, UGA grads, government employees etc. So please don’t sterotype. Despite being educated at a Clayton County high school, my son scored high on the SAT and is now entering his second year of college (and for the record, it is not a HBCU, but a large university). Three Clayton County high schools were chosen as the one of the best in the Nation. I want to know how do we go forward? How do we get on track? I’ve always felt the Board was a joke and so are the parents. I cringe every time I see a parent on the news after an incident. You see them and realize that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Someone posted that it’s not about race, but socioecomics. I totally agree. I had a friend tell me that if I didn’t want my children to go to school with deviants or live near them then I would need to spend $300,000 or more on a home. At first I thought she was being a snob, but it’s looking more and more everyday like she was correct.

By mark

July 25, 2007 12:44 PM | Link to this

Wow.

I took someone’s advice and read the minutes from the Clayco Board meeting. It is apparent that the citizens of Clayton County have a problem on their hands with their board. From reading the minutes, it appears the Superintendent was very polished and aswered questions very well. The board members themselves seemed quite rude and uninformed. There was an interesting statement from someone named Noreese Haynes on page 18 of the minutes that said, “We cannot continue to keep making decisions.” Wow. That says a lot about that board.

I imagine SACS will want to revisit the issue of the board meddling too much in the affairs of the schools.

Someone mentioned that Barbara Pulliam had not provided job descriptions for certain positions (all sounded like good ideas)…but the minutes of the meeting suggest otherwise. Someone also suggested it was wrong for Dr. Pulliam to ask principals to lower suspension rates. I think I would interpret that as her desire for principals to institute proactive measures that would cut into the need to suspend students. Anyone can see that.

By CCPS ex

July 25, 2007 1:30 PM | Link to this

Reading the minutes of a Board meeting will not give a true picture of Pulliam. She is indeed well-spoken, very charming and personable in public, and a whiz at PR. To those who work for her, however, she is arrogant, unreasonably demanding, insensitive in the extreme, and does not want to be told “No” for any reason.

As one who spent considerable time at the central office, I can confidently state that morale was worse than low, and there was a running joke about what nonsensical position would be created next.

She will not be missed by those who know her—unless they are related to her, or were brought to the system by her, of course.

By Attn: Clayton Parents

July 25, 2007 1:31 PM | Link to this

Mark,

I was at the meeting where she illegally tried to sneak the administrative positions in. She started by benignly implying the board needed to budget funds for the Human Resources position. When a board member inquired that “Isn’t Ms. X already in that position” (can’t remember the lady’s name) Pulliam said she was in a new position.

Then when it was asked what the “new position” was and why wasn’t the board informed of a “new position” Pulliam tried to backtrack and say that was her position was not new, but “absorbed” into another position.

That’s when Ericka Davis asked her point blank: “How can she be ‘absorbed’ into a position that hasn’t even been created yet?”

That is when Norreese Haynes informed her that she has a legal obligation to inform the board before she attempts to add administrative positions to the budget. (Mind you, this was several hundred thousands of dollars we are talking about.)

At that point, the board went into recess, as it became apparent that Pulliam got caught red handed trying to pad the administrative payroll, again with positions she couldn’t even provide job descriptions for.

The fact that she laterally moved system employees into those positions, so she could benignly claim “we have to fill the Human Resources position” (one that HAD been authorized by the school system) shows just how unethical and underhanded her actions were in this matter.

So let’s not play this like she merely didn’t have a job description at hand. Now that the whole story has been laid out, please explain to us Mark how this wasn’t a SERIOUS breach of the public trust?

PS Just like you could ask people who were at the board meeting, ask teachers if Pulliam had a discipline plan in place, or just a plan to “reduce numbers” to give the apperance of a plan in place? You say “anyone can see that”? ASK THE TEACHERS who not only saw it, they LIVED it.

Go back up on the thread and see where a teacher was read the riot act after her SECOND referral of the year. When someone DID have a plan, (Norreese Haynes and the Teachers’ Bill of Rights) NOT ONCE did Pulliam come out and support the teacher’s right to maintain order in the classroom.

Yes “anyone can see that”. If they are WILLING to and not merely content themselves with being an apologist for a failed superintendent.

By thomas

July 25, 2007 1:35 PM | Link to this

Mark,

That was an issue within CCPS in regard to discipline. Some people in the community complained about the way discipline was dealt with in the schools. For some strange reason, some people like to say that the system is picking on them.

Dr. Pulliam did want to lower discipline referrals, ISS, OSS (out of school suspension), etc— mainly for PR purposes.

The truth is that those kids were actually misbehaving. It started from kindergarten on up. The things some of those children were doing were AWFUL. I wrote on this same blog yesterday that things were/are so bad that the well behaved kids could barely use the restroom due out of fear for their safety.

Something that many people don’t realize it that there is much community pressure down in Clayton. Blacks folks like to cry the blues and try to blame “whitie”, “the system”, and “the man” for all their problems. They thought that simply voting in/appointing blacks to positions of power and authority would solve all the problems. We see how that worked, didn’t we? They voted in Jewell Scott, a no-bit Jamaican lawyer as DA and “Walking Small” as sheriff.

By Attn: Clayton Parents

July 25, 2007 1:47 PM | Link to this

Mark,

You say “anyone can see that” (implying that Pulliam desire to reduce discipline numbers was part of a plan to address discipline, NOT PR).

Again re-read Thomas’ post as a teacher who not only saw it, but LIVED it, and then tell us what “anyone can see”.

To be clear, I’m not speaking for Thomas or implying he would agree with all of my post, but I DO think I laid out a pretty convincing case as to how her handling of trying to pad the budget with administrative position was a SERIOUS breach of ethics and the public trust…

If someone can defend Pulliam’s actions in that case, I’d love to hear it.

By teach 12

July 25, 2007 6:50 PM | Link to this

I am a CCPS teacher. There are several problems in CC, but the biggest obstacle to teaching effectively, is all the pointless paperwork that our top-heavy administration requires to justify their existence. We spend hours documenting failure and have no time left to plan or execute sucess. If we were a business we would of closed our doors long ago. Kids want to learn, even the knuckleheads. If the board and the super’s office would focus on our real mission instead of posing for the camera and shouting each other down, we wouldn’t be here.

By Ernest

July 26, 2007 9:47 AM | Link to this

Props to Thomas with the info on Dr. Duncan’s past that probably led to the story in today’s AJC. The blogsphere is providing traditional news organizations a new source of researchers and fact checkers that they’ve never had before. Unfortunately, it has resulted in the loss of some jobs however that is more a sign of the times in the flattened world we live in now. Being agile is the key to success in this new world we live in.

On topic I agree with the premise of Dr. Duncan’s story. Who am I to throw stones at someone that made a mistake in the past? Obviously, the county feels she has learned from it and can make a successful contribution to their school system today. I personally wish her well.

By Mark

July 26, 2007 10:33 AM | Link to this

To Attn Claton Parents

I am certainly not an apologist for Barbara Pulliam as I do not even know her. Heck, I don’t even care that she left. What is apparent is that there is an element in the county that seems intent on bringing the system down. That’s sad. I graduated from a Clayton County school many years ago when it was a fine system so I hate to see it happen. It is clear from the Board minutes that the members of that group are more interested in personal aggrandizement than they are in the welfare of the school system….perhaps not all…but some of them. For example, that Teacher’s Bill of Rights is just a rehash of stuff already in the books anyway. I won’t even go into details regarding intellect.

I don’t understand why you and Thomas assume that Ms.? Dr.? Pulliam was only worried about PR when she wanted to reduce suspensions and discipline referrals. I would assume first that she wanted to improve teaching conditions through proactive means. If my boss asked me to reduce the number of employee absences, complaints, or workers comp referrals in my department I would not automatically think, “Oh, he’s worried about PR.”

Clayton County schools, their parents and their students are being held captive by a small group whose interest is something other than the welfare and education of children. And let’s face it..shouldn’t it all be about the kids???

…gotta like the integrity of the board as evidenced by the person they chose as interim!

I wonder what SACS is thinking…..

By thomas

July 26, 2007 11:55 AM | Link to this

I can tell you, Mark, exactly why I know the whole push to reduce discipline referrals was due to community relations. I was there!!!! And after I left, I stayed in contact with people in the schools and system.

WHAT YOU, AND OTHER OUTSIDERS, DON’T UNDERSTAND IS THAT DR. PULLIAM VALUED GOOD COMMUNITY/PARENT RELATIONS. Many of her initiatives were based on that. She believed in placating the community. CCPS projected a good image with her at the helm. Everytime you looked on the CCPS website or elsewhere, her face was on it.

You have to give her credit- SHE KNEW HOW TO WORK THE BLACK COMMUNITY. This includes the hiring and promoting of people in key positions. For some strange reason, the new Clayton residents seem to want to get some kind of special recognition. They want to see lots of blacks faces in positions of authority. They want lots of programs and attention. It doesn’t matter if the people are especially qualified or the programs beneficial. Dr. Pulliam would have started another “midnight basketball” program if it would have garnered her news coverage and a mention in the CCPS newsletter/website.

Dr. Pulliam wanted to see discipline referrals reduced so that she could be able to go before the community and say “we’ve reduced the number of discipline referrals and suspensions.”

BUT SADLY, MANY OF THESE FOOLS WILL CLAIM THAT “THEY ARE PICKING ON BLACK CHILDREN”, “THEY JUST DON’T LIKE BLACK CHILDREN”, “A DOUBLE STANDARD EXISTS….”, YADA, YADA, YADA. NEVER MIND THE FACT THAT MANY OF THESE STUDENTS ARE RAISING PURE CAIN IN SCHOOL.

These same students don’t bring a pencil or paper to school, DON’T READ, STUDY, AND DO VERY MINIMAL, IF ANY HOMEWORK, talk in class, ignore the teacher, are rude and disrespectful to classmates, teachers, and other school personnel, vandalize property, steal, LIE, cheat, make up all kind of excuses, and in many cases, just take up a seat in the classroom.

And yet, those same parents want to blame the school when their child is disciplined for throwing a chair across the room.

By Mark

July 26, 2007 1:01 PM | Link to this

Thomas…I will have to take your word for it since you lived it and I can only observe from the outside and by reading the Board minutes.

To me, it looks like a change of a much broader scale is needed. Hopefully, the good citizens of Clayton can do something about that during the next election. The Board sounds like a bunch of buffoons…only interested in their own grandstanding.

“We cannot continue to keep making decisions.” I still cannot believe one of the board members said that at a meeting.

God help my alma mater!

By Attn: Clayton Parents

July 26, 2007 1:25 PM | Link to this

Mark,

What is so hard to understand that Pulliam was about PR with discipline especially after reading from teachers who were there? Do you think you could stem a crime wave in your community by making LESS ARRESTS? That doesn’t even make any sense, and “crime wave” would be an appropriate way to describe Clayton schools.

Again read the posts of the teachers who teach there. Reading the riot act to a teacher after she wrote only her second discipline referral of the year?

And go back and reread the Teachers’ Bill of Rights. It is not a “rehash” it has stronger language than previous bills. It defers to a teachers professional judgement and demands that an administrator show some backbone, and not just walk a kid back to class with zero consequences.

Again, if Pulliam wanted to be “proactive” why was she SILENT on giving teachers more authority to be proactive?

It’s been shown that Pulliam sent memos to “reduce the numbers of suspensions”. (Notice there weren’t memos saying “improve the discipline”.) Teachers have said left and right that they weren’t getting support on actual discipline problems. Yet you STILL can’t see this was PR on her part?

You’re either extremely naive as to what’s going on in Clayton County schools or you’re just not being honest.

By Sue

July 26, 2007 2:40 PM | Link to this

Thomas is right on the mark. If you worked at Clayton County Public Schools and you weren’t one of the “relatives”, (nepotism was the rule under Pulliam) then it was not a pleasant experience. She was all about PR. She was also all about her friends and relatives. If you look into all the scripted programs she was forcing down the teacher’s throats you will see that they are too somehow connected to “friends” or past cronies. She ruled by intimidation. You couldn’t even talk to a board member about any concerns without repercussions. And she did require underreporting of discipline problems. Thank God she is gone and maybe now we can begin to fix our schools.

By Attn: Clayton County Parents

July 26, 2007 2:43 PM | Link to this

Mark,

CCPS does need broader change. Open and transparent governance. REAL disicpline. And that is exactly what Norreese Haynes and MACE is attempting to bring to Clayton.

Why use code words like “special interests” when your obvious attempt is to bash the efforts of MACE?

Probably because someone will point out the basic MACE philosophy to you: You can’t have good learning conditions until you have good teaching conditions and that MUST include discipline.

Tell us, since you obviously want to bash MACE, what specifically is wrong with that as a guiding philosophy? You won’t, because like all the other MACE bashers, you can’t. Because it is a fundamentally sound philosophy, and the fact that MACE is considered “radical” for expousing such philosophy shows just how far the educrats in Georgia (and the AJC editorial board) have their collective craniums firmly inserted into their posteriors.

Walk the walk and go substitute teach for awhile, especially in an “at risk environment” such as Clayton. Watch your fellow teachers get physcially assaulted only to have an administrator put a referral in the garbage can, and tell the teacher it’s her fault because she needs to “improve your classroom management skills”.

Then come back and regale us with tales of how wonderfully “proactive” the likes of Pulliam and her ilk are when it comes to addressing discipline.

Better yet, go post it on a “Fantasy” board, as if you are still this naive as to the reality of what teachers face, and why MACE exist, then “fantasy” is the realm in which you truly reside.

By sue

July 26, 2007 3:00 PM | Link to this

Things need to improve drastically here in Clayton County. However, my problem with MACE is that the “esteemed leader” of MACE is why we are in the predicament that we are in now. Had Mr. Trotter not had a vendetta going against past Superintendants and Board Members we would not be where we are today. While Mr. Trotter does have “some” good ideas, his actions leave a lot to be desired. There is no place in a school system for “ANYONE” that is in it for power and vendettas. Unless Mr. Trotter guides “his” board members for the good of the system and not for the power and position he could weld, we as a system will be doomed.

By umeka

July 27, 2007 12:32 PM | Link to this

I find it very disturbing to read all of the negative comments about Clayton School District because it has become predominant black. I attended a school district similar to Clayton (so called thugs,unfit parents, so called terrible school board). Twenty-five miles down, there were school districts similar to Henry and Fayette. We had just as many students who were doctors, lawyers, judges (one lives here in Clayton County) teachers, nurses,dentist, engineers, accountants, and etc. I am very sure that some of those students did the same things as the ones in my school district. We had the thugs, and they had the students who were taking their parents’ pills at a party, or shooting up the entire school. Every school district has its problems, but some or more public than others. If those schools in Cobb,Fayette,North Fulton, and etc suppose to be on top of things, why is the entire state of Georgia is ranked 47 in the state. This schools should have made the state be in the top ten.

As fo teachers, you all are underpaid and unappreciated. All I’ve read was parents’ complaints, they don’t know that you all have many roles. You are the teacher, security guard,nurse, bookeeper, secretary,counselor,translator, and more. With all of those jobs, you should make the same amount of money as those who make the top salary. Thanks to thse teachers who put up with my children.

By umeka

July 27, 2007 12:32 PM | Link to this

I find it very disturbing to read all of the negative comments about Clayton School District because it has become predominant black. I attended a school district similar to Clayton (so called thugs,unfit parents, so called terrible school board). Twenty-five miles down, there were school districts similar to Henry and Fayette. We had just as many students who were doctors, lawyers, judges (one lives here in Clayton County) teachers, nurses,dentist, engineers, accountants, and etc. I am very sure that some of those students did the same things as the ones in my school district. We had the thugs, and they had the students who were taking their parents’ pills at a party, or shooting up the entire school. Every school district has its problems, but some or more public than others. If those schools in Cobb,Fayette,North Fulton, and etc suppose to be on top of things, why is the entire state of Georgia is ranked 47 in the state. This schools should have made the state be in the top ten.

As fo teachers, you all are underpaid and unappreciated. All I’ve read was parents’ complaints, they don’t know that you all have many roles. You are the teacher, security guard,nurse, bookeeper, secretary,counselor,translator, and more. With all of those jobs, you should make the same amount of money as those who make the top salary. Thanks to thse teachers who put up with my children.

By teach 12

July 27, 2007 2:16 PM | Link to this

All you have to do to find out what teachers in CCPS think about Clayton County is to look at the car tags in a CC parking lot. Very few teachers, or administrators, at the schools I have worked at live in the county. When I took a job in the sysytem my principal told me not to bother looking at houses in the county if I had kids.

Other counties have experienced white flight and economic downturns and managed to develop some type of plan to bring professionals and developers back. The BOE, county government, sheriiff’s office, and business community all seem determined to continue this “African-American Utopia” plan instead of fostering an environment where African-Americans can prosper by work with other groups in the community.

By Anita H

July 30, 2007 5:09 PM | Link to this

From the years of 1957 to 1965, I attended an all black school for grades 1st through 9th, and a predominately white school until I graduated in 1969. There were very few discipline problems in either school because parents, many who were very poor,took an active role in the educations of their children. Based on this statement alone, one can see that the times have certainly changed. Many poor children today don’t have the extended family support that families once had. As a former teacher myself, I strive not to be a critic of people of my beloved profession. I will not bash those who work hard at educating our most valued commodity, our children. I entered the Clayton County School system when the school board and all of the schools were predominately white. In the two schools where I worked, there were problems, but the problems were “white problems”, problems that did not hit the news, or were swept under the rug. The school board and county office positions were held by “good ole boys and girls” who could do anything they wanted to do and get away with it because most shared the same views, were the same color, supported each other, and watched each other’s backs. This is something that does not happpen as much when school boards and schools take on a darker persuasion. Everything then comes under close scrutiny. Every “I” must be dotted and every “T” crossed. Dr. Pulliam’s performance and the problems she incurred represent the 21st century in Clayton County,just as those in her same position faced their own set of issues in the 1980’s. When will critics of education and educators widen their scopes and minds to the real problems in our society? Too many people, black, white, and otherwise, have the disease called “selfishness”. They only care about their own children and themselves. What they fail to realize is that many of the so-called perfect parents who are living in perfect environments are not raising perfect children!!! Let the uncouth behavior on the beaches at “spring break” validate my point. Remember, the hippies and yippies of the 60s and 70s are the lawyers, doctors, and businessmen of today. Many of us, we must admit, didn’t make good parents ourselves. Some have gotten too old to do anything other than sit back now and throw stones of derision at those who don’t measure up to their expectations. Parents can shelter their children while the children are still young, but as soon as these same children go off to college, or simply leave the nest, many resort to doing things that one would not expect from such priviledged characters. When are the critics of educators and so-called poor school systems going to realize that if a child’s basic needs are not met, there will always be problems with the child? There lies the problem. It has little to do with the person at the helm who is trying to help. Even our Lord and Savior said “The poor will be with you always.” All we mere mortals can do is help those who are less fortunate. After all, what we do for others is what really counts in the big scheme of things. Critics of public education and educators should volunteer their time, their money, and their efforts to help remedy what really ails many public schools, not enough parental support and involvement.

By SET

July 30, 2007 5:49 PM | Link to this

Anita: Why should I or anyone else volunteer my valuable time for a morally bankrupt public school system?

Some of this is rhetorical because I have done some public speaking on career days at public schools, and done interview for Rotary Scholarships at urban public schools. NAACP seminars…I guess I’m only preaching ‘cause I’ve had my taste.

And everytime I do it, I walk away saying “Never again!”

It is wrong to be a part of, and to “support” organizations that are fundamentally bad. You just keep them in business longer than they would be able to get away with if just left alone.

I prefer to put energy into select people and places (such as voluntary board seats) where I can actually make a difference and where my advice is taken seriously.

I have worked with Interns who followed my orders without question - and we eventually put them into a league beyond anything they (or their families) ever thought they could reach. I have manipulated careers from undergrad school through grad school, state licensing to high office.

You can only do it where the student jumps when told to. Not everybody can handle the ride. Some people want to sit around and think about whether they think they’re ready. My people learn to rely on experts (like me for starters). One day they have passed me and are on their own. Then they pick up the lunch tabs…

Two such people over the years were ESL students from modest families who are now globe trotters. I am used to the idea now that I can take immigrant children and push them to be the 1st in their families with University Graduate degrees but I can’t do much with most of the home grown locals. The locals are too damn comfortable to work it.

The work I’ve done with interns includes things they can’t get from their families. Use of Power & Force, calculated risk taking (and commitments), dealing with chains of command, personal finances, introductions, travel (booking and going), social skills with strangers, high stakes negotiations, time management, all of it.

I do what I can, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink. Only certain personalities seem to be ambitious enough to keep up.

I have had equal results from men and women (although I prescreened them). The women have to be exceptional to want to keep up, though. They face more peer/family pressure to not compete. They have to realize that their own ambitions come before anyone else. The guys come to that point easier.

By Attn: Clayton Parents

July 31, 2007 11:33 AM | Link to this

Re: “Dr. Pulliam’s performance and the problems she incurred represent the 21st century in Clayton County,…”

No Dr. Pulliam’s repeated, documented failures best represent her own incompetence.

I find it instructive that Dr. Pulliam’s defenders, when asked to address said failures, without exception, without fail, disappeared into the ether of cyberspace.