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Thursday, December 18, 2008
Giving parents and teachers a say
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s official - Gwinnett County school leaders are asking the state to exempt them from many of the mandates other systems must follow. Gwinnett leaders say this freedom will let them improve student achievement.
We’ve blogged about Gwinnett’s plan before. The system is seeking flexibility in 12 areas, including class size, teacher pay and employees’ duties.
A crucial part of this plan is the need for community buy-in.
School leaders often develop plans for their districts in private. But Gwinnett’s plan raises questions over how soon must school leaders tell parents, teachers and others about these ideas.
Many Gwinnett parents and teachers say they were clueless over what the exact changes will be and how it will affect their kids and jobs.
They said the school system never asked for their ideas. They said the proposal was approved with little discussion from the public.
Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks said the district has been working on this for three years and the public will have a say during implementation.
Is that too late? When is the right time to involve the community in discussions about their schools?
