Clayton County Schools superintendent Edmond Heatley appears headed back to California where he is set to become head of the school system in Berkeley, Calif.
Heatley announced his resignation from the 51,000-student Clayton County district last week, just days before officials from the 9,400-student Berkeley Unified School District visited Clayton to interview school board members, teachers and parents. That site visit is the final step in an extensive vetting process to verify the credentials of Heatley, the sole finalist in what was a national search for a superintendent, according to a press release sent out by the Berkeley school district.
The site selection team is set to meet with the Berkeley school board Wednesday to share what it gathered from its Clayton visit last Thursday and Friday. Once that formality is completed, the Berkeley school board is expected to offer Heatley an employment contract at its September meeting. Heatley’s resignation from his Clayton position is effective Sept. 30, although the Clayton school board has not officially accepted it yet.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to join a high achieving team focused on ensuring that every student has the opportunity to achieve greatness,” Heatley said in the release sent out by the Berkeley district. “I believe in a fair break for every child and that all students can learn. It is great to see that the Berkeley community feels the same way, putting action behind their words.”
Those words come less than a month after Heatley in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reiterated his commitment to Clayton County students.
“My plan is to be in Clayton County until the work is done,” Heatley said in the Aug. 21 profile about him. “Is that a number of years? I don’t know. I will know when my team says we’re able to stand on our own two feet … when disciplinary rates go down and graduation rates go up.”
The new job would mark Heatley’s return to familiar territory. Heatley served as superintendent of the Chino Valley Unified School District in California before coming to Clayton in 2009.
During his tenure, Heatley, a retired marine officer, helped Clayton regain full accreditation. He also closed a significant budget shortfall. Under his leadership, the number of students failing to meet expectations on Georgia’s standardized tests has dropped across all racial and ethnic categories, particularly blacks and Latinos. At the same time, participation in advanced placement and international baccalaureate class has increased.
But Heatley’s time in Clayton was also tinged with controversy that sometimes included sparring with some school board members. He also ran into criticism after it was discovered his wife and two children were on Clayton school payroll at a time when teachers were facing layoffs.
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