City Schools Decatur Superintendent David Dude announced back in February that he was restructuring the Decatur school system’s administration. He eliminated the titles of nine current department heads and fashioned 10 “district leadership positions.”
But he only created one thoroughly new position, that of equity director, which has now attracted a whopping 93 applicants.
Only about half of those, however, meet “the net minimum requirements,” according to Eston Melton, CSD’s director of technology who’s evaluating the applications.
Initial interviews, conducted via Skype, will begin this week, and Dude said his goal is to have the finalists selected by the May 9 board meeting.
The job’s primary purpose is reducing disproportionality throughout CSD in academics, discipline and participation, while also providing professional learning for staff. The idea for creating the position came about, in part, through conversations between Dude and members of the Beacon Hill Branch of the NAACP, which was organized last May.
Dude has already filled 8 of the 10 district leadership positions with current staffers.
Besides equity director, the only leadership role to fill is executive director of curriculum and instruction, which likely would’ve gone to longtime Decatur educator Mary Mack, who recently announced her retirement.
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