December 2012: The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools places DeKalb schools on "probation"
February 2013: Cheryl Atkinson resigns as superintendent and is succeeded by Michael Thurmond
March 2013: Gov. Nathan Deal suspends six school board members and names replacements
November 2013: The Georgia Supreme Court upholds the removal of the six school board members
January 2014: DeKalb accreditation lifted one step, from "probation" to "warning;" the next step before full accreditation is "advisement"
The “required actions”
In December 2012, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools ordered DeKalb to take 11 actions, dealing mainly with governance, policy, management and finances.
On Tuesday, the agency said DeKalb had completed eight of the actions, but still had work to do on three dealing with governance processes and policies and better exploitation of data.
SACS also added three new required actions: sustaining improvements in school board and school system management and fulfilling school technology needs.
In-depth coverage
How education fares in a community affects more than students and teachers. Economic well-being and quality of life also can see fallout from a decline in the status of schools. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has been following the accreditation issue in DeKalb County — and in other metro school systems — since concerns arose.
