A few months ago, I wrote a column about doing a police ride-along while participating in Leadership DeKalb, a year-long program that exposes a class of about 50 people of varying professions to all facets of the county.
The ride-along was enlightening, giving me a new level of respect for what officers do every day to protect and police citizens, workers and visitors.
On Thursday, the Class of 2015 completed its last program day. The focus of the program was economic development, with DeKalb Development Authority officials schooling us on everything from the basics on incentives, to more of the complicated details involving acronyms like LCIs and TADs and CIDs. As usual, our group received insightful information on some of the things the county is doing.
During the morning session, there was much discussion about negative perceptions about DeKalb, much of it because of coverage by the news media, specifically The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. One classmate lamented that if you were to Google “DeKalb County,” much of what you would find would be negative, and much of that would be current news, not long-ago history.
Vaughn Irons, Development Authority chairman, conceded the county faces some perception challenges because of its political system, education concerns, declines in property values in some areas, and growing cityhood movement. But he theorizes we could change perceptions if we turned up the volume on community pride, much as Chicagoans do despite the city’s high murder rate.
There’s no arguing that in the past year alone, the AJC has written quite a few stories about corruption allegations, ethical misconduct and other questionable practices involving county government officials. There are enough of these “big” stories in our newspaper that they invariably overshadow some of the good things happening in the county.
As I listened to my classmates discuss negative perceptions about DeKalb and the role they believe the media plays not just in printing bad stories, but in not telling enough positive stories, I decided to make a proposition to the group.
During our lunch break, I shared that I was preparing to write a column for today, and while I had a working topic in mind, I was rethinking that in light of our morning discussion. I proposed that they send me a list of good deeds going on in the county, and I would share them.
One of the first people to respond was Joshua Williams, chief operating officer for the DeKalb County Schools. He sent me a report from outgoing DeKalb Superintendent Michael Thurmond titled “Accomplishments.” Highlighted in the 14-page document were achievements in several areas, including budget and fiscal management, accreditation and improved graduation rates.
The one thing I will highlight from the report is that DeKalb schools eliminated its fiscal year 2012 general fund deficit of $13.9 million and ended the 2013 fiscal year with a surplus of $14.4 million. Also, according to the report, the school district enhanced its 2014 budget to include $27.2 million to directly support academic achievement.
Another classmate sent me this email:
Over the past year, citizens in Tucker created a community theater from scratch. They had their first big performance this past weekend. Three shows, all packed houses! Totally volunteer-driven. Local businesses donated supplies, the group had fundraisers over the past year; they put sweat equity into the Tucker Rec Center to fix it up for the performance. The actors, sets and costumes were amazing. It’s such a great example of citizens taking action to make the community better!
Martha Pacini, president of Citizens of Victoria Estates, shared this good news:
This year, Georgia Piedmont Technical College had the statewide winners for both EAGLE (which is for GED students) and GOAL Student of the Year. I don’t think any technical college has ever had both winners in the same year before.
Then there is the Buddy Bench, a concept shared by classmate Terrell Patton of Keller Williams Realty Atlanta. This week, Indian Creek Elementary School in Clarkston was one of three schools to receive a Buddy Bench intended to combat bullying. It’s also a safe spot for children who may not have a friend on the playground. Sitting on the Buddy Bench lets other kids know you’d like a playmate. Eighteen Atlanta-area schools will receive the benches thanks to Kares 4 Kids founder Marci Fair and Keller Williams.
Amy Crownover, of New American Pathways, thought it would be great to highlight some of the great work mentioned in the Coalition of Refugee Service Agencies annual report. More than 2,900 refugees settled in Georgia in 2014, many of them in DeKalb. Thanks to the work of New American Pathways — created late last year when several refugee agencies merged — 82 percent of refugee families are self-sufficient within six months of their arrival.
That got me to thinking about another positive story that did run in the AJC just Monday. Features reporter Helena Oliviero wrote of Abishkar Chhetri, a refugee from Nepal, who was named this year’s valedictorian at Druid Hills High School. Chhetri will attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this fall on a full scholarship. While unsure about his career path, he knows one thing: “I want to help people.”
And finally, from my own notes from Thursday morning: Southwest DeKalb’s Porter Sanford Arts Center, which hosted our morning program, is totally booked on weekends through 2015.
How’s that for some good news?
About the Author
