In urging the rejection of the Druid Hills Charter Cluster, DeKalb Superintendent Michael Thurmond said his concern was not only for the 5,000 students who would attend the seven schools in the proposed cluster, but for the 100,000 in the entire system.
“You hired me to do what is in the best interest of 100,000 students, not 1, not 10, not 5,000, but 100,000 students,” he told the school board before it rejected the charter cluster in a dramatic 5-4 vote last week.
While Thurmond’s statement may be admirable and appropriate for a school chief, it wasn’t reassuring to the many parents at the board meeting who have a narrower focus than him: their own child. It also probably wasn’t convincing to critics of DeKalb schools, which, like every other large urban district, still haven’t significantly improved outcomes for low-income children.
A year ago, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, citing mismanagement and cronyism, put DeKalb on probation and threatened to strip its accreditation. While Thurmond’s ascent has stabilized the district, DeKalb has a 57.28 percent graduation rate.
The school board hearing coincided with a corruption trial involving DeKalb’s former Superintendent Crawford Lewis. The trial has revealed gross mismanagement of construction spending and allegations of racketeering and theft by taking. DeKalb schools sounded more like the TV show “Dallas” when Lewis testified that threats of exposure by his former chief operating officer forced him to confess an affair with an subordinate to his wife.
Clearly, the deep doubts about DeKalb can be justified. But can they be allayed by shucking the central office?
A lot of parents and teachers think so. In the public vote required under the cluster law to move forward with the petition, 92 percent of voters endorsed the cluster. Those voters believe that the creation of the cluster — essentially an independent system within DeKalb that would make its own decisions on policy, staffing, academics and funding — means better odds for their kids.
Among the supporters is Druid Hills High teacher Melissa King Rogers, who says the cluster’s bare-bones administrative staff will put millions more dollars into classrooms and enable reduced class sizes and more individualized attention.
“Teachers are behind this, and here’s why. We can’t do our job, and we’re watching our neediest kids fall through the cracks,” she says.
Not every teacher agrees. In a letter to the board, Susan McWethy, teacher librarian at Druid Hills Middle School, warns, “With good intentions, a small group of parents have embraced the charter school concept, believing that a total upheaval of the status quo will somehow make their kids smarter.”
While frustrated with the board denial, cluster proponents haven’t surrendered hope, says leader Kathleen Mathers, former head of the Governor’s Office of Accountability. “We certainly aren’t going to throw our hands in the air and say it’s over. We are committed to this,” she says.
The cluster proponents may seek the mediation allowed under state law, although it’s unclear how receptive DeKalb would be. Thurmond said he would consider sitting down with proponents if it could be done in a spirit of “mutual respect and without aspersions.”
“As a matter of practice, if one party requests mediation, we then inform the other party and invite them to participate in mediation. If they decline, then there cannot be mediation,” says Louis Erste, state associate superintendent for policy and charter schools.
DeKalb was once an education innovation leader. Approving the state’s first charter cluster would continue that legacy, but it’s a major decision that entails entrusting an untested entity and unproven charter board with $40 million in tax dollars.
Neither side shone at the hearing. School district officials came across as protectionist, petty and indifferent to the 300 parents sitting behind them. Cluster proponents failed to present a compelling argument for their academic game plan, saying they would follow much the same approaches as DeKalb, but do it better. They went combative when conciliatory would have been wiser. So, a mediator and a less-charged environment than a tense public hearing could help.
The critical point is that parents want more choices in education. If DeKalb and other districts don’t find ways to work with parents, they may find choice forced on them.
