Letters to the Editor

An Open Letter to Michael Thurmond

A parent attended last Wednesday's Emory LaVista Parent Council meeting in Druid Hills and has a few thoughts.

Mr. Thurmond, Thank you for your honest back and forth with citizens at this morning's Emory LaVista Parent Council meeting. I attend a lot of meetings and your willingness to stay in the conversation is a refreshing change. Many of your subordinates have a record of walking out instead of dealing with difficult questions. Every time I hear you speak I become a more ardent supporter. You may be the right person to be superintendent at this time. I particularly appreciate your attitude of getting to know how things work before attempting to make any big changes. Hopefully, you are a fast learner. I have to tell you parents are well aware you are not answering many of the questions asked. I repeat my question, are salaries of employees going…

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Tom Doolittle

2:28 pm on Monday, April 22, 2013

Firing people and reducing salaries is for tough bosses. Even tho this guy owes none of them anything, he probably is not the guy thats going to do tough things. The non-teaching position bloat is the litmus test. He will fail it--and will fail, with a period.   more ›

Thurmond to Address Parent Council Wednesday

The interim superintendent will address the Emory Lavista Parent Council at Coralwood School at 9:15 a.m.

DeKalb County schools interim Superintendent Michael Thurmond will speak before the Emory Lavista Parent Council on Wednesday. The talk will be a follow-up to Thurmond's appearance before the council in February – days after his first day at work – that drew considerable criticism from attendees. Thurmond's 9:15 a.m. talk at Coralwood School, 2477 Coralwood Drive, Atlanta, will be called, "The State of the System, Revisted." DeKalb School Watch Two, a blog that writes about the DeKalb County School System, has suggested questions to ask Thurmond at the meeting.  

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Parent Council to Talk About School System 'Rebuilding'

The Emory Lavista Parent Council welcomes the Atlanta board of education's executive director.

Thurmond: Voters Partially Responsible for School Board Strife

"I'm here to correct some of the mistakes they made but also to correct some of the mistakes you made," the interim superintendent said at Oak Grove Elementary School on Wednesday.

DeKalb County voters are partially responsible for the strife and discord that has pushed the board of education to the brink of its own removal, interim schools Superintendent Michael Thurmond said Wednesday. Because voters elected the board members, they must take some responsibility for the state of the board and the school system as it struggles to regain approval from its accreditors, he said, speaking before the Emory Lavista Parent Council at Oak Grove Elementary School. It was his first public appearance since the embattled school board hired him last week to replace Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson. "My job is to correct mistakes. I did not make them," he said shortly before the meeting came to a close. "I'm here to correct many of …

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Ann

8:48 am on Sunday, April 14, 2013

Was a crooked politican when he served as Commissioner of the Department of Labor. Unless it was the intent to continue to produce uneducated children, I can't imagine how Thurmond got himself appointed to anything having to do with education.   more ›

Emory LaVista Parent Council to Discuss SACS Report

The Jan. 23 meeting at Henderson Mill Elementary School will also include a legislative update.

The Emory LaVista Parent Council will discuss this month the DeKalb County School System's accreditation probation. The school system was placed on probation last month by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The meeting will be held – a changed date – at Henderson Mill Elementary School at 9:15 a.m. Jan. 23. The council will also receive a legislative update and introduce new school board members.

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Next Emory Lavista Parent Council Meeting to Tackle Charter Schools

The Wednesday, Oct. 17 meeting will be held at the International Community School in Medlock.

The Emory Lavista Parent Council will tackle the subject of charter schools next week when it brings its traveling group to Medlock's new charter school, the International Community School. The session, titled "The Georgia Charter School Ammendment: The Devil is in the Details," will include state Rep. Scott Holcomb giving an overview of why the state ammendment is up for a vote Nov. 4. It will also include Mark Peevy, former executive director of the Georgia Charter School Commission and Margaret Ciccarelli, legislative services manager and an attorney with the Professional Association of Georgia Educators. The meeting begins at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday at the school, 2418 Wood Trail Lane, Decatur.

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Tom Doolittle

10:00 am on Tuesday, October 23, 2012

From Dunwoody Crier--blogger "Alpharetta Mom" http://www.thecrier.net/our_columnists/article_5bd46dc2-121d-11e2-a5cb-001a4bcf887a.html "A couple of concerns - we currently have a law in Georgia which affords an appeals process to petitioners who have been denied a charter by a local board. Why isn't this adequate? The enabling legislation, HB 797, allows charter petitioners the option to declare …   more ›

Lakeside High to Host State of System Speech Wednesday

DeKalb County School System Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson will give the address before the Emory Lavista Parent Council.

Lakeside High to Host State of School System Speech

The Emory Lavista Parent Council will have Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson speak before the council on Sept. 19 at 9:15am.

DeKalb County schools Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson will give her second State of the System address before the Emory LaVista Parent Council next month. The address will be held at Lakeside High School on Sept. 19 at 9:15am, according to an announcement the council sent out Monday. Here's our coverage of Atkinson's last address, which was held at Henderson Middle School last year.

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School System Administration Featured at Next Parent Council Meeting

Everyone from former superintendent Ramona Tyson to deputy superintendents and departmental officers will talk before the Emory Lavista Parent Council.

One of your best opportunities to meet and speak with various heads of the DeKalb County School System arrives later this month. The Emory Lavista Parent Council has invited the following school officials to its March 21 meeting at Druid Hills Middle School: The meeting begins at 9:15am (and refreshments will be served at 8:45am). Also, Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson will give a state of the system address before the parent council at its final meeting at Sagamore Hills Elementary School on April 18.

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Atkinson to Focus on Students, Make Changes Across System

New Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson said she plans to take the next 90 days to assess the school district and possibly make administrative changes.

Cheryl Atkinson, DeKalb County's new schools chief, promised to focus on students and spend the next 90 days assessing the school district – a process that may lead to administrative changes and some staffing consolidation. The new superintendent, in only her fifth day on the job here, was light on specifics as she spoke before a group of parents at Henderson Middle School this morning during the first meeting of the Emory LaVista Parent Council's annual State of the System address. She repeatedly referred parents to her published 90-day plan as a guide of how she will assess the school district before she moves to make changes. So far, that's included visiting more than 20 schools across the county, part of a larger goal to visit every …

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