The DeKalb County Board of Education voted to approve a separation agreement with DeKalb County Schools Superintendent Cheryl Watson-Harris, effective immediately. After students publiclycalled out Druid Hills Highand put renovations back on the agenda, the DeKalb County School Board voted not to make changesto the building. Click to Subscribe. Previously, Dr. Here's a timeline of events so far. While there are some concerns about the four-day weeks impact on test scores, Michelle Francis, superintendent at Silverton Independent School District, says STAAR scores have actually increased since the shorter week took effect last year. We didnt want to put that additional burden on them.. Website . The overall grades are based on three categories: student achievement (how well students perform academically), school progress (how well students perform over time and compared to students in similar schools) and closing the gaps (how well schools are boosting performance for subgroups such as students with special needs). 2023 Cox Media Group. This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Texarkana Gazette, Inc. Board Member Jason Wilson, left, Superintendent Chris Galloway and Board President Kyle Dooley have a discussion Monday, April 18, 2022, during a DeKalb Independent School District board meeting. . Heres what a state committee found. The school board is also looking for a new superintendent to replace Cheryl Watson-Harris, nearly a year after firing her and appointing Interim Superintendent Dr. Vasanne Tinsley. The soon to be released Cognia report shows the weakness in the District does not lie with the students, teachers, administrators or even the superintendent. Union says DeKalb schools should tear up new contract containing vague performance factors The head of the Georgia Federation of Teachers, Verdaillia Turner, told Channel 2's Richard Belcher that the school district needs to start over. In a statement, Georgia's governor accuses the school board of choosing politics over students. ), Print Headline: DeKalb ISD votes in favor of four-day school week. Our working families, they would have to find childcare, she said. Copyright 1999 2023 GoDaddy Operating Company, LLC. The letter said DeKalb County received over $480 million in ESSER relief funds, and even after taking into account austerity cuts, DeKalb netted more than $440 million. When Decaturish asked DaCosta if not having a CFO will be a concern as the district develops its budget, he said, Not at all.. As Executive Director of Student Support Services, he supervised and supported GSCS Departments of Student Services, Exceptional Students (Special Education), Mental Health and Positive Student Supports, and Counseling Program. And New Summerfield went from 98% daily attendance to 94% Monday through Thursday and 90% Friday. DaCosta said the district has received numerous inquiries for its vacancies, including the office of superintendent. Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 15_4_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/605.1.15 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/15.4 Mobile/15E148 Safari/604.1. A student is defined as "economically disadvantaged" if he or she is eligible for free or reduced-price lunch or other public assistance. Executive Support The weakness in DeKalb County Schools is the DeKalb County School Board. All Texas public school districts and campuses received the label Not Rated: Declared State of Disaster. At the end of the mandatory 21-day waiting period, the DeKalb ISD School Board will vote on hiring Dr. Galloway as the next Superintendent. Through making the change just this year, Mineral Wells Independent School District has already been able to enroll 200 more students, from 3,245 to 3,436. Before being hired in DeKalb County, Watson-Harris served as first deputy chancellor, senior director of field support and Brooklyn executive director for the New York City Department of Education. School days are slightly longer from 7:45 a.m.-3:42 p.m. to 7:35 a.m.-4 p.m. Because some parents of elementary students are concerned that their children wont be able to handle the longer days, the district will be monitoring student engagement and performance. N/A No data is available, or the number is zero. An additional hour was added to the school day to make up for Fridays being off. The district also hired 50 staff members this summer after about 10% left the district, which superintendent John Kuhn said was the most turnover hed seen in his career. We used our Monday that was off to try to do some unique and different things. "We are not asking for too much. Decaturish is now on Flipboard. In February, Clarksville Independent School District superintendent Kermit Ward pitched the idea to the school board to help with recruitment, and they voted against it. Twenty-four percent of the staff said they took the job because of the four-day week, and 53% said its motivated them to continue working at Athens ISD. In a recent DeKalb ISD survey, 97.2% of staff members voted in favor of the four-day option. WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta facebook feed(Opens a new window), WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta twitter feed(Opens a new window), WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta instagram feed(Opens a new window), WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta youtube feed(Opens a new window), UGA star charged in connection to crash that killed teammate, staffer, Kirby Smart releases statement on UGA star players charges in deadly crash, Officers, command staff resign after south Georgia police chief arrested by GBI, Clark Atlanta baseball player identified as 20-year-old shot, killed outside Catholic center, Ga. teacher fired, arrested after being caught with student in library closet, sheriffs report says. The head of the Georgia Federation of Teachers, Verdaillia Turner, told Channel 2's Richard Belcher that the school district needs to start over. With over 90 years of combined experience in public education, Dr. Marshall and Mr. Dunlap can provide your school board with unmatched personal service. Our 2A District proudly serves three campuses and approximately 875 students, grades Pre-Kindergarten through 12th. To follow us, visit:https://newsie.social/@Decaturish/. For a detailed explanation of this years accountability system, see the 2021 Accountability Manual. We appreciate Mrs. Cheryl Watson-Harris for her service to the DeKalb County School District and wish her the best in her future endeavors, board chair Vickie B. Turner said. Tinsley brings a wealth of experience to DCSD, formerly serving as the deputy superintendent of student support and intervention in the district, the district said. Open System Preferences and go to Keyboard: Select the Shortcuts tab. Community members and teachers showed vast support for the idea during a public hearing held by DeKalb ISD on March 22. The district hired 17 teachers this school year, about half after announcing the shorter school week. Theres some bigger schools around our area here that have increased their pay scale. The maximum score is 36. Say if we did Monday through Thursday, they would have to find childcare for Friday. A few others said they hoped it would help with student attendance and achievement. The school district is also undertaking two in-depth audits. The school received an accountability rating of B for the 2018-2019 school year. The DeKalb ISD Board of Trustees officially named Dr. Christophor Galloway Lone Finalist for Superintendent at a Special Meeting on May 13. They would have to get stakeholder input. Druid Hill High School was on the priority list for renovations in 2022, but the school board voted to take it off in February. 417 E. Market St. I have. I still have not received any formal communication, Watson-Harris said. We also feel like its going to help us with our mental health program for students, Kuhn said. Hull-Daisetta Independent School District superintendent Tim Bartram noticed they'd lost some students to three neighboring districts Devers ISD, Liberty ISD and Hardin ISD that switched. The board made the vote during a virtual executive meeting, deciding to name Dr. Vassane Tinsley as interim superintendent. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. Arrow Educational Services, Inc. Access from your Country was disabled by the administrator. We are so confident of our success that we offer an unmatched guarantee -- if you are not satisfied with our work, DON'T PAY US. July report from the Texas American Federation of Teachers, bill passed by the 84th Texas Legislature, UNT Health Science Center to open nursing school to address national shortage, Racist and insensitive messages spray-painted at two Eagle Mountain-Saginaw schools, We have the best right here. Grapevine-Colleyville names lone finalist for superintendent, Former Colleyville Heritage principal files lawsuit against district, board member, Police identify Crowley ISD teacher charged with assault, improper student relationship. Woods said the state will be in touch with the board to help develop "immediate, short-term, and long-term plans.". Dekalb ISD is a school district in Dekalb, TX. Regional nursing schools turned away 30,000 qualified applicants the past two years for lack of space. Dr. Tinsley brings 25+ years of servant leadership, a love of community and a genuine passion for education. Right after the district announced that it had a new four-day schedule in April, applications started rolling in. 2023 Decaturish - Locally sourced news. Make sure the box for "Use keyboard navigation to move focus between controls" is, Select the Advanced tab. A district survey found that 86% of students, 78% of staff and 68% of parents were in favor of the growing trend. The lack of stability in leadership in the seat of the superintendent and other key leadership roles have resulted in antiquated systems, structures that do not allow for the brilliance of many of our staff members to fully be realized, and what I have been doing for the last 20 months is helping to uncover areas in need of improvement, build strong systems and structures, Watson-Harris said. Decaturish is now on Mastadon. School Board Chair Diijon DaCosta said Tinsley is diligently working to fill the central office vacancies. This figure for the 2020-2021 school year refers to tenure the number of years a teacher has been employed in any district, whether or not there was an interruption in service. Mabank, Texas 75147. The dropout rate for students in grades 9-12 was 0.4% during the 2019-2020 school year. DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. DeKalb County's fired school superintendent says she is a woman of integrity and has not been told why she was terminated. Druid Hills High School is one of the highest needs, Watson-Harris said. Nearly 43,000 Texas teachers left their job in the last school year, according to a July report from the Texas American Federation of Teachers. 2023. The termination signifies a boiling point as tensions around Druid Hills High School's renovations or lack there of rather arise. The Board of Education and superintendent appreciate these individuals for their support of DeKalb County Schools.. Our goal is to expand the walls of the classroom by providing access to information and programs anytime, anywhere for anyone in a 21st century learning environment. There is a shortage of qualified candidates, and those with senior-level experience have multiple leadership opportunities from which to choose. I keep pondering what it will be like if I continue to serve on a Board where progress is stifled, adult egos prevail and students are forgotten, Gervetz wrote. Everman ISD has put in place incentives for new and existing employees that include competitive starting salaries and retention bonuses. 2021 Region 8 ESC (903) 575-2600 Mailing: PO Box 1894 | Mt. Childcare for the younger students was an issue, forcing elementary teachers to still have classes on the fifth day. View a more comprehensive breakdown of the higher ed outcomes in Region 08. How can Texas keep more teachers in classrooms? Now-former DeKalb County Schools Superintendent Cheryl Watson-Harris sent a letter home to parents and guardians commending the kids who made the video for putting the renovations back on the school board agenda for the following week. If you like what we do, consider becoming a paid supporter. "I will not recommend DeKalb County Schools facilities plan for State Board of Education approval while these fundamental issues and concerns remain," Woods said. Its bad. Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. I will fight to fulfill my commitment to the children of DeKalb County School District, Watson-Harris said. Dalia Faheid is a reporter on the Star-Telegrams service journalism team. From the emergence of a viral video to a sitting superintendent's termination the entire debacle transpired in under a month. Students start to see a response to their call to action. Home of the 4-Day Instructional Week. Superintendent Janie Sims says its helped the rural district compete with larger districts in Dallas-Fort Worth and Tyler. A student is identified as being at risk of dropping out of school based on state-defined criteria. District leaders hope it will give them a leg up since theyre unable to offer teachers competitive compensation. To become a supporter, clickhere. He is planning, however, on proposing the schedule for specialized positions the district is short on including speech therapists, physical therapists and diagnosticians. A passing score on the AP exam is a 3, 4 or 5. 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