Schools

What's Your Assessment Of DeKalb County Schools?

New parents group seeks strength in numbers to improve district

As any regular attendee of DeKalb County school board meetings will attest, parents usually address board leaders about what's most pressing to them: their own neighborhood school.

But one Dunwoody father of two has organized a DeKalb parents group with a goal of representing concerned parents countywide.

There are countywide concerns that should unify DeKalb taxpayers whether they're from North or South DeKalb into demanding higher standards from the school board, said Gil Hearn, who organized Parents For DeKalb County Schools ().

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The group, founded three days ago, has about 200 members.

My hope is we'll be able to mobilize people in way that hasn't happened before in this county, Hearn said.

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To that end, the group is conducting a poll to gauge DeKalb residents' approval or disapproval of the county schools.

"The poll is an engagement toll," he said. "The polls purpose is to engage parents and residents throughout DeKalb County with all of the problems that are being face by the DeKalb County School System."

The chief issue for the group is the lack of a permanent schools superintendent.

As of Aug. 11, the district was in its 532nd day of having an interim superintendent.

"That's the most critical issue for parents," Hearn said. "The laser focus for us is that the school board hire a qualified superintendent that comes outside the school system."

With declining test scores and performance, making the right choice is a key part of fixing what's ailing the schools, he said.

"It's got to start with someone at the top who can lead the system and serve as its CEO."

But he said it can't just be parents from one section of the county, which is why he said the group is making concerted efforts to reach out to parents all over DeKalb via the poll and other methods.

When the district enacted plans to shutter several schools earlier this year parents in South DeKalb were angry that their schools shouldered most of the closures.

To some, the issue was framed in mostly white, more affluent North DeKalb parents getting what they wanted at the expense of the kids in mostly black, less affluent South DeKalb.

But Hearn said Parents For DeKalb County Schools is to be a voice for everyone because the school district's performance affects everyone no matter where they live.

And that goes for those residents who don't even have kids in the system.

"They, as taxpayers are contributing to the overall welfare of the county and the community," he said. "People and businesses are not going to want to relocate to DeKalb County if the school system continues to deteriorate."


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