The Echo

Published Online: January 31, 2011


Duncan Urges Atlanta Schools to Get 'Act Together'

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, second from left, speaks at Morehouse College in Atlanta on Jan. 31, where he encouraged students at the country's only all-male, historically black college to become teachers.

Atlanta

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan urged the Atlanta school board on Monday to get its act together after a major accrediting agency put the school district on probation.

Duncan said he met with Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed before attending an event at Morehouse College. He said board members have "lost sight of why they were elected."

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools put the district on probation this month and urged it to take six steps by Sept. 30 to keep its accreditation. At issue is the city's splintered nine-member school board, which has fought bitterly in recent months, leading the association to conclude the group has failed to meet standards for governance and leadership.

Losing accreditation can strip the district of millions of dollars in grant money and could put the district of nearly 50,000 students at risk of not gaining admission to colleges.

The probation designation is rare for SACS. Of the roughly 5,000 districts nationwide the agency has accredited, only eight are currently on probation.

Key to saving the Atlanta system will be hiring a new superintendent. Outgoing Superintendent Beverly Hall's contract expires in June and the school board has pledged to launch a nationwide search for her successor.

"We're going to have to persuade a superstar to come to the city of Atlanta," Reed told a meeting of the Atlanta Press Club, adding that Duncan pledged his support in the search.

He said the Atlanta Public Schools accreditation situation has been a black eye on the city, raising concerns among the business and philanthropic community, as well as parents and public officials. Though SACS has given Atlanta Public Schools nine months to fix its issues, Reed said he thinks it can happen in six months.

"This is not a 9-month problem," he said.

The school system's woes have also attracted the attention of the state. Last week, Gov. Nathan Deal appointed two legislators as liaisons to keep him abreast of the school board's progress. Meanwhile, lawmakers have suggested they may offer legislative changes to the school board's charter in response to the crisis.

At the Morehouse College event, Duncan and filmmaker Spike Lee called for more black men to become teachers.

Just 2 percent of the nation's 3 million teacher workforce are black males, Duncan said. He said federal officials have an opportunity to diversify that workforce as more than a million teachers are expected to retire in the next decade.

The meeting comes a week after President Barack Obama's call during his State of the Union address for more people to become teachers.

Lee told the audience that teaching and being educated are not considered cool in the black community, and that perception needs to change.


More HERE: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/01/31/401875gtlantaschools_ap.html