Bruce Roaden Named Principal of 5th Avenue 4/5 Academy
Decatur Metro | January 21, 2011I’m not sure how I missed this!
Karass writes in a comment that an article in today’s AJC metro section notes that current Glennwood Principal Gloria Lee is retiring and that former Renfroe Middle School Principal and current CSD Communications Director Bruce Roaden would be taking over the post.
The AJC article is not currently online, but the news was also mentioned in this Patch summary of the last School Board meeting.
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DM: CSD moms are gonna getchu for the lackadaisical “communications”. Look out.
Last three principal hiring’s:
Clairmont – Caucasian female
Glenwood – Caucasian female
The Academy – Caucasian male without an interview process.
I guess diversity in Decatur leadership has become a myth. I would like to say thank you to Rodney Thomas and Karen Newton for holding down the fort for all the years without even getting any consideration. I hear that another Caucasian female has already been chosen for when Ms. Mack retires. I am so glad that the minority children in Decatur are leaning how they should keep their places in this society. Derrick you should stay in there because minority leadership in Decatur will soon go the way of the Dinosaur. ACLU where art thou.
Ever stop to think that the most qualified person is getting hired?
Unbelievable. Yes, if there happens to be a string of Caucasian hires, the only possible conclusion is racism. I mean, can it get any worse; three white people hired in a row??!!! THE HORROR!!! Next thing you know, CSD will start bring out the hoses and the dogs!
Have you ever worked at a place for 4 or 5 years, help build that place up, worked hard everyday and you did not get the courtesy of getting an interveiw for a hirer level position. Hoses come in all forms and this systems had diversity and the diversity has disappeared.
That sucks and I would not want to have that feeling. However, I would hope that the decisions being made are being made with the best interest of the students in mind. Is that always the case? Probably not, but to immediately make it a race issue is unfounded and unfair.
It is what it is. If it were all males being hired it would be a gender issues. If it was people of a certain age it would be an age issues. There are all kinds of issues, this looks like race. Two qualified black individuals who has worked hard to make The Acadamy what it is and a white indivdual who gets hired without the interview process. It is what it is,
Wow.
What about Derrick Thomas?
Didn’t Martin Luther King, Jr. say “A person should be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin” ?
I did think about it and I do not think the most qualified was.
I also think that someone who has worked at The Academy as long as Rodney Thomas and Karen Newton should have a chance to interview for a program they have worked hard to grow. In the end it probably would not have mattered anyways.
Cleveland,
This is embarrassing for you and for this city.
If you have a problem with the way that Dr. Roaden was hired, please contact Dr. Edwards to discuss.
Thank you,
Decatur Residents
I’m sad that these individuals with years of experience in teaching, accomplishments in their careers, and educational philosophies honed by time are reduced to being described by their race and sex.
I know in Decatur we think that we are the great liberals but in a school system where there are still some minority students leadership should reflect that diversity. These individuals are being described by me that way because there are some qualified minority individuals who are getting passed over. It is what it is.
We often talk about want our K – 5 back but I guess we gloss over race relation in CSD. All children, black, white, brown, yellow, green, mocha, need to see diversity and I am afraid CSD is beginning to lack in that area.
How do you know they are being being “passed over” because of race. Should people be hired simply because of their skin color? Is this the message you want our children to learn. I thought we were to stop looking at color and start judging character, performance, etc. You can’t have it both ways.
Given the performance of all these individuals, i would say that they were all equals. Ms. Newton has a specialist degree and thus her education level is higher than that of the principal hired. If these two individuals were not performing to a level of being able to do the job in case the curren principal ever got a long term illness then they should have been replaced. Since those individual were not replaced and they recieved a satisfactory job performance then they should have been considered for the position regardless of race. It just happens that both of these individuals just happen to be black and that the black representation in CSD has dwindled.
Cleveland Brown could’ve just given the names, but it wouldn’t have changed the facts. And it’s a shame if folks didn’t have the opportunity to be considered for the Academy position.
And the “facts” are they were passed over because of race? I would love to know what your definition of a “fact” is. Furthermore, I would imagine that if Mr. Roaden had not already been a principal that was well respected, they would have had a more open interviewing process. That certainly does not discount the fact that if I was in the shoes of these other individuals (and I have a massive amount of respect and appreciation for Mr. Thomas), I would be bothered by not being considered.
If it looks like a duck, walks, like a duck, and quacks like a duck its a duck. Maybe it is not racism but perception is everything.
The facts = the info. I wasn’t interpreting anything or assigning evil motives. Cleveland Brown’s comment caught my attention. Looks like he has yours too. If the CSD’s hiring practices are sound, then they’ll withstand scrutiny.
I see the problem a little differently than the voices so far above. I think highly of every single person mentioned above, appointed or not. Truly. We are so blessed to have all of them here in Decatur and I hope they know it. I try to remember to tell that to those folks that I know and I’ll continue to do so.
The problem as I see it is the selection of principals without an open interview and selection process, at least among internal candidates. It bothers me whether the selection is for an excellent African American candidate like Mr. Derrick Thomas at Renfroe or for an excellent white candidate like Mr. Roaden at the 4/5 Academy. Evidently this is perfectly legal and common in the world of public education at the principal level. However, I know that there are many teachers and staff within CSD, and I agree with them, who think that the process should be the same open competitive process as for selecting teachers and other employees in CSD. It doesn’t mean that Mr. Thomas and Mr. Roaden wouldn’t still be selected, as the best candidates, but it would be an open, transparent process that made all feel that they had a chance to compete and would make the community confident that qualifications and experience were being used for the selection criteria, not cronyism. This is especially important because public education positions are tax-funded. Just like state and local government have established processes for hiring, so should local government entitities. It’s not a question of legality, but of public perception and internal morale. As far as I know, only the heads of state or federal agencies are appointed without open competition. (Now I know that “open competition” is not always open in reality but the fact that some folks manipulate the system is another issue.) It would only be a little more effort for CSD to go through at least an internal application, interview, and selection process. I think that extra effort would go a long way to assuring folks inside and outside of CSD.
Having said all that, I don’t know of the budget and other pressures within CSD. Maybe CSD is having to cut some central admin positions? Maybe it is afraid that it is about to lose some good folks? I suspect there are back stories I don’t know. I can respect that but still feel that standard interview and selection processes are important. The decision-maker still holds the power to make the best possible decision using all the information, not just the interview information.
I certainly cannot argue with this line of thought.
You are not alone Cleveland Brown. This “process” was a slap in the face.
Just to be extra clear: If I was one one of the individuals mentioned by Cleveland Brown, I would likely view it as a slap in the face as well. The problem is the accusation that it had to do with race. If it did, fine, show me the proof and I will stand right along side you to fight this battle. If you don’t have the proof, it’s a very serious charge. Furthermore, didn’t they just hire Derrick Thomas for Renfroe?
Once again, I have problems with process of hiring Derrick Thomas also. It appear that his appointment is an appeasement for the minority quota. He did not go through a reall process of hiring and he should have just like they should have at The Academy. There were two qualified black candidates at The Acadamy and there should have been an interview process. Let’s make sure that a decision has not already been for Ms. Mack’s position. Where is the SLT in this process and parents that is outlined in the Charter.
You can’t have it both ways- Derrick Thomas was hired to appease quotas but Bruce Roaden, who clearly was put back into a school as principal based on a stellar track record at Renfroe, was hired and it’s racist? This is ridiculous and completely unfair not only to Roaden & Thomas but to all the people to whom you are referring.
How do you know they were equally or more qualified? A specialist degree doesn’t equal higher qualification except on paper. Do you know what’s in the performance evaluation in the personnel files of these people? How do you know for a fact they have all the qualities & experience the school was seeking? How do you either wanted the job?
The issue is not racism. It doesn’t “appear” to be racism. That demeans real victims of systemic oppression of all sorts. The issue is what karass pointed out- lack of transparency and obvious procedure in the hiring process. Does this violate some sort of stated HR policy? I don’t know; if it does, then the board and Edwards should answer for it. Bruce Roaden is highly qualified, amazingly competent and extremely popular with both parents and children. That’s why he got the job.
If the specialist degree don’t equal higher education except on paper then why pay people more getting one. I find it amazing that the two highly qualified people can go to school, work in their field, continuously educated themselves to be better education and when it is convient to say their education does not matter. These two people have to go the extra mile to get where they are going and then they can not get a simple interview for a job that they have worked hard at. Maybe you have never had to work hard at anything and feel the disappointment, maybe these two people do not feel the disappointment but I feel it for them.
By the way anyone just getting appointed to a job is wrong even Mr. Derrick Thomas.
I have a pile of letters after my name and in some circles I would earn more; that doesn’t mean I am inherently more qualified. Proclaiming someone’s alphabet soup makes them more qualified is disingenuous at best.
Those are the rules in education. I don’t make them I just follow them.
Of course — most likely because the teachers unions wanted it that way. We can’t evaluate teacher performance, we can only “reward” them for earning fake degrees from institutions that would be badges of failure for college-bound students.
What teachers’ union? There isn’t one in Georgia, that I know of.
Agree that cheap, ersatz, on-line graduate degrees from for-profit unaccredited “higher education” institutions are a problem, not just in education, but everywhere. Part of the problem is hiring and promotion systems that only superficially look at credentials, not at the value of those credentials or at actual skills and performance. The other problem is that busy professionals, often with a family to go home to at night, end up resorting to on-line graduate degree programs to get those credentials needed to advance their career because those are the only options available. They either need better flexible and/or on-line options from bona fide, accredited, academic programs or a chance to advance based on their performance vs. on their paperwork.
Re SLT involvement: By charter, SLTs have to be involved. However, they are often not involved until so far into the decision process that anything but assent would cause a major disruption to CSD’s plans. It’s hard for teachers and parents on the SLT to redirect to a standard selection process when CSD is arguing that they’ve made the best choice and using the standard process will cause delays. Plus, the candidate in question may soon be their boss or in charge of their children. And at that point, the candidate’s feelings may be hurt. (Although I would argue, that at those salaries, candidates should be beyond hurt feelings.)
Re stated HR policy: To the best of my understanding, no HR policy is violated by a direct selection of principals without a recruitment and interview process because the issue is not explicitly addressed. To be fair to CSD, direct appointment of principals is a common practice in Georgia public school systems. But so is using a standard application, interview, and selection process. That is where I think the public perception becomes a problem. Why not use the standard process for all candidates? It begs the question of why is this appointment different? CSD could try to articulate its reasoning but the lawyers would probably advise against that. Better, IMHO, to just use the standard process every time. Same good result in the end but a little more investment in assuring transparency and public confidence. For example, in this case, maybe some of the people mentioned above wouldn’t even apply. Case closed. Or they would apply but a review panel, including SLT member(s), would rank two candidates high, of whom the superintendent would choose one. Case closed again.
” they should have been considered for the position regardless of race.’
Who can confirm if they were considered or not?
Who can confirm if either were interested in the position?
Who can confirm if either have L5 status to be qualified for consideration?
I’m not opposing the fact of diversity. But I am questioning: Do we know for a fact they were overlooked? I think it is save to say: We do not know for a fact they were overlooked.
Once again we will never know because the position was never advertised. They were never given the chance. Two black qualified candidates were passed over without being given the oppurtunity to show their worth. Other candidates were passed over without being given the oppurtunity to show their worth. How many times do I have to say this. They have put their time at the school they deserved the chance to interview.
I feel like the last four principal choices have been great and I’m really excited. I think CSD has a chance of moving forward in the right direction under the leadership of these qualified individuals and our other three great principals at WP, DHS and OAK.
Are you assuming Rodney Thomas and/or Karen Newton wanted the job? Or do you know it as fact?
We wil never know if they were interested since they were never given the oppurtunity. I can tell you this, Mr. Thomas and Ms. Newton has but in the time, gotten the education, (they both have specialist degrees and I do not believe that the past four principal hires have those), and they do a great job. It would be great if they had to oppurtunity to but their hats in the ring.
Neighbors,
There are lots of assumptions being made here. Perhaps they are valid, perhaps not. Before we spend any more time and energy speculating, it would be more productive to actually find out what happened.
DM- Could you get the background information on this hiring situation? Perhaps contact Thomas Van Soelen?
For now, I will assume good will.
I would think that Dr. Edwards would need to respond. I don’t think that Dr. Van Soelen selects or supervises the principals. Normally, the Communications Director could respond but Mr. Roaden is in that position currently so that wouldn’t be appropriate.
Another taxpayer question to ask CSD would be whether the Communications Director position will be refilled and, if so, what process will be used for recruitment and selection.
This is hilarious, a person (Cleveland) makes an uninformed opinionated observation and it spirals into wanting DM to call Dr. Edwards.
CSD hired a principal at The Acadamy without an interview.
He is white.
The last 3 principal hires by CSD are white.
Two of the last vacanies at CSD for for principals were held by black people.
There were two qualified black applicants at The Academy that did not get a chance to interview,
The SLT, according to charter, should have a hand in hiring the principal,
Over 30% of CSD students are non-white.
These are not opinions they are observable facts.
You know, I’m certainly not unsympathetic to your POV, Cleveland, but you appear to be saying that since approximately 30% of CSD’s population is non-white, at least one school principal should be non-white as well (I say “non-white” because I’m assuming you wouldn’t be affronted if, say, an Asian or Latino person had been hired for principal– or would you?). The logical conclusion one can follow is that you believe principal hires should reflect racial makeups equivalent to a fair representation of the district’s racial makeup. I disagree on principle if not in theory with this, but even if I didn’t, you’re still not making sense. If CSD was a majority-nonwhite district, your argument might hold a little more water. As it stands, I daresay CSD’s teacher/administrator makeup reflects the City’s demogaphics fairly evenly (and as you point out, Renfroe now has a Black principal, correct?).
That being said, I do have a problem with hiring practices that overlook qualified internal candidates, especially if there’s a policy that these jobs are to be posted (regardless of whether there’s some loophole administrators can step through to avoid posting them). The race quotient aside, it just seems unfair to not at least grant these candidates interviews. By not doing so, it leads to just the sort of speculation you’ve espoused here, and that’s not good for either the community or CSD employee morale.
Why not contact her? What’s the big deal? As a small system, our officials are accessible and responsive. Personnel is the largest cost for a school system and one of the most critical hiring decisions CSD makes is choosing principals. It’s not an everyday decision and the process should be as open and transparent as possible. Principals set the tone for the whole school, make decisions that affect hundreds of children a year, and are key to attracting and retaining excellent teachers and staff.
Give me a break Mr. Cleveland Brown.
I am so sick of the race card. Let people be hired on their merits. Did any of your candidates apply for the job? Do you know if they have leadership skills.
In order for America to truly move ahead we need to get over this affirmative action and minority quotas. Hire the most qualified candidate and if you think someone is more qualified then have him/her throw their name in the hat for the next position
I agree with you Mr. Rob. Let people be hired on their own merits, but I suggest you go back and read what the complaint is before you comment. Did they apply for the job? Please do some research before you chime in next time. Affirmative Action, two qualified candidates that have worded at the school with the time and education. Dude you just proved my point.
Thank you Rob! For awhile there I thought I was reading a Glenn Beck transcript….just waiting for the Nazi regime to be mentioned and the tin foil hats to be handed around.
All discussion of the process aside, Decatur will have seven schools next year. Among the principals will be 2 African Americans, which is just under 30%. The percentage of African American residents of Decatur expected from the 2010 census will likely be just under 30%. It seems perfectly reasonable to me that the racial balance of our school principals be roughly comparable to that of the larger community.
I hate to try to prove or disprove fairness by this kind of data which can be analyzed in multiple ways depending on the argument one wants to make. For example, shouldn’t College Heights be included in the denominator, so it’s 2/8 = 25% ? On the other hand, perhaps the school isn’t the unit of analysis because the schools vary in size. Perhaps the student should be the unit of analysis–e.g. of all the ~2500??? students in the system, what proportion have an African-American principal? Or should we look at student-years because students are in some schools for only one to two years and in others for three-four years.
That’s why I think the focus should be on a standard, open, transparent, well-documented and defensible announcement and selection process. The hiring manager, in this case the superintendent, still has the ultimate decision-making power but it’s harder to argue that the decision wasn’t sound.
A point that hasn’t been brought up yet is how to hire in a way that encourages diversity but does not discriminate on the basis of race/ethnicity (or age, sex, or disability for that matter). Just as one cannot discriminate against blacks in hiring, one cannot discriminate against any other racial/ethnic group. It’s tricky and that’s why managers sometimes want to avoid a lot of scrutiny. But I think that approach is unwise. The best I’ve ever been able to figure out is that one must put a lot of energy into recruiting a diverse pool of candidates so that one can then hire the best candidate without regard to age, race, ethnicity, sex, disability. That’s another reason to have a standard recruitment, application, interview, and selection process–one can build in strategies to pro-actively recruit minority populations. If one doesn’t want the work of hundreds of applicants applying and having to be screened, one can restrict the hiring to internal candidates (assuming that one has a diverse pool of internal candidates).
OK, Scott, I should’ve read your post before I posted mine along similar lines…
It’s easy to focus on what’s wrong, but how about what is right? Decatur is among the 10 community schools. The crct scores at Winnona park are amazing. Look at Dekalb and Atlanta public schools systems. I look at the overall school experience and am thankful to be here in Decatur. Ask your child what their experience at school is like… each year has been better than the last for us. I’m female, I could have been offended when Mr. Wiseman replaced the female principal there…. I’m glad to see more male role models in the school system regardless of race.
Re sex: Another good point about going by the numbers instead of having a defensable standard process. What is a minority? Students are roughly 50% female and 50% male. Men used to be the majority among principals, but not so anymore. This year, 75% (6/8) of principals are female and next year, 63% (5/8) will be. Is that appropriate? To me, it depends on the potential applicant pool. Traditionally, public school teachers and staff are predominately female so the proportion may be appropriate. It is indeed a benefit to have plenty of male teachers and principals as role models for kids. But the way to get more males in the system is by active recruitment of highly qualified males, not by bypassing the routine processes, or even worse, by lowering standards.
Ginger are you really comparing a male replacing a female in education to two black leaders who have worked hard for this system not only not getting the job but not getting a chance to interview for the job that they have been doing for at least 5 years? Really.
Jeeeezus on toast. It doesn’t matter if the principal is black or white or green with pink stripes. What matters is that kids in Decatur are getting good educations and the tax payers are getting good value for our dollars and that there isn’t any real discrimination outside of fantasyland. How many of the non white students aren’t native born American black? If they are African (which a number of them are) then what good does the black American administrators do for them? Same for other non white or non native born/ESL kids.
Cleveland Brown lost just about everyone when he threw in the race card. It makes any other argument a strawman. To call it racism, like I said before, is just demeaning to people who really suffer.
It still does not account for the fact that two very qualified black candidates did not get an interview. These two individuals have worked hard at their craft and they were told that they were not good enough and nelliebelle please only speak for yourself, you can not say that I lost everyone. If you had worked five years in a position and honed your craft and someone was just given a job over you without you getting the chance to make your case you would be angry. Call it what you want, get angry all you want, those two well qualified black individuals were passed over without the chance of an interview. I do not know how you see it but I see it differently. And unless you have been discriminated on the basis of race or any other reason please do not say I have demeaned anyone. It does not matter how much tax money you pay there are still a great number of black students in the school system and they need role models just like girls. I, too can be racist about some things but I know that about myself. I am just calling it the way I see it. The principal at Renfroe was next in line, these guys got skipped over all together.
I think Cleveland Brown is either Rodney Thomas or Karen Newton. Of course, that would be wild speculation… but we seem to be on a string of wild speculation here. So Cleveland, prove to me that you are not Rodney or Karen just like CSD has to prove that they are not racist. Until, I have proof otherwise… I’m just going to assume that you are one or the other… assume just like you assume.
Perhaps there were other candidates – not African American – who also were denied the opportunity to interview for the 5th Ave job ?
I don’t know the details of this situation but based on your version of the facts I agree that the principal search process for the new 5th Ave school probably should have allowed interested internal candidates the opportunity for an interview.
That said, every CSD parent or teacher I know who has dealt with Mr Roaden considers him to be nothing short of a miracle worker for the improvements he brought to Renfroe. Do you really believe the other people you mentioned have stronger track records than Mr Roaden for the 5th Ave position?
Sounds to me less like racism than an executive decision to put a proven, super star principal in place at a new school .
So here’s my take on this conversation thus far.
The issue of race, while probably the most potentially explosive topic on the table here, is actually a subtopic. I get this not just from Cleveland’s posts, but also from other concerned readers – in this thread and off-line – who are upset about the way this decision was made more than anything else. That seems to be the largest concern on the table. Whether it WAS racism or APPEARS as racism is another important topic that can certainly be discussed when deemed necessary by anyone with a powerful enough argument, but I just want to do a bit of clarifying, for my own good as much as anyone else’s.
I’m not coming down on either side, since CSD’s “side” really isn’t being represented here, this is just my observation thus far in this continuing conversation.
I will reach out to the administration and see what info I can get.
I agree there’s no race story here. But I don’t think there’s a question about the hire nor hiring practice, either.
The process: We’re a small, focused school system. One of the advantages of that is the lack of bureaucracy – CSD can be more nimble.
The result: Bruce Roaden – a proven principle at one of our system-wide schools, easily the best choice internally and externally.
If people are interested in learning about the process of hiring principles and administrators, for future reference, then great. But I don’t think this particular situation warrants an inquest.
You may be correct that the best person was chosen for the position, but that doesn’t explain why I’m hearing from voices inside the school system, who don’t seem to have a direct dog in this fight and are really fired up about how this decision was made.
Sure there are benefits to a less-bureaucratic system, but there are also obvious drawbacks. And I think I’m bearing the brunt of one of them right now. Why THAT is, is yet another unanswered question.
I can confirm that the Glennwood School Leadership Team (SLT) played no role in the selection process. I find this to be a regrettable opportunity lost to build upon the good will and precedent set by the involvement of the Clairemont SLT in the selection of its new principal. I had hoped that the success of the process at Clairemont would encourage the use of an open and transparent principal hiring process.
If the principal selection process had been open and transparent this conversation likely wouldn’t have taken place.
The charter lists “recommend personnel for submission to the Superintendent for hire” as the first duty of the School Leadership Team. That recommendation was not sought. However, it is worth mentioning that while there is language in the charter which requires the principal to provide a seat for a SLT member in the interview process, there is no such language requiring the Superintendent to do so.
In all honesty, had the SLT been involved and had the process been completely open and transparent, it would likely have come to exactly the same outcome. But people will believe what they will. In the absence of an open and transparent process we will never know for certain. And for some folks the process will never be open and transparent enough.
Bruce is a proven principal. The Academy at 5th Avenue as a new school will do well with a veteran principal. I hope that Bruce’s track record for turning around failing schools will serve our children well as he works to get the Academy at 5th Avenue started on a good footing.
And I hope Karen and Rodney know how much we value them. Rodney Thomas and Erin Wheeler are two of the first people I met when moving to the area. These two extremely professional and high caliber individuals are in no small part responsible for our family’s decision to move to Decatur. Erin is now principal of Clairemont. And I have no doubt that if he wants it, Rodney’s time will come.
And let us not forget that Dr. Gloria Lee is still working hard at Glennwood. She will see us through the move to our new school, and the transition to our new principal.
Before I leave room for misinterpretation let me add: That in recognizing Bruce’s track record for turning around schools, I do not mean to imply that the Academy is failing or in need of being turned around. Glennwood is not a failing school.
Thank you DM. I am finished.
Thank you lord!
I think you have the wrong angle on this. His job is to open the 4/5 and get it off to a good start. As a veteran principal with public relations experience, he’s very qualified to do that.
I think it’s also bigger than that. It’s also an audition for superintendent. The position is going to come up soon and if he does a good job at the 4/5, most parents will have had him as principal at their children’s schools. If he doesn’t do a good job, he’s basically written himself out of the superintendent’s position.
It’s a bold move. He’s putting himself out there, giving a lot of people a chance to see his style. Think of him as an interim principal whose job is to get the 4/5 off to a good start and the discussion becomes very different.
Interesting perspective. I was seeing the move very differently, as going from a three-year middle school to a two-year 4/5 school, and it seemed like a weird direction to go in. That’s why I was wondering if there was a back story, e.g. CSD Admin had to downsize but his old position was already filled so he couldn’t go back there.
Well, whether this is a career move or something else, I think it would have been less controversial if a standard hiring or promotion process was used. I’m hoping that the end result is a fairly seamless and smooth transition for the kids so their 4th and 5th grade experiences are about the business of 4th and 5th grade, not about the transition.
Tee hee hee. Bwaa ha ha ha ha. Chuckle chuckle chuckle. Welcome, Decatur, to my world. Every time someone realizes I disapprove of our president’s actions or policies, I am automatically labeled a racist.
Although I couldn’t care less about the skin color or gender of our president, people just automatically assume that my only reason is racism.
Oh, and those arguing with Cleveland? Forget it…you will NEVER win. Ever.
Which is why I am stopping. HEY TOKEN!
Yeah, nell, me too. And Token– whassup, chico? I don’t think you’re a racist. Misguided in your politics, certainly, but not racist. ;-P
I think Roadan was ready to get back to working more directly with the kids. He is a good communicator, but (and this is wild speculation), I bet he decided working in the Admin Offices was for the birds. The 4/5 position is open, and Dr. Lee’s shoes will be very hard to fill, but Roadan is very well respected and has a proven track record as a head principal. Waiting to hear from DM (and the administration) about who put their hat in for the job, and/or who was selected to interview, if that’s how it was handled. And, with all that said, who’s to say Mr. Thomas or Ms. Newton were even interested in “running” for principal of the 4/5 Academy? Frankly, being the principal of school is a HUGE job (potentially read HUGE headache), and I’m sure there are many who would gain a lot more satisfaction assisting the principal (and maintaining more direct interaction with the kids). There is a lot of crap that goes into being a principal — administrative who ha, politics — not everyone would leap into that kind of position. Just my two cents.
Thank you for being done Cleveland. We have read your same post over and over. A specialist degree does not make someone qualified by the way. There is more than just a degree name. Who knows where they even got the degree from – even two people with the same degree could have totally different professional qualifications. I am guessing you do not know how some schools hire a principal- maybe they were doing what was best for the kids, which it should always be about.
Great news! It’s good to see Mr. Roaden getting back into the role of principle, where he truly excels. The 4/5 school will be a major point of emphasis for the school system in the next few years, as it deals with a brand new facility and a demographic bulge. I’m glad we’ve put our best person on the job.
It’s always a good sign when the princiPAL is a person of princiPLE!
Have you drinking?
Or have I?? ;P
My money’s on you, cupcake (especially since you now have TWO young’uns)!
Will they still have this Bruce guys position next year? Maybe they are cutting the communication position and didn’t want to lose him? This is too much politics… The problem with the country’s education topics!
Good question. Will there still be a communications post at CSD, DM?
What teacher union? There’s none in Georgia that I know of.