Last Thursday, January 19, the Washington County, GA Board of Education held a called meeting stretching into the very early hours of Friday morning. Spanning almost 6 full hours, the Board got updates from school and administration leaders. Following the presentations the Board adjourned for an executive session.
This was the second meeting the newly sworn-in Board members have conducted this month. Why such a lengthy meeting? Meetings require proper legal notice and preparation on the part of school leaders and administrators in addition to the Board itself. I appreciate the time and patience everyone involved invested in the meeting.
Item 10 on the agenda included “Superintendent Code of Conduct (transparency and professionalism).” The Executive Session items specified “Superintendent’s Evaluation (artifacts)” and a call with the Board’s attorneys.
If you followed my efforts to better understand, and share, among many questions, the Covid case load and exposure in the schools and what was reported to the state’s department of public health, it was less than transparent on the part of system leaders. Dr. Edmond refused to even send me the form required for weekly reporting. Undeterred, I got the same form with data from two different Middle Georgia school systems who proudly and readily sent it to me.
To see conduct and transparency as an item for leadership discussion so early in this Board’s tenure is encouraging. The link to the January 19th meeting was posted on the system’s web site, a first if I recall correctly, a most welcome improvement over having to request a link via email for a meeting open to the public.
Less than 12 hours after the Board adjourned, the Washington County community was stunned to learn, and see all over Middle Georgia television coverage, that the high school’s drama teacher, Michael Allan Dendy of Milledgeville, had been arrested and charged with pornography involving children under 18. Sheriff Joel Cochran released a statement to the media before lunch.
Parents registered with the system’s ParentSquare platform got a short update from the Board office around lunch time last Friday. That statement, nor any other, has been posted on the system’s web site or anywhere else, based on multiple searches. That leaves taxpayers supporting the schools with no information from the system’s leaders. This also opens the door for gossip and speculation shared as fact. In any community those things might happen. However, an official statement creates an opportunity for damage control when an organization finds itself in a less than favorable position.
We are a week out from very serious situation in our schools, one that no community wants to see happen. Dr. Edmond has not responded to my email about a statement being made available for the community. Board Chair Robbie Blocker kindly told me earlier today he would check with Edmond about a statement. If I receive anything I will promptly share it.
The school system can address the serious issue it is dealing with, how it is providing support to students, faculty, staff, and parents, and steps being taken to provide continuity of school programming, without endangering any law enforcement investigations or future actions. School leaders may well be exceeding everyone’s hopes and expectations at this difficult time.
Our schools have outstanding resources, parents, and students to do just that, but instead we aren’t being told anything at all. Addressing serious issues in a timely manner from school board leaders is due to the community in order for us to maintain our confidence in their work on behalf of our students.
Tag: Dr. Rickey Edmond
A survey is only as good as the controls it sets
Lunches have been packed, sleep routines reset, and spelling words called out since students returned to classrooms across Georgia. Now parents, teachers, and students are reviewing progress reports and sizing up what happens during the next half of the grading period.
This point in the school year also gives school leaders an opportunity to review what is working and what might need to be adjusted. During a pandemic, the ability for schools to pivot on a pinhead may be the difference between lives saved and lost.
On the afternoon of Thursday, September 9, 2021, Washington County Public Schools sent out a survey using a Google platform tool asking for feedback from the school community. The survey tool is one I have used as both an executive director and board president of nonprofits.
The school system’s email with the link to the survey was sent to me by parents in the community. The form didn’t ask for any identifying information: no name, email, address, phone number. It did ask if the person responding is a school employee. It could be filled out by anyone anywhere who had the link. I filled it out and submitted it. Twice.
Friday morning when I returned to the link it said I had already submitted my answer. Fair enough. After poking around with it some during the second of many cups of coffee, I got this:
September 10, 2021
The survey showed my email address, but Google’s software told me it wasn’t collecting anything from my account.
This isn’t the first time the schools have sent out a survey without parameters set on who could fill out the survey, or requiring any identifying information, in order to submit the survey. Last school year I picked up the phone and ended up talking with Dr. Rickey Edmond, who assured me that they were able to collect identifying data even though none was require to submit answers. I told him having seen the backside of these surveys via my Google business account, I’d sure like to know how they were managing that, because it might help me in the future. All I got was, “We can.”
With the broad questions asked in last week’s survey, what can Dr. Edmond the Board of Education, and school principals really take away beyond how smooth car pick up and drop off are, and general satisfaction with instruction? Is a blind survey the only way for school leaders to know how parents and employees gauge the school year to date? How confident can school leaders, parents, teachers, and students be that the survey sent out on Thursday has the controls and parameters to collect accurate information?
It will be interesting to see what Dr. Edmond and the Board of Education members share with the community. Based on recent inquiries by myself and others concerned about the system’s Covid-19 record-keeping and reporting, my confidence in the quality of information collected and shared by the school system is low. Will the results of a survey available to anyone with email be used to guide judgement impacting not only the education of every student, but the health of the entire Washington County community?