DeKalb Schools receives $3 million to grow central office in an attempt to figure out what the Soviets could never figure out, how to make centralization work.
According to a DeKalb Schools News Release, “The purpose of the initiative is to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools by providing more effective instructional support to school level leaders.” The Wallace Foundation grant is born from Rethinking Leadership, a report commissioned by Council of the Great City Schools, which came to the conclusion that schools don’t have enough central office staff managing and supporting schools.
The four goals stated by the initiative are
- Restructuring central-offices and reducing the number of principals supervisors oversee
- Re-writing regional superintendent job description to emphasize instructional support for principals
- Decentralizing financial resources and authority to the regional level
- Assessing the effectiveness and effects of these activities across the districts
I’m not sure how adding central office staff and moving authority from one part of the central office to another will improve academic achievement. I’m concerned about growing central office and supporting these new positions once the $3 million runs out. This is a textbook example of how government programs grow.
“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
This is just what you would expect. Of course the voters of DeKalb county have checked out. Looking at what they have done on the school board elections makes me have little faith about oversight. They return everyone who will basically go along with the status quo except for you. McMahan or Carter is a toss up. There will be no positive change no matter who wins that one. They are both lesser candidates than John Oselette. McMahan will do whatever Orson tells him to do. More central office. That is just what we need. We can hire some more people who will never touch kids. The sad thing about this is that the people of DeKalb do not seem to care.