Author Archives: Stan Jester

Today’s announcement of Dr. Rudy Crew as the sole superintendent finalist for DeKalb County Schools has garnered significant media coverage so far, both in the metro Atlanta region and nationally, achieving 100 percent neutral-to-positive mentions in traditional media and 94 percent neutral-to-positive sentiment on Twitter. So far, in total, there have been 45 stories published about the announcement, including the AP, AJC and major Atlanta news stations. We expect to see that number grow within the next 24 hours. We are pleased with the results, particularly during an extremely busy news day in Georgia. You can find complete lists of traditional and social media coverage attached.

Traditional Media
The two most prominent stories are an AP piece (which has been syndicated to 28 outlets so far, including The News & Observer, the Houston Chronicle, the PostStar in New York and the Bradenton Herald) and two stories in the AJC, one using our advance interview with board chairman Marshall Orson. Here are a few significant quotes we pulled from those articles.

• From the AP story:

“The DeKalb County school board members on Thursday named Rudy Crew as their sole finalist to lead the suburban Atlanta district, which has 96,000 students. Crew has had success in New York and Florida, but also has experienced significant controversy in those roles, something not unusual for the leader of a major school district… The move may reflect the desire of DeKalb school board members to hit a home run with their new hire. The district often suffers in comparison to other suburban Atlanta districts, and has been beset by financial and administrative turmoil in recent years.”

• From Marlon’s interview with Marshall:

“[B]oard chairman Marshall Orson said the board was impressed by Crew’s track record of innovative thinking, saying it brought significant growth among student outcomes that district leaders here have put high on their wish list in recent searches. Crew’s past controversies ‘do not distract from the positive leadership we think he’s going to provide for DeKalb County,’ Orson said Thursday morning. ‘Some of the reforms he’s introduced were called cutting-edge, or seen as innovative. We’re confident he will lead us with the kind of thoughtfulness and attention to detail we need.’”

• From Marlon’s article on the announcement:

“Not every board member praised Crew during the meeting. Board member Stan Jester said he had concerns that the district could lost progress made under Tyson in the last six months, and questioned Crew’s history, which include allegations of questionable spending and obstructing a sexual assault investigation when he led New York City school. Board member Michael Erwin did not speak on Crew during the meeting. ‘I understand history can be our teacher if we allow it, but I hope we can look forward to the future,’ Board vice chairwoman Vickie B. Turner said. ‘You can’t live in this life and not have experienced some challenges and some negative things. It’s a part of life. But I believe it is incumbent upon us to come together not just as a district but as a community and take us to the next level.’”

Additionally, several local outlets ran the press release, including:
• 11Alive: “They announced on Thursday Dr. Rudy Crew, who brings decades of experience and most recently served as president of Medgar Evers College, a public college in New York City, for seven years.”
• WSB-TV and WSB radio: “The decision is the result of a five-month search that included 68 applicants and was informed by community feedback collected in focus groups and an online survey.”
• WABE: “Crew began his career as a teacher. He taught middle school and served as a high school principal in California and Massachusetts before working in district administration.”
• CBS46: “The DeKalb County School District said Crew brings decades of top-level K-12 experience to the role.”

As expected, our normal array of DeKalb-focused papers also ran the press release, including The Champion, Reporter Newspapers and Decaturish.

Social Media
From a social standpoint, the announcement of Dr. Rudy Crew as the DeKalb County superintendent finalist resulted in 46 mentions referencing the news. Mentions peaked between noon and 1 p.m., corresponding to when the news broke. 54% of these mentions were retweets from DeKalb County Schools, Marlon Walker and WSB-TV, including live tweets during the board meeting, calling out board members’ input on the finalist.

Top mentions include:

.@DeKalbSchools Board of Education announces veteran educator @DrRudyCrew, current president of Medgar Evers College in New York, will assume district leadership as of July 1.

— Marlon A. Walker (@marlonawalker) April 23, 2020

Sole finalist named in search for DeKalb County School District superintendent https://t.co/rEfTmdXMem pic.twitter.com/gMcurq9iWn

— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) April 23, 2020

.@DeKalbSchools board chair Marshall Orson announces Rudy Crew as DeKalb's sole finalist for superintendent. This is the week for new superintendent picks apparently. @wabenews

— Martha Dalton (@Marthareports) April 23, 2020

https://twitter.com/Drjohnathanp/status/1253407429787697153

@DrRudyCrew Congratulations on your new appointment. #NYC #CUNY will miss your leadership!

— Dr. Shango Blake (@BlakeShango) April 23, 2020