Re-enrollment rejection a misunderstanding
by Kathryn Dobies
kdobies@mdjonline.com
July 29, 2010 12:00 AM | 1616 views | 16 16 comments | 5 5 recommendations | email to a friend | print
MARIETTA - A spokesman for Cobb County schools said there was a miscommunication on Wednesday morning when a former teacher tried to re-enroll her child at an east Cobb elementary school and was turned away by staff.

Spokesman Doug Goodwin said the teacher, who was let go by the district, tried to re-enroll her child at Mount Bethel Elementary School on Wednesday morning, in accordance with a revised policy that the board passed on Tuesday. That policy change allowed children of teachers who were laid off to continue attending the school where their parent worked. But a member of the staff at Mount Bethel turned the former educator away. Goodwin said principals at the district's 116 school were not told about the change in policy until Wednesday morning.

"This was just a misinterpretation," Goodwin said. "It's no one's fault, just unfortunate timing ... Unfortunately, we didn't have everything we needed to have that particular time she went to the school."

The district allows the children of employees to attend the school where their parent works, as well as the schools in that feeder pattern, as long as the parent can provide transportation. However, an administrative rule stipulates that once an employee is laid off or resigns, the student is no longer eligible to attend that school.

But in a brief meeting Tuesday, the board voted 4-0 in a motion made by Alison Bartlett, to waive that policy for the 2010-11 school year, which starts on Aug. 5. The policy change only applies for the upcoming school year and will affect about 44 students.

Although the board voted on Tuesday, Goodwin said principals were not alerted of the change until Wednesday, when an e-mail was sent out from Deputy Superintendent Dr. Steven Constantino. Each individual family affected by the policy revision, Goodwin said, would receive a letter sent to their home today. The specific situation at Mount Bethel had been resolved by Principal Joan Johnson at the school as of Wednesday afternoon, Goodwin said.
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comments (16)
« Enough Already wrote on Thursday, Aug 05 at 09:46 AM »
"debid52" makes a great point about the heartless replacement of good teachers. And maybe we should vote in fresh new faces to all of these county boards. New ideas (or embracing older ones)and new faces. Just like grandma always said: "Out with the old and in with the new." Now I understand what she meant. Our teachers deserve far better than they are getting.

And what happened? We allowed radical groups to incementally destroy basic ideals that were taught in schools for decades...centuries. We allowed them to take God out and replace Him with Darwin. We allowed them to stop prayers and devotionals and replace them with the disrespect that so many of the students have now for anything honorable. We allowed our Founding Fathers and their ideals of liberty and freedom to be replaced with a one world order. I wonder how many of today's students really know that socialism is really communism? And do they know how many have died or were pushed down at the hands of the communists? And do they know that it is still happening in this world? What happened is that we allowed agendas to repalce morality and it is reflected in the leadership we have now. Vote out all incumnents now and in 2012 and bring in some new faces.
« Oh Please wrote on Wednesday, Aug 04 at 02:30 PM »
Tired of negative give me a break! The central office was run just as poorly before the layoffs as it is now.
« UnschoolThem wrote on Wednesday, Aug 04 at 01:42 PM »
Two reasons for keeping and re-hiring young new inexperienced teachers and "RIFing" the older, experienced teachers.

1. Can pay them much less

2. Can control them. Every government instution loves control and inexperience lends you to being controled by administration.

« anonymous wrote on Monday, Aug 02 at 04:44 AM »
I get county-wide e-mails all the time. It really does not take but a minute to send that type of e-mail to all 114 principals. This is not due to a lack of resources. Maybe Dr. C. could have used one of Fred's 4 secretaries on the payroll.
« Plan Much? wrote on Sunday, Aug 01 at 12:40 PM »
This is what Dr. C should have done to prevent any problems:

Send an email to all school principals on Tuesday morning, advising them that the CCSD board was voting Tuesday night on whether to allow the children of terminated teachers to re-enroll at their previous school.



AND tell the principals to check Wednesday morning for a follow up email, advising the principals of the outcome of this vote.

If there was no email by 8:00 AM Wed,, then the principals should be advised to call Dr. C at Glover St. for the outcome of this vote.

This procedure is pre-planning, something that teachers, principals, and most people in business know something about, but evidently is used only selectively by the higher ups at Glover St. Jay Dillon could have been directed by Dr. C. on Tuesday night to send a system wide email to principals or Dr. C could have told Jay Dillon to send an email before 7:30 AM Wed.

Does no one in the upper echelons have any common sense at Glover St?
« Paul Little wrote on Saturday, Jul 31 at 03:22 PM »
I feel for you "tired of neg.." but we have too many chiefs and not enough Indians at central office.

I wrote an e-mail to my director of bus routes 10 days ago and still have not gotten a response. That is not acceptable.

« Tired of negative wrote on Saturday, Jul 31 at 02:42 PM »
Hmm...perhaps we would have better communication if so many central office employees hadn't lost their job as well. You guys do realize there are 114 schools and over 100,000 children right? If you could run a better school system with the limited resources I'd sure like to see you try. Bare bones doesn't begin to describe what we are dealing with. Notifying principals the morning after a board meeting seems like reasonable timing. The real story here is that Dr. C made the right call and helped to reverse the board policy. Can't ya'll see this an example in which they did the RIGHT thing?
« @ Tin Foil wrote on Friday, Jul 30 at 08:05 AM »
Steven Constantino has one agenda - himself. His fake concern for education and kids is quickly seen after hearing him for 4 minutes. Are you really going to say that rules are not bent??? If not, then he should have Fired his wife since she works under his supervision. Sorry your argument is very thin at best. Almost like tin foil thin.
« debid52 wrote on Friday, Jul 30 at 07:52 AM »
Does is seem desperately unfair to anyone except me that Cobb County is hiring fresh out of college teachers when so may who were furloughed have not been given their jobs back? And I am no talking about those with poor evaluations who were furloughed, just those who were low with seniority. I taught for Cobb for 30 years beginning in 1973 and have seen such a decline in the integrity of the powers that be in this system. Cobb was once the place to be in education. What happened?
« ne cobb mom wrote on Thursday, Jul 29 at 03:20 PM »
Jay Dillon must be on vacation with Linda crowder eagle. Ha
« Need a scorecard wrote on Thursday, Jul 29 at 12:46 PM »
Where's Jay Dillon? How many spokesmen do we have to pay?
« Penny Tax wrote on Thursday, Jul 29 at 11:00 AM »
Waiving this policy for the 2010-11 school year was the right thing to do - good for Ms. Bartlett and the board to see it through. Too bad the district's communication office wasn't better prepared to, well, COMMUNICATE the change to its principals.

What's noteworthy is that the teachers - even those embittered by recent mishandlings by the board - recognize that Cobb has the best schools around and want their own children to continue to attend.

Here's hoping that the new members of the school board will work to make them even better. I know they will.
« Enough Already wrote on Thursday, Jul 29 at 09:06 AM »
Please stop with the lies. There was no miscommunication when a former teacher tried to re-enroll her child at an east Cobb elementary school and was turned away by staff. Nothing was taken out of context, either. The staff members were following the direction of our fine leaders. You know them. They are the people that care so much about our kid's education that they fired teachers for lack of money and then proceeded to spend precious dollars on fake grass (for practice fields, I seem to recall) and new blacktop over blacktop that was fine.

Typical of these leaders to fail to admit a mistake and correct it. Things would have stayed as they were if people had not shown outrage.

Never doubt that your single voice does matter and stay engaged in the actions of these fine leaders. Hold their feet to the fire until we can vote them out of office and away from our kids and the teachers that deserve better than they are getting. Enough with the double talk, already.

« Tin Foil Hat wrote on Thursday, Jul 29 at 08:14 AM »
Hey anonymous - his actions were not "mean spirited", the rules were. If you have a problem with the rules then change them. That's what happened here. Don't blame the district employees for trying to follow the board's asinine policies, most of which the board apparently are not aware of themselves. If they didn't, I am sure you would be complaining then, too. But then that's what we are all here for isn't it.
« West Cobb Resident wrote on Thursday, Jul 29 at 07:19 AM »
I don't really see this as newsworthy.
« anonymous wrote on Thursday, Jul 29 at 07:03 AM »
Are you sure that Dr. Constantino was not at the door keeping the kid away?

I know he is a very important, busy and smart man, according to his own press, but why did he not take the 5 minutes needed to e-mail the principals of the schools? To call a special board meeting due to his mean spirited actions should have alerted this smart, important and busy guy that this needed to be acted on with all due speed.

He could have said in his e-mail, I just found out I don't make up the rules, please allow the kids back in school... or something to that effect.