Chamblee, GA — The DeKalb County School District held the first of three events billed as “town halls” on April 12, to introduce the sole finalist for the job of superintendent, Dr. Devon Horton.

Parents who attended the event at Chamblee High School were surprised and annoyed to find that the plan was for Principal Gail Barnes to only ask pre-submitted questions. When Barnes tried to close the meeting, several stood up to demand the opportunity to ask questions directly.

“We should be able to ask the hard questions, respectfully,” parent J. Max Davis said.

Horton agreed to take questions from the audience.

Davis asked first about a news story that Horton had hired administrative staff rather than teachers at his current district.

“Our central office is bursting at the seams,” Davis said, expressing concern that Horton might be inclined to add more bureaucracy to the district.

Horton said that he had added school counselors and security, not administrative positions, that were district-wide staff because they needed the flexibility to rotate between schools. Horton said that he had also hired an operations manager and people to organize science and technology programs that the district needed but didn’t have.

Horton added that any changes to DCSD’s organizational structure will be made after an analysis and evidence-based process.

Davis also asked about a news report that Horton had told a parent that their desire for their child to return to in-person schooling after schools were shut down due to COVID-19 was rooted in white supremacy.   

Horton said that the incident was about a week after the attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 and tensions were high. 

“I was receiving death threats,” Horton said, adding, “I did send an apology to that parent.”

Horton said that after some reflection, he and his staff created a process for responding to “high energy” or disrespectful emails.

Horton responded to a later question about whether students were returned to school according to race by saying that a policy like that would be illegal. Horton said that because the Centers for Disease Control guidelines limited how many students could be returned to in-person schooling, his district prioritized the most marginalized students, including the disabled and those who received free and reduced lunches.

“What I said at the time was, unfortunately, as we know marginalized mostly included black and brown students,” Horton said, adding that COVID-19 disproportionately impacted communities of color.

A Latina parent speaking through an interpreter asked how Horton planned to reach out to the Latino community, adding that Latinos were the majority of students in the district but were frequently ignored. 

Horton said that he would like to connect directly with parents and Latinx organizations in the community, and would also like to create a bilingual parent advisory group.

Other parents asked about crumbling facilities, financial transparency, school safety, and whether he would scrap the existing master plan that the district paid $2 million for in 2020.

Horton said that he would strive for clarity and transparency in decision-making, and that the first step before any decisions about facilities should be a student assignment plan. Horton said that DeKalb was no different from many other school districts, which are also losing students.

Dunwoody Mayor Lynn Deutsch said that the DeKalb Board of Education was unable or unwilling to make the difficult decisions required for redistricting.

“DeKalb fails redistricting every time they try,” Deutsch said.

Deutsch said that DCSD schools don’t offer equal resources, which contributes to parent resistance to redistricting. “My perspective is that you have to be able to take AP English and AP Biology at every school before you ask people to move,” Deutsch said.

Deutsch said that the situation in DeKalb is urgent, especially student outcomes, but pointed to a source other than teachers in the classroom.

“The biggest problem is school board behavior,” said Deutsch, which earned a round of applause from the audience. “How are you going to put out a million fires a day?” 

Horton said that, in his opinion, the best approach was evidence-based analysis, accurate measurement of what is happening, and making sure that what is measured gets addressed.

Horton did say that DeKalb’s problems didn’t occur overnight and that solutions had to be carefully considered. “Sometimes we have to go slow to go fast,” Horton said.

Horton promised to bring transparency, center students, and not spring surprises on the community.

Horton said that he would listen to the community, communicate clearly, and put agreed upon ideas into action.

“I want to be clear about what we’re doing. I want our academics and social emotional learning to elevate to the level where we will be considered a model school district,” Horton said.

Horton spoke earlier in the evening about how he felt that DCSD has great potential.

“I really think that a place like DeKalb is the heartbeat of America; 65% African American, 70% free and reduced lunch. If we can get this right, we can really help our community and our nation,” Horton said.

Before those present demanded their turn, Horton answered a series of questions sent in by community members via email about content mastery, his experience with high schools, transparency, support for special education, teacher recruitment and retention, finances, facilities, and restoring trust in DCSD’s central office.

First he gave a short self-introduction in which he emphasized his background, coming from a neighborhood where “the zip code determined outcomes,” and the importance of education in his own life.

To improve content mastery, Horton spoke about providing resources and what he called the “coaching cycle” for students who may be struggling.

Horton referred to his experience as Chief of Schools for Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky as an example of improving outcomes for high school students by creating post-secondary push plans.

“Students are achieving at different levels, and we know that college is not for everyone, but we wanted to make sure that every student who walked across our stage had a plan for what they were going to do after graduation,” Horton said.

One of the effects of encouraging students to plan was to dramatically increase the number of scholarships that graduating classes earned. Options other than college presented to students included vocational training, trade apprenticeships, and military training.

“You have an amazing CTAE [Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education] program, and I want to continue to elevate it,” Horton said.

Horton wants to create a special education parent advisory group, along with one for parents in general. Horton favors such groups as a means to improve communication with and transparency for both parents and staff, and says that regular meetings with the members as well as monthly gatherings with central office staff help him to address concerns that might not otherwise cross his desk.

Horton said that educating parents about how the school district is funded and how the money is spent, along with making sure that decisions are made with input, communication, and clarity, would also improve transparency.

Horton said that teacher recruitment and retention is a challenge everywhere. 

“The teachers we’re looking for are not there,” Horton said. 

Horton said that the number of people enrolling in teacher education programs is down, and one solution is teacher residency programs such as the one through the National Center for Teacher Residencies that include a stipend, apprenticing with a master teacher, coursework, and placement with additional support after a year. 

The Georgia Professional Standards Commission has a program called the Georgia Teacher Academy for Preparation and Pedagogy, which allows candidates with a bachelor’s degree to pursue certification while teaching. 

However, Horton said, “The first priority is to keep the teachers that we have.”

To that end, Horton recommended support and coaching for teachers, additional counselors and social workers to take some of the burden of addressing post-pandemic mental health issues among students, de-escalation training, and mental health support for educators, as well as basics like competitive pay and benefits.

In terms of aging facilities, Horton said there’s an existing master plan for the district, but in general health, life and safety are first priority. The second priority is the building’s roof, windows, and other exterior features, and next is beautifying and improving spaces.

In response to a question from Decaturish about a report from Evanston, Ill. that Horton’s former business partners received no-bid contracts from District 65 while he was superintendent, Horton said that the company formed with those partners never actually did any business.

Horton said that the organization was originally intended as a 501(c)3 non-profit to do mentoring and coaching for young men in the city, but wound up being filed as an LLC instead. 

“That’s why nothing ever happened with it. We just disbanded it,” Horton said.

Horton said that his priority as a superintendent was to bring in the most talented people to do work in the district, and that’s why his former business partners were given the contracts.

“No board policies were violated with regard to bringing those individuals in to do work,” Horton said.

Two more town halls with Dr. Horton will be conducted Thursday, April 13 at Dr. Ronald E. McNair Middle School, and Friday, April 14 at the DeKalb Board of Education Administrative & Instructional Complex. Both meetings are scheduled for 6 p.m.

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