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City Schools of Decatur announces Good Equity Troublemaker awards

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City Schools of Decatur announces Good Equity Troublemaker awards

Decatur Superintendent Dr. Maggie Fehrman (far left), School Board Chair James Herndon (second from right) and Equity Coordinator Anthony Downer (far right) present Nailah Carty (second from left) with the Good Equity Troublemaker of the Year Award on April 18, 2023. Photo by Zoe Seiler.
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Decatur, GA — City Schools of Decatur announced the 2023 Good Equity Troublemaker award winners during the Decatur School Board meeting on Tuesday, April 18.

“The Good Equity Troublemaker or GET award recognizes staff members in our district who have acted in the spirit of Congressman [John] Lewis, who have gotten in the way of the status quo and inequitable educational outcomes by consistently contributing to and leading efforts to ensure access and opportunity for every CSD scholar,” Equity Coordinator Anthony Downer said.

During the meeting, the awards presentation featured videos of the teachers as they highlighted their equity work.

A local school committee selected each school-level award winner. They received an award that said “For exemplifying John Lewis’ principle of good trouble through your work towards JEDI, or justice, equity, diversity and inclusion, in CSD,” Downer said.

Nailah Carty won the award for Fifth Avenue Upper Elementary School and was presented the Good Equity Troublemaker of the Year award. Carty is an international baccalaureate and instructional coach at FAVE.

“A good troublemaker needs to be a risk-taker. A good troublemaker needs to be open-minded, and as we say at FAVE, it’s important to be kind, engaged, and responsible,” Carty said.

Carty added that she has always been that type of good troublemaker, but was very intentional about it this year. As a culturally responsive educator, she has attempted to follow CSD’s Do 4 Framework, which is a framework used to address equity in the classroom.

It includes four quadrants of Do 4 Self, Do 4 Students, Do 4 Curriculum and Assessment, and Do 4 Instruction.

“Do 4 self. I closely studied the perception data of the different racial groups at FAVE and utilized this data to address the greatest needs of our students,” Carty said.

In terms of Do 4 students, Carty leads the school’s Young Ladies of Excellence and GENTS groups. She is a liaison for Girls on the Run and is helping parents establish an Asian-American student club.

“Do 4 instruction and curriculum, I’ve established a professional development pilot project to teach the added perspectives in our social studies curriculum. I feel that through these ventures I consistently support the growth of [justice, equity diversity and inclusion],” Carty said.

Here are the 2023 Good Equity Troublemaker Award winners:

– College Heights: Briana Bauer

Decatur Superintendent Dr. Maggie Fehrman (left) and School Board Chair James Herndon (right) present Briana Bauer (center) with the building-level Good Equity Troublemaker Award on April 18, 2023. Photo by Zoe Seiler.

Bauer is a pre-K teacher at College Heights. She believes that pre-school students can envision a world they want to live in, and they start working toward that vision.

“Culturally responsive teaching is not just about learning about holidays and music, but engaging with the shared values that all people have,” Bauer said. “In our class, we have worked to build a classroom community that is safe and fair, where we can have fun and make mistakes, where we can be different but still honor one another, where all families are welcome and included. We demonstrate kindness and respect. We’ve learned to recognize injustice and to take specific actions to create the change that we want to see.”

– Clairemont Elementary: Clairemont Elementary Equity Team

Decatur Superintendent Dr. Maggie Fehrman (left) and School Board Chair James Herndon (right) present members of the Clairemont Elementary Equity Team (center) with the building-level Good Equity Troublemaker Award on April 18, 2023. Photo by Zoe Seiler.

The Clairemont Equity Team is led by Principal Dr. Curtis Armour, Assistant Principal Maury Gusta and Nurse Chanell Huff-Cox. The members of the team are Jasmine Adams, Lori Bigham, Katie Green, Corinne Jolley, Sonja Lewis, Jillian Fowler, Tyler Mangascle and Stacey Foster.

Some of their work includes implementing creativity classes and introducing conversations of understanding.

“This model group of racial equity leaders confront the challenges facing their teachers and students head-on,” Downer said.

“Realizing the need to prepare and identify more students of color and English Language Learners for gifted services, we have created and implemented a creativity class that all students attend once per week,” Gifted Specialist Tom Seetoo said. “This class provides an opportunity for students…to participate in activities that further challenge and strengthen their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.”

Garry Lowe, Rep. Lewis’ nephew, added that the school recognized the need to facilitate conversations to shine a light on issues, particularly around race and ethnicity.

“Therefore, we sought a way to bring a conversation to the community, not only to educate, but also to ensure our residents feel supported and included in these important life-changing conversations that help bridge gaps along lines of differences,” Lowe said.

– Glennwood Elementary: Jill Tolsma

Decatur Superintendent Dr. Maggie Fehrman (left) and School Board Chair James Herndon (right) present Jill Tolsma (center) with the building-level Good Equity Troublemaker Award on April 18, 2023. Photo by Zoe Seiler.

Jill Tolsma is an instructional coach at Glennwood Elementary.

“White people get points for doing this work and Black people experience pain,” Tolsma said. “This work is layered, complex and ever evolving. To be a good troublemaker, I must acknowledge my complicitness in upholding white supremacy culture while consciously working to interrogate and question that complicity in order to dismantle it, especially when it’s uncomfortable.”

– Westchester Elementary: Jamie Montgomery

Decatur Superintendent Dr. Maggie Fehrman (left) and School Board Chair James Herndon (right) present Jamie Montgomery (center) with the building-level Good Equity Troublemaker Award on April 18, 2023. Photo by Zoe Seiler.

Jamie Montgomery is a second-grade teacher at Westchester Elementary School.

“I am committed to making sure that our Black students have a safe space to be amongst themselves, to just be their authentic selves and share their own thoughts in a non-judgement zone,” Montgomery said.

She also facilitates the Black Student Alliance at Westchester. The alliance gives Black students an opportunity to come together twice a week for 20-30 minutes so they can check in with each other, share their thoughts and ideas and just be together, she said.

– Winnona Park: Kelly Stopp

Decatur Superintendent Dr. Maggie Fehrman (left) and School Board Chair James Herndon (right) present Kelly Stopp (center) with the building-level Good Equity Troublemaker Award on April 18, 2023. Photo by Zoe Seiler.

Kelly Stopp is an instructional coach at Winnona Park Elementary School.

Downer said he met Stopp at his first equity team meeting at the school.

“I want to appreciate Kelly so much for all the work she has done and how she’s pushing equity to the forefront in her first year as an instructional coach,” Downer said.

– Talley Street Elementary: Talley Street Diversity Activities Committee

Decatur Superintendent Dr. Maggie Fehrman (left) and School Board Chair James Herndon (right) present members of the Talley Street Diversity Activities Committee (center) with the building-level Good Equity Troublemaker Award on April 18, 2023. Photo by Zoe Seiler.

The members of the Talley Street Diversity Activities Committee are Shannon Brewton, Vivian Carter-Cain, Erin Williams, Ethel Johnson, Tagie Tate Perez, Jatoria Brown, Maggie Defillippo, Collen Dunbar, Juliana Souki, Tanya Jessup, Daphne Langley and Amy Radford.

The Diversity Activities Committee works tirelessly, goes above and beyond by brainstorming, strategizing, planning and implementing activities and events that ensure all ethnicities, cultures, identities and perspectives are recognized and acknowledged here at Talley Street,” the award application states. “The one-of-a kind activities are learning experiences that empower every student and build a diverse and inclusive community for students to embrace their cultural heritage and the cultural heritages of others.”

– Beacon Hill Middle School: Vivian Dawson

Decatur Superintendent Dr. Maggie Fehrman (left) and School Board Chair James Herndon (right) present Vivian Dawson (center) with the building-level Good Equity Troublemaker Award on April 18, 2023. Photo by Zoe Seiler.

Vivian Dawson became the founding coach of Beacon Hill Middle School’s debate team over 25 years ago.

“We have addressed current topics that require future solutions. These topics are such as criminal justice reform, think of George Floyd; protection of water resources, think of Flint, Michigan and now Jackson, Mississippi; technological and security protection by NATO, think of Ukraine and Russia,” Vivian Dawson said. “Next year we’re going to deal with income equality. That would be a basic national income.”

She is most proud of the debate team winning the Atlanta Urban Debate League community service award in 2021.

“We put community over competition,” she said.

– Wilson Center: Dr. Mari Ann Banks

Decatur Superintendent Dr. Maggie Fehrman (left) and School Board Chair James Herndon (right) present Dr. Mari Ann Banks (center) with the building-level Good Equity Troublemaker Award on April 18, 2023. Photo by Zoe Seiler.

Dr. Mari Ann Banks is the equity director for City Schools of Decatur.

“I spend most of my free time enhancing, supporting, developing and fighting for educational equity for marginalized students,” Banks said. “I do it because education was withheld from my ancestors, and their spirits and sacrifices urge me to continue their fight.”

Banks said the short answer for if her actions are above and beyond is no.

“Until Black students in CSD see substantive change in academic and discipline outcomes, until we pay our debt, nothing I do is above and beyond,” Banks said. “When I first applied for this job, I told the interview team that I wanted this job because I believed that if we could make a difference anywhere, it would be here in City Schools of Decatur.”

Downer added that from the equity newsletters to the Do 4 Framework, Banks has guided City Schools of Decatur to understand the “how” of good trouble and equity.

– Oakhurst Elementary: Charles Dawson

Charles Dawson is a kindergarten paraprofessional at Oakhurst Elementary School.

“I do naturally try to encompass and embody the concepts of justice, equality, diversity and inclusion. I feel that my students, which are currently kindergarteners, really appreciate that I’m on level with them. I’m going to include them all,” Dawson said. “I’m going to take them all in and work with them and be fair and true to them.”

Downer added that Dawson has been describes as fearless, kind, dependable, caring, compassionate and relentless.

– Decatur High School: Dr. Lena Hamilton and Amy Judon

Dr. Lena Hamilton is a literacy specialist and Amy Judon is a mathematics interventionist at Decatur High School.

Downer said that Hamilton and Judon have played key roles as CSD works to repair, heal and move forward and the high school.

“The thing that stands out the most for us is the needs that our kids come in with that are behavioral in nature, so that we have a whole set of supports in our classroom that are set up to address the changing needs for the students in our room, particularly the kids who come in who have internet, housing situations or need food or just need someone to listen and support their emotional growth,” Hamilton said.

Judon said their actions exemplify the pair’s commitment to their students.

“First and foremost, we are there to meet the student on all levels – emotionally, socially, academically,” Judon said. “I also think meeting them where they are in terms of their skill set and what they have acquired thus far when they come to us is really important. It helps to establish a level of confidence within them, and then from there we’re able to build them up and have them be just as successful.”

In other news:

Awards were also presented to students during the April 18 school board meeting to recognize the Young Georgia Authors Competition winners and congrate eighth grade spelling bee winner Ian Cobb.

“The purpose of the Young Georgia Authors (YGA) writing competition is to encourage students to develop enthusiasm for and expertise in their writing, to provide a context to celebrate their writing successes, and to recognize student achievement in arts and academics,” Fehrman said in her newsletter.

Here are CSD’s Young Georgia Authors Competition winners:

– Kindergarten – Elliott Scott, Glennwood Elementary School

– 1st grade – Molly Skeen, Winnona Park Elementary School

– 2nd grade – Lucas Stinson, Glennwood Elementary School

– 3rd grade – Tatum Gibbons, Talley Upper Elementary School

– 4th grade – Caitlin Roberts, Fifth Avenue Upper Elementary School

– 5th grade – Carolyn Terry, Talley Upper Elementary School

– 6th grade – Carolyn Devereaux, Beacon Hill Middle School

– 7th grade – Katherine Henry, Beacon Hill Middle School

– 8th grade – Camilla Guerrieri, Beacon Hill Middle School

– 9th grade – Liam Aldredge-Byars, Decatur High School

– 10th grade – Jude Harper Barcik, Decatur High School

– 11th grade – Raine Rinehart, Decatur High School

– 12th grade – Victoria McCalep, Decatur High School

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