Parents, Students, and Teachers Speak Up in Clayton County

Citizens of Clayton County are extremely upset and embarrassed by their school board. The board is under investigation of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the investigation could lead to the Clayton County Schools losing their accreditation. This would mostly affect high school juniors set to graduate in 2009 and those students are the ones that are suffering.Erica Harris, a junior at Riverdale High School, expressed her anger about possibility of Clayton County Schools losing there accreditation. “I think it’s irresponsible of the three board members,” she says, “To cause 52 thousand students to suffer. It makes my high school career worthless. What can you do when you’re so close to graduation?” Harris says she doesn’t know what she would do if the county were to lose its accreditation because she says she would have to switch schools and doesn’t have the money to move. Clayton County came under investigation in December after citizens and board vice chair Rod Johnson filed a complaint with SACS. The complaint claimed that some of the board members acted unethically while serving their term. Interim Superintendant Gloria Duncan says that she will do all that she can to work with the board on this matter. In mean time students and parents are upset with the board. The investigation could possibly end in the county losing accreditation for the 2009 school year. This would mean that students set to graduation in 2009 would have trouble getting into colleges, transferring credits, or even receiving the Hope scholarship according to SACS. “I think it’s a shame and a disgrace that we have made the effort to clean up crime and improve the environment in Clayton County, but we can’t find a way to give our students the best possible education that we can offer,” says parent Ramona Clark, “The education and safety of our children should come first before anything.” Clark is a Youth Librarian and her son attends E.W. Oliver Elementary. Clark says she blames the board members and the former superintendant because she claims they don’t care about the students. She even suggests that the county and the board members turn to other counties who have been in this situation for help. “I am taking my child out of Clayton County Public Schools to a private school,” says Clark, “That way I’ll insure that my child receives an education from an accredited school.” She encourages other parents to go to school board meetings and try to keep our schools accredited. Janice Moore is the grandmother of four Clayton County students. Two of them graduate in the spring. “I think it’s an awful thing,” says Moore, “You can’t go to college. Education is based on accreditation. Who wants to accept a child from an unaccredited school?” She compares this situation to the Morris Brown College incident in which students were not able to graduate because the school loss its accreditation. This is the second time Clayton County has faced trouble with SACS and accreditation. “We’ve let them go too far,” says Moore, “The first time was a warning. Now it’s time for a change in leadership and we have to speak up to make those changes.” Moore claims the school board does not have its priorities in order and that they are “out of control”. “We, as parents and grandparents, are losing respect for them” she adds. Seventeen-year-old student Kelita Almond says she almost literally cried when she heard the news. “I knew, somewhat, to an extent what the situation was,” she says, “But when my teacher explained it to us in depth, I almost cried.” Almond says that the teachers and her parents are always pushing her so hard and she feels that all that could be wasted. “I would have to move,” Almond says, “And I just made all these new friends, grown to know my teachers and it would all be wasted.” She says she is also depending on the Hope Scholarship, along with other scholarships to go to college. Students and parents aren’t the only ones afraid for the future of the school system. Teachers are also concerned about the investigation. Sean Antonettie is a teacher at Riverdale High School and says that the loss of accreditation would be more detrimental toward the students than the teachers. He says people are reluctant to speak about it or give out information. “As for teachers there are many rumors but we don’t really know the truth,” says Antonettie, “I hear things about how it could effect future employment but know one knows, and that’s the worse part about it, know one knows.” “I’ve done all this work, staying up late studying,” says Almond, “And it’ll all be wasted.”