Step Up Or Step Down Leader Hopeful About APS Changes

Buckhead Patch in an e-maill asked Buckhead resident Julie Salisbury, a founder of the group Step Up or Step Down, to respond to the Atlanta School Board's change in leadership. 

The school board on Wednesday voted 7-1 to elect Brenda Muhammad as its new chair, replacing Khaatim Sherrer El.

Here are Buckhead Patch's questions, and Salisbury's responses, on behalf of Step Up Or Step Down, the parents' group that has been monitoring the school board's action to keep accreditation. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in placing the APS on probation gave the school board six steps to be met to keep accreditation.

Q: Do you think Brenda Muhammad's election will be a big step toward the school system retaining accreditation? What to you think of the appointment of University System of Georgia Chancellor Erroll Davis as interim superintendent?

A: At Step Up or Step Down, we are pleased that the board has chosen leadership through a vote that represents true consensus. We've been pushing for this since our inception on Jan.21 and are disappointed that it's taken them this long to reach the conclusion the bulk of their stakeholders came to months ago. That said, with a board chair who is not holding baggage from the past, along with an exceptional choice for interim superintendent in Chancellor Erroll Davis, we are hopeful that APS is in much better stead to meet the challenges it will face over the course of this summer.

The board is in the midst of a critical superintendent search, at a time when our children deserve a world class leader who can truly transform their classroom experience. At the same time, the results of a state investigation into the CRCT scandal are looming. These findings will likely require strong leadership from our interim superintendent, so that he may address and resolve  the implications of the findings well in advance of the start of next school year. And finally, but importantly, the board must still aggressively move forward in its efforts to prove to SACS that its governance efforts are worthy of continued accreditation for the district.

Q: Do you think the board has made sufficient progress toward accreditation, or do you think Gov. Nathan Deal should appoint a new board members?

A. Our group is cautiously optimistic at this point. The governor has said he does not want to intervene, and we support and applaud his patience. However, the children of Atlanta deserve the right to have someone who will speak for them if their opportunities are being trampled upon by board leadership. While we hope the governor does not need to use the authority granted by SB79, we applaud his ability to do so.