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9486 in the collection
Clayton County chaos devastates students
Here is a genuine pull at your heartstrings story of adult malfeasance harming young people.
By Megan Matteucci, Gayle White
Genetta Reeves has spent the past three days turning her Jonesboro High School class ring over and over in her hand.
For the 17-year-old, the trinket is as important as a wedding band —- it symbolizes years of hard work and a promise for the future.
“Valedictorian at Jonesboro has been my goal since the third grade,” said Reeves, who is ranked first in her senior class. “My mom told me it means you’re the smartest and work the hardest in your class and that’s what I’ve worked for.”
On Friday, Reeves wondered whether she would still wear it at her new school —- wherever that is.
Her parents began calling private schools on Thursday —- the day Clayton County schools lost accreditation.
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools revoked the 50,000-student districts’ accreditation, citing a dysfunctional school board and other problems. Clayton, the fifth-largest school system in Georgia, now becomes the first district to lose accreditation in the nation since 1969.
Reeves fears the loss of accreditation means she may have trouble getting into her top choice of universities. It means she may not get scholarships and her family’s Jonesboro home will probably plummet in value.
“It felt like a funeral,” said her mother, Vernetta Reeves, on Thursday when she heard the news.
Minutes later, she received a text message from Genetta asking whether it were true.
“All I could think about was her dream,” the mother of three said.
After telling her band classmates and alerting her two younger siblings, the 17-year-old updated her Facebook status: “Genetta Reeves is officially attending an UNACCREDITED HIGH SCHOOL. :-(. “
“It’s almost like a bad dream,” said the younger Reeves, who has a 4.0 GPA. “You’re just hoping to wake up and everything will be OK.”
On Feb. 15, SACS ordered Clayton schools to meet nine mandates in such categories as finance, ethics and board governance or lose accreditation Sept. 1. Since then Genetta has thought about two numbers: nine mandates and first place.
She needs only two classes to graduate this year, but is taking advanced placement calculus and U.S. history, along with three other classes to assure her ranking as No. 1 in her class.
That’s in between basketball, band, National Honor Society, Future Business Leaders of America and half a dozen other clubs.
Last month, doctors diagnosed her with an ulcer.
“All I think about is staying at Jonesboro,” she said.
Two of Genetta’s friends withdrew from Jonesboro on Thursday and now live with relatives and attend high school in a nearby county.
Five others are in a dual enrollment program at Clayton State University which allows them to purchase an accredited diploma through a home-schooling center.
Others are looking at home-schooling.
But most say they have no choice but to hang on.
Clayton school officials say they will appeal the accreditation loss. If they win, accreditation would be restored back to Sept. 1, 2008. If the appeal fails, the school system must begin the accreditation process anew, which likely would take about three years.
Many parents are hoping the appeal is successful.
With about three-fourths of the system’s students falling below the federal poverty level, many lack money for tuition at private or out-of-district schools.
Still, Atlanta Public Schools received more than 200 phone calls to its central office and individual schools have also been contacted, spokesman Joe Manguno said. The system allows students from other districts to pay tuition of $10,440 a year to attend Atlanta schools.
Fayette County schools answered about 50 phone calls Thursday and Fulton has received about 50 a day since accreditation was revoked, district spokesmen said.
Henry County does not admit students from outside the county, spokeswoman Connie Rutherford said.
Genetta’s parents are leaning toward Mount Zion Academy, a SACS-accredited parochial school that will cost the family more than $6,000 a year.
Her father is also thinking about registering his eldest daughter through Georgia Virtual School, an online school accredited through the state Department of Education. But that means she misses prom, senior trip, basketball. And graduation.
The teen hopes to be accepted to Howard University’s pre-med program and go on to be an anesthesiologist. She worries prestigious schools won’t like her “worthless diploma.”
But officials at Howard, Duke, Auburn and Emory universities offered hope to Clayton County students at week’s end, saying applicants would be considered on an individual basis, and not rejected solely for an unaccredited diploma.
“It’s the student, not the school,” said David Jarmul, a spokesman for Duke. Darrin Rankin, vice president for Enrollment Services and Student Affairs at Clark Atlanta University, said currently enrolled students with Clayton County diplomas won’t be affected. “Future determination of how applicants will be handled will be decided by senior administration at a later date,” he said.
The loss of accreditation culminates eight years of turmoil in the Clayton County school system with only a few peaceful interludes —- and assures more turbulence to follow. Racial tension has sometimes been a factor.
SACS put the system on probation five years ago, concluding that its board broke its own rules, squelched dissent and meddled in school administration.
As parents and community leaders demanded their resignations, board members countered with charges of racism.
In 2004, the system was elevated from probation to “warned” status and, in 2005, it was cleared. But the district continued to be troubled. By late 2007, the accrediting agency was again raising concerns about the board, including micro-management, abuse of power, misuse of funds and conflicts of interest.
The school system’s situation has dominated everything from Reeves family dinner-table conversations to what’s on TV —- always the news —- at their house.
Mom unsuccessfully ran for school board and Dad spends hours on the phone with private schools.
In March, Genetta and her friends spoke before about 2,000 people at a school board meeting. She begged the nine members to resign.
Since then, three board members have resigned and one was removed for not living in the county. On Thursday, Gov. Sonny Perdue removed four others.
“It’s just sad that everybody —- teachers, students —- everybody has to go through this because of a few people on the school board,” Genetta said. “We hoped they had the students’ best interest in mind. It’s obvious they didn’t.”
Staff writer Laura Diamond contributed to this article.
— Megan Matteucci, Gayle White
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2008-08-31
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
Pages: 380
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