Op-Ed: Superintendent Thurmond's Tucker Appearance

By Kirk Lunde

I attended the Tucker Parent Council meeting on Tuesday night and next morning awoke with two thoughts. Interim superintendent Thurmond’s agenda is to fix the problems of the DeKalb County School District. The three previous superintendents had other, personal, agendas.

The meeting can be described as an open conversation with stakeholders about the issues and concerns they have. That alone is a change from many of the previous public meetings. At the meeting I heard several things which give me hope for the future of the district.   

First was that Mr. Thurmond is seeking to gain an understanding the institutional history of DeKalb County Schools. While this may not appear to be a priority during this time of crisis, it gives a glimpse into his thought processes and intelligence. Being an “outsider” he is in a position to hear many things, but does not have any context against which to evaluate them. Good decisions can only be made with a thorough understanding of history preceding the issue.

Additionally, Mr. Thurmond spent more time discussing his belief that parent involvement is the biggest factor in academic achievement. This is a belief I share. He also spoke of his desire to find ways for the schools to encourage parental involvement. After watching millions of dollars being spent on academic programs with declining student achievement, I think this is a worthwhile goal.

Another thing I heard was a parent very bluntly tell Mr. Thurmond he needs to fix the low performing schools. He agreed with her instead of becoming defensive. He also admitted he didn’t know how to do that – an amazingly honest statement. Honest dialog is good.

Another parent told the superintendent, “We’re here. Engage us.” It is good to hear parents speak positively about engagement instead of repeating the numerous examples of district officials ignoring and dictating. Parents have a role in the school system and I am glad to hear some still want to be involved.

Marshall Orson gave insight to the cell tower issue when he said one of the things the BOE hears is legal fees are too high and BOE is trying to avoid being sued for failure to uphold contracts that have already been signed.

Perhaps the best thing I heard was Tucker High School’s principal James Jackson saying publicly, “we’ve got to help these kids be successful.” This came at the end of a very moving description of the situation in which some young men find themselves. To hear a district employee publicly admit his school needs help shows a cultural change has already started. Real change, real improvements, can not occur without altering the past culture of the district.

Mr. Thurmond is an intelligent DeKalb Schools outsider with no experience in education. Those are three traits of the right person to be interim superintendent at this time.

I was telling these things to a neighbor this afternoon and her response was, “at least he is saying the right things, but I am not going to like him until he does the right things.”

I like him now. However, I reserve the right to change my mind.

Related content on Tucker Patch:

• Op-Ed: Tasks Thurmond and BOE Must Accomplish
• Thurmond: Voters Partially Responsible for School Board Strife
• Are Stakeholders Stacking the Deck in DeKalb?
• Superintendent Thurmond to Speak at Local School
• DeKalb School Board Appoints Michael Thurmond Interim Superintendent

Kirk Lunde is a Tucker parent and resident