Yeah, something stinks at Atlanta’s South Atlanta High School! 

 

     A custodian said one time to me as he was observing some real shenanigans going on in a school:  “Something in the milk ain’t clean!”  Well, something in the milk ain’t clean at South Atlanta High School!  Let’s start with the principal, Esmie Gaynor.  She hails recently from a school in Brooklyn, New York.  MACE has had numerous complaints from this school about the leadership at the school and the lack of discipline.  Teachers tell the MACE staff that there was essentially a riot at the school at the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year. 

 

     When MACE staffers began showing up at the school, the teachers apparently became very happy at MACE’s presence – many teachers joined on the spot, even in the parking lot.  However, one teacher reported to Dr. Trotter that the principal was apparently nervous at MACE’s presence at the school in the afternoons.  This school, South Atlanta High School, is veritably one of the most dangerous schools in Georgia. 

 

     Nevertheless, because of the obvious “mis-reporting” by the leadership at the school on the Discipline Reports submitted to the Department of Education (required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act), the school was ranked as the third safest high school in the Metro Atlanta area.  Balderdash!  It is about as safe as Baghdad High School! 

 

     As reported recently by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (in its focus on the discrepancies within the discipline reports), Atlanta Police Officers were called to the school at least 50 times this past school year, “including multiple times for thefts, burglaries and weapons offenses” (August 16, 2006, p. A 12).  But the leadership at South Atlanta High School did not report a single weapon offense!  Hmm.  

 

     Yep, something stinks at South Atlanta High School!  MACE picketed the principal at this school twice last school year.  Perhaps more pickets are due this year – if Superintendent Beverly Hall does not get off her lazy butt and do something about the mess at South Atlanta!  The students and the teachers of South Atlanta High deserve better!

 

August 9, 2006