Progress Not Perfection

ELLIJAY, GA – The GCCSS (Gilmer County Chart School System) has recently received its latest institutional progress report from AdvancED.In a letter that was with the report sent to superintendent of schools, Jason Kouns, it was stated that it was the “responsibility of school system officials to share the contents of the report with the system’s governing body [the superintendent and board members] and the community.”

So, Kouns sat down with FYN to do just that; share the contents of the latest review that took place in December of 2014 and how he see’s the entire matter of the investigation unfolding.

In May of 2014 AdvancED conducted their first investigative review on the GCCSS after previously receiving multiple complaints that the board of education was not conducting themselves properly.

Upon visiting the GCCSS in May of 2014 the investigation team from AdvancED issued an institutional progress report to the school system with three infractions therein that the board was to begin addressing immediately to be able to keep the school systems accreditation up to par.

Each infraction was listed with a rating level of either 1, 2, 3, or 4 (1 being the worst or lowest and 4 being the best or highest.)

The first matter that needed to be addressed was, “The governing body [the superintendent and board members] establishes policies and support practices that ensure effective administration of the system and its schools.” AdvancED gave the GCCSS a level rating of 2 which states, “Polices and practices generally support the system’s purpose and direction…”

Not bad, but could be better.

The second matter that needed to be addressed was, “The governing body [the superintendent and board members] operates responsibly and functions effectively.” AdvancED gave the GCCSS a level rating of 1 which states, “The governing body has no method for or does not ensure that decisions and actions are free of conflict of interest, are ethical and in accordance with defined roles and responsibilities’.”

Yikes.

The third matter that needed to be addressed was, “The governing body [the superintendent and board members] ensures that the leadership at all levels has the autonomy to meet goals for achievement and instruction and to manage day-to-day operations effectively.” AdvancED gave the GCCSS a level rating of 1 which states, “The governing body [the superintendent and board members] rarely or never protects, supports and respects the autonomy of system or school leadership to accomplish goals for improvement in student learning and instruction…”

Yeah, you read that right, “rarely.”

After reading that review report in May of 2014 one thing was for certain; Kouns and the board had a lot of work to do before their next review in December.

Now, lets fast-forward to the December 2014 review report that was received by Kouns and the board on January 23, 2015.

The December 2014 report reviewed the same infractions that are listed above from the May 2014 report and it reported the following:

The first matter that was re-addressed was, “The governing body [the superintendent and board members] establishes policies and support practices that ensure effective administration of the system and its schools.” AdvancED gave the GCCSS a new level rating of 3 which states, “Policies and practices support the system’s purpose and direction and the effective operation of the school system.”

Progress.

The second matter that was re-addressed was, “The governing body [the superintendent and board members] operates responsibly and functions effectively.” AdvancED gave the GCCSS a new level rating of 2 which states, “The governing body ensures that its decisions and actions are in accordance with defined roles and responsibilities, are ethical, and free of conflict of interest.”

Progress.

The third matter that was re-addressed was, “The governing body [the superintendent and board members] ensures that the leadership at all levels has the autonomy to meet goals for achievement and instruction and to manage day-to-day operations effectively.” AdvancED gave the GCCSS a new level rating of 2 which states, “The governing body generally protects, supports and respects the autonomy of system and school leadership to accomplish goals for improvement in student learning and instruction and to manage day-to-day operations of it’s system and its schools.”

Progress.

After seven months of hard, tedious work, the governing body of the GCCSS has produced just about all anyone could hope for…Progress, progress, progress.

In the famous words of Denzel Washington, “Progress, not perfection.”

The letter and review report states several times that, while there is still room for areas of improvement, progress is being made and that’s exactly what the GCCSS and AdvancED are looking for.

“We just have to keep progressing. We have to get better everyday with what we bring to the table,”

said Kouns,

“The kids come first and we are going to do whatever it takes to give them what they need.”

Kouns stated that the way for the GCCSS to continue to progress and reach the coveted “level 4’s” that everyone desires is by working as a team and not as individuals units.

AdvancED stated in their latest review and letter that one last hurdle must be jumped to receive a clean bill of health; the GCCSS must submit a follow-up Institution Progress Report of their own by July 1, 2015 that will show that will show steps that are being continually took for the governing body to be able to sustain continual progression.