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Group Ends Glynn Schools Probation But Board Must Sustain Professionalism to Regain Full Accreditation

Posted on: Wednesday, 28 December 2005, 18:00 CST

By TERESA STEPZINSKI

BRUNSWICK -- Good behavior by Glynn County Board of Education members has been rewarded by a decision by an education standards organization to take the school district off accreditation probation.

However, board members must prove they can sustain such professional conduct for at least six more months before the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools will restore the 12,000- student school system to full accreditation.

Mark Elgart, association executive director, said Thursday that a review team of educators is recommending upgrading the district's accreditation to "advised status."

"It means they are moving in the right direction and making progress, but they haven't fully completed all the steps necessary to regain full accreditation. There is still some work to be done," Elgart said.

The district has been on accreditation probation for almost two years because of past misconduct by some board members, including interference with district administrators and meddling in school system operations.

Until a few months ago, the district teetered on the brink of being stripped of accreditation because of that misconduct and divisive behavior by board members.

Loss of accreditation would have resulted in Glynn graduates having difficulty getting into most colleges. The students also would have lost eligibility for Georgia's HOPE scholarship.

The upgraded status has been recommended, Elgart said, as the result of a Nov. 10 on-site inspection by an association review team made up of educators statewide.

The team interviewed board members, school personnel, parents and community leaders, and reviewed documents relating to board activities.

A report detailing the team's findings, and the association's recommendations for future board improvements, will be sent to district Superintendent Michael Bull and the school board in a few days, Elgart said.

Elgart said the association wants further proof that board members understand and can continue to abide by education standards, the panel's own policies and state law, which limits their authority to policy-making and setting the budget.

"I think there is still an issue of whether the board can sustain this progress over time," Elgart said.

Further action on Glynn's accreditation will come in the spring, he said. "If they complete all the necessary steps and sustain their improvement, then they will be back to full accreditation at that time."

Advised status is one step below full accreditation.

The key, school board Chairwoman LaVerne Cooper said, is for the board to keep focused.

"I think board members have decided that we couldn't afford the same kind of behavior that jeopardized the school system's accreditation in the first place," Cooper said. "With that incentive, there has been a willingness to do what was necessary to turn the board around and remove this [probation] cloud over the school system."

Parents and community leaders said the board has earned the upgraded status.

"I think it is well deserved," said Michael Nyenhuis, who has two children in the school system and also is chairman of a citizens watchdog group focused on improving education.

"Especially with the new superintendent [Bull] in place, the relationship between the superintendent and board is excellent," Nyenhuis said. "The dysfunctional relationship between the old superintendent [Robert Winter] and [past and present] board members seemed to be the main cause of the district being put on probation."

Nyenhuis and Cooper each said that although the process has been painful, it has made the school system better.

"As a parent, I'm grateful to SACS for their process and education standards, and for holding us in the community and the board accountable to identify problems and fix them," Nyenhuis said.teresa.stepzinski@jacksonville.com, (912) 264-0405

Source: Florida Times Union

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