APS superintendent to meet North Atlanta High parents Tuesday about administration changes

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North Atlanta HighSchool parents shocked by the news that the school’s entire administrativestaff was dismissed at the end of school last Friday and escorted off thecampus, will have a chance Tuesday night to question Superintendent ErrollDavis about the situation.

Erroll B. Davis Jr. 

SuperintendentDavis will speak to parents at North Atlanta High School, 2875 Northside Drive,at 6 p.m. on Tuesday about Atlanta Public Schools’ decision to overhaul theschool’s leadership team and do it rather abruptly without notice at theend of the school week.
Alongwith angered parents, Dist. 4 Board of Education member Nancy Meister, whorepresents Buckhead, also has criticized the way the situation was handled bythe school system, including the notification of School Board members.
APSused robo-call to notify parents as the school was carrying out its plan toterminate and remove interim principal Mark MyGrant and to remove and reassignthe school’s top leadership personnel to other schools in the district without priornotice.

Nancy Meister

The Board ofEducation has just four days earlier approved Harold E. Taylor to become thenew principal of the school and APS administration apparently wanted to givehim the opportunity to pick his own key administration staff. However, Tayloris not expected to officially begin at the school until Oct. 29.
MyGrant, a 33-yeareducator, had served as principal at North Atlanta for five years and at nearbySutton Middle for 10 before retiring in June. He returned to the school thefollowing month when a replacement could not be found in time for the start ofthe school year in August. A second search brought forth Taylor as the newprincipal.

Meister, a Buckheadresident whose two children graduated from North Atlanta, told the NorthsideNeighbor newspaper on Saturday that she was not at the school when theleadership was escorted off campus, but confirmed the news and said she heardabout it from those who were there.

Harold E. Taylor

She told the NorthsideNeighbor MyGrant was told he would no longer be working for the school districtand that his senior staff would be reassigned to other schools in the district.
“I do know that agroup from downtown administration came in and spoke to the administrativeleaders and Mark MyGrant, Meister is quoted as telling the Northside Neighbor, “andI did hear from some teachers that there was an assembly of teachers to explainwhat was happening.”

In a letter posted on the APS website, Superintendent Davis offered parents noexplanation for MyGrant’s sudden removal or the reassignment of the schoolleaders. Davis said only that it is a new day at North Atlanta and the schoolhad undergone a “total leadership transition.”
Davis said in hisletter that Sid Baker, former principal of Sarah Smith Elementary, will runNorth Atlanta until Taylor, of Gwinnett County, officially starts Oct. 29. Healso listed a transition assistant principal and eight other transition academyleaders.

Mark MyGrant

(A copy of Davis'letter can be found here.)   

Stephen Alford, spokesman for the Atlanta Public Schools, said four of thesix-member administrative team - an assistant principal and three academyleaders - were reassigned. The other two, interim Principal Mark MyGrant andacademy leader Reginald Colbert, both retired, Alford said.
“We know that changeis not easy for anyone but this was something we were anticipating sincelearning that MyGrant was planning to retire,” Alford said. “This was not anadverse action. This was really about moving North Atlanta in a new direction.”
Parents and otherstakeholders will have an opportunity Tuesday night to hear from and questionDavis about the situation and judge for themselves. In the meantime, there is apetition circulating online (http://chn.ge/Q7VEke) for those who wish to formalize their position onthe changes.