'Culture of accountability' key for Superintendent Curtis Jones, Bibb schools

As he approaches the first anniversary of leading the Bibb County school system, Curtis Jones has seen lots to be proud of, but he knows plenty of work remains.

While the first year of his tenure as superintendent, which began officially April 6, 2015, was about establishing the culture that the district will have going forward, he and his staff will have to build on that going forward, he said.

"This coming year, it's going be about another part of that, which is implementing with fidelity what you said you were going to do," he said.

The goals Jones has set involve a "culture of accountability" that begins with school administrators. That has meant challenging leaders to visit and study higher-achieving schools of similar makeup to improve strategies for the coming years.

"And ones who have come back have commented how much they've learned and how good it's been," Jones said.

He's enthusiastic about that and what other research administrators have done to improve their schools, which includes aligning school improvement plans.

"They are really, really good, and I'm excited about what they're doing," Jones said of school administrators in general. "They've embraced the recommendations and the changes we're trying to put in place."

The feeling is mutual for some school leaders. Donna Mallett, an assistant principal at Southfield Elementary School, said she's enjoyed working under Jones.

"He's making very positive change, and I wanted to be a part of that change," she said.

Julia Daniely, in her fourth year as principal at Westside High School and 21st year in education, called Jones a "transformative leader." She said work across the district has been directed toward Jones' four key areas of focus: attendance, reading, discipline and enrollment of new students.

Further, it's the first time in her career that Daniely said she feels she's being closely monitored for her leadership choices and the associated results.

"Increased accountability is very important," she said. "You want proficient adults. Proficient adults help make sure we have proficient students."

It will be a couple months before the district sees the numbers for Jones' first year at the helm, particularly graduation rates and test scores. Georgia Milestones results won't be back until sometime in May, and graduation rates will come in later than that.

When they do, Jones isn't ready to take credit after what he described as a "base year" for his administration. He hopes the district will begin to see improvements, particularly in testing and College and Career Ready Performance Index numbers that have been "pretty stagnant" in Bibb County, with scores of 57.3, 62.9 and 62.2 in the first three years of the CCRPI's existence.

That will change starting with 2016-17, Jones said.

"Next year, you're going to see something."

BOARD ON THE MEND

Besides his dealings with schools and principals, Jones has been tasked with working with a school board that has had a tumultuous few years.

Many board members experienced the conflict-filled tenure of Romain Dallemand, followed by two years of interim superintendents. Meanwhile, they faced governance issues of their own and criticism about their handling of the superintendent situation.

Jones said he's been impressed with the board, even as "trust issues" linger among some of its members.

"For the most part, I think the board accepted where they were and where they had to go," he said. "And I think the vast majority of them put trust and confidence in me, and that's what I've felt from them as we've moved forward through this past year."

The district as a whole, he added, benefited from the time under an interim leader, mostly with Steve Smith, whom Jones credited with having a calming effect.

"Whenever you have an interim person who can come in, they're able to focus on some of those things that need to be looked at and, without fear of what's going to happen long term, do what they think is best," he said.

The board voted 6-1 to approve Jones' hire, with Ella Carter abstaining. Tom Hudson was the lone dissenting vote, citing a "lack of process" for the decision.

Both board members said at the time that they would still support the district's new leader, and Jones said he's experienced just that.

He said he's come to realize that Hudson can be counted on to express how he feels about any situation, while Carter does things with students and teachers in mind.

"Both of them have come to me individually, shared concerns and questions they had," he said. "They've continued to be supportive, and I have not felt undermined by either one of them in that process."

Hudson echoed Jones' assessment of the district and said he was looking forward to the work to be done before his final term runs out at the end of this year.

"Everything is a work in progress," Hudson said. "We're not where we should be, but we're not where we were."

The board faces another challenge this year -- transition. Four of the eight seats -- now held by Hudson, board President Lester Miller, Vice President Jason Downey and former board officer Thelma Dillard -- will be on the ballot in May. Carter and Sue Sipe are running unopposed.

Jones said he was initially worried about the potential of that many new board members, but he's "not really concerned" after the work he's seen from the board so far.

"I think the board has done a good job of what they've been asked to do," he said. "I'm hopeful that any changes that may occur will be because people are basing it on what we've done since April and not what happened prior to that."

OTHER CHALLENGES

Discipline in Bibb County classrooms has long been an issue, and that continues to be one of Jones' focus areas.

Middle and high school workers have finished Positive Behavior in Schools training, he said, with the elementary schools wrapping it up this semester.

In the past year, Jones and his staff have worked to reverse the thinking in some quarters that teachers weren't allowed to report discipline issues, but he also said some of the responsibility lies with students.

"The problem is this whole idea of a culture of accountability for students as well," he said. "They've got to accept responsibility."

The district has also faced issues related to the approval and management of charter schools. The Academy for Classical Education and Macon Charter Academy are already on board. Cirrus Academy is scheduled to open in the fall as a state-approved charter, and two more -- DREAM Academy and Bloomfield Preparatory Academy -- having gone through the petition process recently.

That has taught Jones the need for a protocol for charter schools, which will now include monthly meetings with the schools' leaders and a more rigorous approval system.

"What I've learned is you've got to have a process, and that process needs to be able to understand and relate how the state is responding to charters and what our obligation is as an authorizer," Jones said.

Beyond all that, Jones said the biggest key for Bibb County schools will be to build on community support and encourage teachers. With more parental involvement and an improving culture, big changes can happen, he said.

"Many teachers have lost that spark that brought them here. We need to help bring that back," he said. "As we do that, kids are going to learn. They're going to get excited. And along the way, we're going to have good schools. And when we have good schools, I think we're going to find more parents wanting to have their kids in our schools.

"That's what I'm looking for. That's going to be the challenge for us."

To contact writer Jeremy Timmerman, call 744-4331.

This story was originally published March 28, 2016 at 8:45 AM with the headline "'Culture of accountability' key for Superintendent Curtis Jones, Bibb schools ."