New DeKalb Schools Superintendent Outlines 90-Day Plan for District

Dr. Cheryl L. H. Atkinson was officially sworn in Thursday as the DeKalb County School District’s Superintendent. Atkinson has developed a 90-day entry plan which lays out a three-phase strategy for putting children first in every action implemented within the District.

Atkinson’s immediate focus will be to engage in a set of activities that will allow her to gather information, assess the District’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and create a working community network of parents, community leaders, contacts, and resources to engage stakeholders in transformation and accountability activities.

"Keys to success are leadership and accountability," Atkinson said in a press release. "The overall objective of the entry plan is to listen, learn and lead. Student achievement is our business and must be the central theme in all of our initiatives."

In the first phase of the plan, Atkinson will conduct a personnel audit of the central office, which will occur over the next two weeks. Phase two of the entry plan includes auditing programs within divisions and departments. The final phase of the entry plan is to develop and present to the Board of Education and the community the Superintendent’s Excellence for Education Plan.

Atkinson’s Excellence for Education Plan will be a strategy to improve educational achievement, internal operations, reporting and accountability in the district. Listening to and learning from internal and external stakeholders will be an integral part of the plan, according to a district release. At the conclusion of the plan, Atkinson will provide a summary outlining the findings and use them as a tool for future direction.

"If we band together, keep our focus, and put Students First, there is no limit to what we can accomplish," said Atkinson, in a district press release.