James September-October 2024 web - Flipbook - Page 23
cell phones are out of control, then we’d need to look
at doing something different. But I think our teachers
are correctly handling this in the classroom.”
I asked about the process for removal with disruptive students. He said “every teacher has an employee
ID badge that can electronically summon a request for
help, especially if there is a student acting up or posing
a ‘code red’ threat. And that could involve an active
shooter. The badge also helps if there is a medical
emergency. We also are one of the few districts that
have a nurse in every school, and we are fortunate to
have the funding to provide that. And we have resource officers. We don’t advertise where those officers
are, but we have approximately 70 who are Georgia
Post-certified school system police officers. They are
professionals and are allowed to be armed.” There’s
also a network of 13 “safety supports” coupled with
the district’s crisis response system.
Non-English Speakers & Inappropriate Books
Many public schools are experiencing an influx
of non-English speaking students that by law cannot
be turned away, and that obviously poses problems.
Ragsdale says that “we have 92 languages spoken
in the Cobb school district, but we have several
programs to deal with that. ESOL teachers (English
Speakers of Other Languages) are a tool, and there’s
naturally a lot of stress on those teachers. But we
have successes. For example, we had a kindergarten
student who couldn’t speak any English, but halfway
through the year was reading and speaking it well.
It’s amazing what our teachers can accomplish.”
Finally, I asked about the controversy— naturally
fueled by the media— that arose this year over a few
inappropriate books discovered within the system
that Ragsdale and his staff reviewed and then deemed
inappropriate for students. Ragsdale began by noting
that “the superintendent has the authority to remove
inappropriate materials; there’s not a School Board
vote that is required to do that. Our process has a singular focus on books which contain sexually explicit
and graphic content. Truly, there is no middle ground
on this. You are either for this policy, or against it. My
stance is very clear that no child should be subjected
to material containing such inappropriate content
in a public school. This should be quite disturbing
to adults, because there are now activists and organizations who target our kids and they are coming
after them. They want children to be sexualized.” The
bottom line is that “we have a review process where
books can be removed, and we make sure the School
Board and public are aware of it.”
Phil Kent is the CEO and publisher of James and James Magazine Online.
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