Pamphlets were distributed last month by the Atlanta Public
Schools containing information that borders on the fraudulent.
These pamphlets describe the Grady School of Communications, which
is still in its embryonic state, as a fully operational school.
Equipment and supplies have been ordered. Some construction is
in progress. Many other technical design features, such as broadcast
rooms, have definitely been promised. Renovation of the Magnet
school is supposedly underway.
But, what has come has come too late. Grady has already been advertised
as the ultra-modern institution for obtaining various skills in
communications. According to the aforementioned brochures, Grady
is prepared to teach students fascinated with communications fields.
They have promised four major divisions of study: Photography,
Drawing and Design, Broadcast Media and Print Media. Under each
division, specialized courses are offered. For instance, we are
told that under the topic of Photography these classes will be
taught: Camera Technology, Developing and Printing, Darkroom Techniques,
Dry-mounting Techniques, Composition, Lighting, Photo Journalism
and Film Processing. Drawing and Design is also credited with
interesting subtopics. Advertising and Commercial Art, Composition,
Layout and Design. Cartooning, Fashion and Costume Illustration,
Interior Decorating, Lithography, Silk Screen and Block Printing
and Architectural Drafting are supposed to be taught this year.
In the field of Broadcast Media, the course offerings are supposedly
Television and Radio Development, Control Room and Studio Operations,
Fundamentals of Broadcast Engineering, Set Design anti Construction,
Lighting. Scriptwriting, Announcing, Costume and Makeup, On-Air
Experience. and FCC Regulations. Print Media is the ultimate irony.
No one on this staff has heard of the following courses: Newspaper
and Magazine Development, News and Feature Writing, Advertising
Copy, and Market Analysis and surveying. We're wailing.
There is, however, one real course, as stated in the brochure, being offered at Grady this quarter. It is "Communications, " a two hour media course during periods five and six.
Altogether, thirty-four courses do not exist. The instructor's equipment associated with these classes have met the same fate.
Whose idealistic dream was this anyway? All systems appear problem-free on paper; most suffocate when caught in the Board's red tape. And, so the Advisory Board Members have been caught in red tape, redhanded.
No equipment exists or has been procured to even begin an operation so large. It is rumored that a press awaits us at George High. A photo lab hides elsewhere.
How can an institution so vast, so large, as the Administration
of the Atlanta Public Schools get away with apparent fraud and
false advertisement under our very noses? How can they print these
misleading brochures, flyers, bulletins a I nd letters? How can
they mail them to unknowing families? "They" are the
Board of Educa tion. They can and they did. They did it because
they're playing the enrollment game, a game they play well.
In the past several years, many schools have closed because of
low enrollment. Does the Board fear the same for Grady? Is all
this " communications" simply Public Relations to attract
students?
Whatever the cause, whatever the relationship, Grady students remain victims of a deceitful administration. It's all just another plot to recruit more students.
The incredible irony of it all is the silence and secretiveness that goes on. The administrators, who have stuck their necks out so far, intend to keep talking about the hopes of a' fully staffed and equipped School for Communications, meanwhile, misleading and raising the hopes of the students who presently attend.
Will the idealistic dream come true? We're waiting.
Adger and McLeod: A Good Team
" I believe that all, or almost all, students can learn and
will learn with effective leadership and motivation." With
this statement our new principal, Mr. Thom as E. Adger, starts
what we all hope will be a long and successful principalship at
Grady High School.
The new assistant principal is Dr. A. Dixon McLeod who agrees that it is the administration's duty to provide an atmosphere in which learning can take place. "Grady," he says, "is a school with a lot of good students and on the path to being one of the best schools in Atlanta."
Mr. Adger's ability is well known at Grady and it seems that he has an equally well qualified assistant. After being graduated from Campbell College in Raleigh, N.C., Dr. McLeod taught high school biology and coached for 5 years. He was named Coach of the Year in wrestling and Teacher of the Year for -the. Orange County, N.C., school system. He served as an assistant principal in Statesville, N.C.; as principal in Hendersonville, N.C. In addition to his high school experience he was also Dean of Students at Methodist College in Fayetteville, N.C. and assistant wrestling coach at Duke University at which he earn ed his Ph.D. in school administration.
Like many others Dr. McLeod was attracted by Atlanta's image and promise. He accepted the position of Assistant Principal at Inman in 1979 and was promoted to the same job at Grady this year.
Under this new administration Grady if off to a fine start. The registrar, Miss Payne, did an excellent job with the schedules so that changes were at a minimum. Homeroom once again begins the day which means less confusion in the halls. The single lunch hour which Mr Adger started as as experiment last spring is being continued because it is less disruptive. A set of new schedules means that each class meets each day with no cancellations for pep rallies or other special as asemblies. Each students has a copy of the rules which have been designed to provide the best possible conditions for learning with the least possible restriction on the individual.
Over one hundred fifty people gathered at Derthick Plaza on September 16th to welcome our new administrators. Everyone from the Board of Education to the new ninth grader who has an interest in Grady was represented and excited about the prospects for the 1981-82 school year. The Southerner joins in wishing success to Mr. Adger and Dr. McLeod as they set the tone for the best year yet at Grady.