AROUND TOWN: What's going on at Marietta High?

The talk of the town this week was the Marietta school board’s decision to pluck principal Keith Ball from Marietta High School and exile him to the central office. The controversial decision, made at the recommendation of Superintendent Grant Rivera, divided the board in a 4-3 vote. 

No one disputes Ball had his fan club. Veteran board members Angela Orange, Kerry Minervini and Irene Berens voted against the decision.

But he’s made others unhappy. Some take issue with what they view as his progressive agenda. He had to issue a public apology last year following presentations on “transgender visibility” during instructional time. Others say the student fighting at the high school was out of control, while still others say teachers were demoralized under his leadership. 

According to the district, here are the MHS certified staff departures (employees who need licensure to be qualified for the job, such as teachers):

• 2021-22: 36
• 2000-21: 22
• 2019-20: 13
• 2018-19: 25
• 2017-18: 16

For perspective, the number of certified staff at MHS for 2021-22 was 197. Thirty-six departures comes to 18% turnover that year.

What caused a bit of head scratching is that it was only in March that the board extended Ball’s contract by another year in a 5-2 vote, with board members Jaillene Hunter and A.B. Almy opposed. Were one to relieve Ball of leading the district's only high school, you'd think that would have been the time to do it.

After working the phone lines, there are a few things we have learned about the conflict. 

One is that Rivera has been unusually involved at the high school since January, meeting with small groups, to get staff feedback on students and staff concerns. He’s added additional staff and conducted staff surveys, one in January and one in May. In a May 27 meeting with high school staff, we’re told he shared with them the degree to which he’s been leaning into the school over the last five months and was trying to get staff feedback on what improvements needed to be made.

The Journal has requested those staff surveys, but Rivera said they are not covered by the Open Records Act, pointing to a statute that prevents him from publicly discussing personnel matters, to wit: "OCGA 20-2-210(e)(1): All records, including surveys and evaluation instruments, associated with individual performance evaluations conducted pursuant to this Code section shall be confidential and not subject to public disclosure."

In addition, Marietta teachers are offered an exit survey when they leave, along with an exit interview. The Journal has learned Rivera has directly conducted some of those, which is unusual. 

One statement we've been hearing in the community is that ever since Marietta High School principal Leigh Colburn retired from the job after a successful 10-year run, things haven’t been the same on campus. 

Recall that Colburn was replaced by Forrestella Taylor, who only lasted a year before she, too, was banished to the central office in 2016. Following Tuesday’s vote to move Ball, the Journal asked Rivera if he had also heard people yearning for the days of Colburn's leadership. 

“First of all, I would never use my name and Leigh Colburn’s name in the same sentence, because she was an outstanding principal,” Rivera said Tuesday.

Rivera said he himself served as a high school principal for nine years in three different schools, noting a decade-long stint is uncommon.

“It is, I believe, one of the largest leadership jobs in any school district. Keith Ball gave us his whole heart, and his whole life for four years. It’s highly unusual, as you look at the landscape in metro Atlanta and around the country of principalships, that you’re going to find somebody staying 10 years like Leigh Colburn did.”

At the same time, Rivera said he thanks Ball for his four years of service, and believes he leaves Marietta High in a better place than he found it.

A Marietta High School teacher who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation certainly agrees with the comment about Colburn. 

“You know, with Mrs. Colburn, she really did a good job of making the staff feel like we were all one big family. There were all kinds of events we had together. She had your back, and she made you feel like family. You respected her and you worked hard for her because she truly did treat you like you were family. That went a really long way. Keith Ball, he was popular with the kids because he was that big 'rah-rah' guy who was on TV, the morning news every morning, was out there doing high fives with the kids, calling himself 'princi-PAL,' but the treatment of the teachers was at times less the professional. You never felt like you had to look over your back (with Colburn). But it was just a bunch of 'gotchas' all the time (under Ball)."

The community saw one side of him, according to the teacher. 

“But behind closed doors even the administrators and us at the school, it’s a completely different person,” the teacher said. “I think over the past four years that he’s been there, it’s just been a snowball effect.”

The district likes to talk about the graduation rate increasing over the past four years, the teacher said, but it doesn't mention the staff who are leaving is also up. 

The teacher said they personally have never had any direct conflict with Ball, “but some of the directives and memos that he sent out, it impacted me.”

It all started, the teacher believes, when Ball rolled out "JEDI training" for staff, a program that stands for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. The teacher described it as critical race theory before CRT was fashionable. 

“I felt like that’s when things started to change. It was divisive. The reality is that kind of stuff does cause division. I think he was trying to be real progressive and it kind of backfired for sure.”

In another less-than-positive public incident, a video making the rounds on social media shows a fight that occurred outside the school between at least two students in May. Ball is seen sweeping the female student's leg out from under her, bringing her to the ground. We asked Rivera for a statement on this incident.

“I was provided a video that showed at least two students engaging in a fight outside MHS on May 17. Principal Ball is observed taking one girl to the ground who he perceived was continuing to engage and not follow verbal directives or physical redirects to stop. An investigation was conducted. Principal Ball’s action were determined to be reasonable given his safety concerns and repeated attempts to deescalate the situation.”

The vacancy for the principal position was posted Wednesday. On Thursday, the district issued emails to students, staff and families soliciting input for the qualities they want to see in the next principal. 

“Dear MHS Families,” Rivera writes in a Thursday email. “I am following-up on my Tuesday email to explain our MCS principal selection process and to request your feedback as we begin this search.

"MCS considers selecting a new principal as an essential component in building highly effective schools. Accordingly, we have created a comprehensive principal selection process that invites contributions from both school staff and community stakeholders.

"In the coming weeks, we will engage in the following principal selection process:

• Interview questions and desired leadership qualities for candidates are developed based on stakeholder input and priorities.
• Selected candidates participate in interviews with district leadership.
• Selected candidates participate in school-based interviews with MHS School Governance Board, PTA Executive Board members, and student representatives.
• Selected candidates participate in Superintendent Review.
• Superintendent recommendation to MCS BOE.

"As the first step in our process, I invite you to complete a Principal Selection Survey. Our MHS staff and students will receive invitations to complete similar surveys.

"If for any reason the above process does not produce a finalist that demonstrates the appropriate qualifications and 'best fit' for MHS, then I will make a recommendation regarding an interim principal for the coming year. I commit to you that we will be thoughtful and deliberate in our process; I also promise you we will not settle.

"Thank you in advance for your time and engagement in this process.

Sincerely,

Grant