From the Dean: Update on Clarke County School District partnership

Dear colleagues,

The recent news about limited engagement with the Clarke County School District (CCSD) next year has caused considerable angst and concern, but I want to assure you that the partnership between the district and our College is alive and well. Superintendent Xernona Thomas and I, as well as our leadership teams, are fully committed to our partnership.

A natural feature of any partnership is that the partners change and grow and have different needs, and this has certainly been the case for the district and us. And, we have just come through more than a year of a global pandemic that has dramatically affected teaching and learning, research, and service. At this time, the district must prioritize the learning and safety of its students and staff, and we must respect that. As a result, we will have a limited number of placements for our students in the CCSD for 2021-22, and other types of engagement with CCSD will also be limited. The district has the list of ongoing and new projects that all of you submitted, and CCSD leaders are considering each of those projects now. We have already begun to hear back from them about time-sensitive and funded projects and expect to hear more in the next few weeks to aid in your planning for next year.

Despite our best efforts to keep everyone informed through department heads, program coordinators, and COEfyi, some damaging narratives have emerged suggesting that the district is no longer interested in partnering with us or that we are walking away from our partnership with the district, both of which are patently false. I would appreciate it if you would correct these narratives when you hear them. Please feel free to direct anyone with concerns to Dr. Thomas or myself and we will be glad to explain the situation.

Please know that both the district and the College value the work that many of you have done over the years, whether a formal part of the partnership or not. This “reset” is not a criticism of anything that has been done in the past. Rather, it is simply an acknowledgment of the natural ebb and flow of a relationship that requires periodic reassessment.

Over the summer, Dr. Thomas and I and our leadership teams will meet to begin re-envisioning our partnership. Consistent with the College’s strategic plan, we will center CCSD’s needs in that conversation. After we establish some initial parameters, we will invite CCSD and UGA faculty and staff to expand the conversation.

Denise A. Spangler
Dean