Clayton to Learn Fate of Schools Thursday

By Odette Yousef

Atlanta, GA – Clayton County schools will know the fate of their accreditation status by Thursday. A national commission decides Wednesday on whether the district's board of education has adequately addressed 9 mandates needed to keep accreditation.

In March, the national commission voted to revoke the district's accreditation on September first, at the recommendation of SACS, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. A review team went back into the district two weeks ago to see whether any improvements had been made.

Mark Elgart is president of SACS.

ELGART: The review team that conducted the visit is nearing completion of their work, and once their report is completed, that will trigger the next step in the process which is the Commission review.

Several mandates for improvement center on the conduct of school board members.

SACS requires that board members adhere to their ethics policies and undergo training. It also required audits of the schools' attendance and financial records.