Agenda Item
s. PERSONNEL RECOMMENDATION FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION
Summary: Presented by: Mrs. Tasha Davis, Chief of Human Resources, Division of Human Resources
Request: It is requested that the Board of Education approve the hiring recommendation of Mr. Trenton Arnold to the position of Executive Administrator of Schools in the Division of Schools & Leadership.
Details: Mrs. Tasha Davis Mills, Chief of Human Resources, Division of Human Resources 678.676.1200.
Contact: Mrs. Tasha Davis Mills, Chief of Human Resources, Division of Human Resources
TRENTON JOHNSON ARNOLD
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Profile:
• Ten years as a Regional Superintendent.
• Two-and-a-half years as an Executive Director, Research, Assessments, and Grants.
• Five-and-a-half years as a Principal with the DeKalb County School District.
• Six years as an Assistant Principal with the DeKalb County School District.
• Seven years as a sixth grade Language Arts instructor with the DeKalb County School District.
• A proud product of the DeKalb County School District and a firm believer that public education, through
data informed decision-making, dedicated, principled efforts to support children, and collaboration
between the schools and communities, is a system that works.
Education:
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, Athens, Georgia
Master of Education, Educational Leadership, June 1999; 4.00 GPA; L5 certificate in Leadership.
PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE, Clinton, South Carolina
Bachelor of Arts, English; minor degree in Secondary Education, May 1992; Dean’s List; T4 certificate in Middle
Grades and in English.
Experience:
July 2013-Current REGIONAL SUPERINTENDENT, DeKalb County School District
• Responsible for the support and supervision, both directly and indirectly, of twenty-three DCSD schools,
two centers (Coralwood Center and Fernbank Science Center), and three start-up charter schools, equating
to approximately 2,100 employees and 16,000 students.
• Establishes clarity among Region principals and school-level staff regarding expectations to provide
equitable, rigorous instruction to all students in a manner that meets professional obligations and creates a
safe, nurturing environment for our students.
• Establishes a clear vision of effective leadership at the school level through a focus on elements associated
with Instruction, Operations, and Climate and how those three areas of leadership are critically interwoven.
• Developed and leads meaningful professional learning communities (PLCs) for Region principals that
provided opportunities for collaboration and shared discussions on various topics, resulting in better
building level decision-making and leadership.
• Guides principals and schools through both first and second order change processes while ensuring that the
focus for school leaders remains on the Region’s three principles of educational leadership: instruction,
operations, and climate.
• Engages the community in multiple settings to represent the Superintendent and the District, including one-
on-one meetings with parents, politicians, community figures, and media representatives; small group
meetings such as School Councils and other committees; and larger sessions such as PTA meetings, town
halls organized by political representatives and/or parent/neighborhood groups.
• Effectively utilizes the Regional micro-cabinet to assist students, schools, and the communities the Region
serves by developing clear expectations for the Regional micro-cabinet to include three basic tenets:
building principal capacity, supporting schools, and providing quality customer service.
• Utilizes a tracking system within the Regional office to account for incoming concerns and the office’s
responses to them, with monthly reports being created to provide data to identify areas needing additional
support.
• Communicates with Senior Cabinet to share relevant, immediate issues in an effort to ensure concerns are
addressed collaboratively between Division heads, that the District remains in front of possible media
issues, and that important matters are shared with the Board whenever appropriate.
• Leads the principal selection process and supported stakeholder engagement and input to provide finalists
to the Superintendent for schools in Region II.
• Reviews and investigates employee misconduct allegations and finalized recommendations for the Office of
Employee Relations to ensure that employees meet the highest expectations for professionalism and
ethical behavior.
• Led the District’s decision-making process regarding Charter District/SWSS status, including fifteen
community engagement sessions that were used to gather stakeholder input that would provide the
Superintendent and Board with relevant information to assist in determining the most appropriate
flexibility option that would best serve the students and communities of the District.
• Co-Chaired the District’s Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment, and Accountability (CIA2) Team to guide and
monitor the development of the District’s new curriculum for required core courses, ultimately leading to
the Board’s adoption of the curriculum, and the start of the second phase of curriculum writing.
• Recommended that monies be budgeted for STEM, International Baccalaureate, Montessori, and Dual
Language Immersion programs so that these programs could be financially sustained across the District in
all Regions and allow all children access to these rigorous programs.
• Seeks and utilizes qualitative and quantitative measurements to examine how well the Regional
Superintendent’s office, the micro-cabinet, and the schools are meeting expectations associated with the
Strategic Plan’s mission, vision, and six goal areas to lead to schools in being recognized for overall
excellence.
November 2010-June 2013 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RESEARCH, ASSESSMENTS, AND GRANTS, DeKalb County School District
• Directed the administration of standardized assessment programs for all students in Grades K-12.
• Analyzed and interpreted test data for the school system as well as schools and individuals.
• Developed training for system and school level personnel in the interpretation of assessment data and how
that data can assist in instructional decisions.
• Recommended and led the District’s response to the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement’s annual
wrong-to-right erasure analysis.
• Established District standard operating procedures of effective security measures to protect assessment
validity.
• Requested procurement of funds from the Board of Education for purchasing standardized assessments not
funded by the Georgia Department of Education.
• Assisted the Office of the Superintendent in interpretation of Georgia Board of Education policies, the
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, and federal policies, acts, and laws regarding student assessments and
accountability measurements for schools and the school system.
• Monitored changes and provided training to appropriate district personnel regarding adjustments in state
and federal accountability measurements including Georgia’s Single Statewide Accountability System and
the College and Career Ready Performance Index.
• Communicated to various school administrative personnel required actions and duties regarding student
assessments and school accountability.
• Oversaw the District’s assistance to former students seeking a diploma through a waiver or variance of the
state’s graduation requirements.
• Assisted the Division of Curriculum and Instruction in providing guidance for promotion of elementary and
middle school students and graduation of high school students.
• Coordinated the District’s renewal of district-wide accreditation with AdvancED’s Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI).
July 2009-November 2010 PRINCIPAL, STONE MOUNTAIN MIDDLE SCHOOL, Stone Mountain, Georgia
• Supported and guided the staff in instructional best practices to lead a Needs Improvement (NI) 3 school in
demonstrating Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and being removed from the Needs Improvement
designation.
• Monitored overall operational and logistical efficiency of the school.
• Coordinated and applied all federal, state, regional, and local policies, and procedures to the educational
setting
• Distributed leadership duties to multiple individuals, teams, and committees to foster sense of shared
governance.
• Oversaw all aspects of instructional delivery of multiple content areas and curriculum.
• Developed and established an environment supportive of professional learning.
July 2005-June 2009 PRINCIPAL, SEQUOYAH MIDDLE SCHOOL, Doraville, Georgia
• Served the school’s staff, students, parents, and community to lead a Needs Improvement (NI) 7 school in
becoming a Distinguished Title I school after demonstrating Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for four
consecutive years.
• Monitored overall operational and logistical efficiency of the school.
• Recommended for hire all certified positions over a three-month period at the direction of the District
when school was identified as an original Targeted Incentive Program school.
• Coordinated, and applied all federal, state, regional, and local policies and procedures to the educational
setting
• Monitored overall operational and logistical efficiency of the school.
• Distributed leadership duties to multiple individuals, teams and committees to foster sense of shared
governance.
• Oversaw all aspects of instructional delivery of multiple content areas and curriculum.
• Directed the purchasing, ordering, and supplying of instructional and organizational needs
• Developed and established an environment supportive of professional learning.
July 2003-June 2005 ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL OF INSTRUCTION, McNAIR MIDDLE SCHOOL, Decatur, Georgia
• Monitored instructional delivery of middle school faculty and developed best practices to be used school-
wide.
• Executed successful FTE counts to maximize state funding.
• Assisted in identifying appropriate expenditures and drafting Title I and 4-8 Grant budgets.
• Enforced testing procedures for standardized tests.
July 1999-June 2003 ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL OF ATTENDANCE, CEDAR GROVE MIDDLE SCHOOL, Decatur, Georgia
• Developed multiple procedures and policies for SPLOST I prototype middle school in DCSS to allow for the
efficient operation of the overall program.
• Designed student attendance procedures and accounting for instructional staff.
• Assisted with writing of Teacher Handbook each year.
• Structured inventory accounting procedures and maintained accurate audit records.
July 1997-June 1999 SIXTH GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHER, STONE MOUNTAIN MIDDLE SCHOOL, Stone Mountain, Georgia
• Worked in cross-curricular middle school environment, promoting effective planning among team members
and with other sixth grade team as well as English department members.
• Served as chairperson for Pay for Performance committee, designing procedures to complete objectives,
distributing work among fellow committee members, and following through with several committee
meetings to check status of desired objectives.
August 1992-June 1997 SIXTH GRADE LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHER, FAIRINGTON ELEMENTARY, Lithonia, Georgia
• Implemented and served as administrator for after-school tutorial program for students
• Served as Grade Level and Strategic Planning for School Improvement Chairperson.