Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa would not release the details that led to Donovan’s decision to retire after 34 years with the district but said she “was recently involved in a situation involving the reporting of a student matter.”
“Because it is a personnel issue, I cannot comment further,” he said via email Wednesday. “Since she is eligible, Ms. Donovan elected to go ahead and retire at this time allowing us ample time to find a replacement for the start of the 2012-2013 school year. We look forward to a smooth transition and a continuation of all the things that make Kell High School such an outstanding learning environment.”
He refused to say whether Donovan would have been fired had she not retired.
Donovan was named Kell’s principal in 2006 after serving as an associate principal at Harrison High for four years. She started in the Cobb County School District in 1978 as a teacher at Walton High, where she stayed until 2000.
She also served as an administrative assistant and assistant principal at South Cobb High in her 30-plus years with the district.
Carole Kell, the widow of coach Corky Kell, whom the school is named after, said she is a good friend of Donovan’s and that it will be tough to replace someone as loved by the students, faculty and community as she is.
“The Kell community is losing a truly devoted person who is an excellent administrator. I’m very, very sorry to see her go, but I certainly support her decision to retire at this time,” she said. “The major thing about Trudie, other than her enthusiasm, is the fact that she believed in athletics and academics equally and made a difference in both of those areas and was a friend to every student at that school.”
School board member Kathleen Angelucci, who represents Kell, and the school’s Robotics Team captain, Ed Barker, echoed Kell’s comments about her student commitment.
“I had a good working and personal relationship with her, as a parent and board member, and I have always felt that students were everything to her,” Angelucci said. Both of her daughters attended Kell while Donovan was principal.
Barker said Donovan has been a “great supporter” of his students as well.
“She always put the students first and tried to run a tight ship and make sure everything was fantastic for everybody,” he said.
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eat you words folks that defended her ...
Good bye Trudie and good job student who stood up to the teacher and prinicpal....i hate to say but my own child like the social studies teacher and said he was the cooliest AP teacher at Kell...however , as I mentioned before "right is right and worng is wrong" GOOD BYE TRUDIE !
the hiring of school administrators. Though fairness was its
original intent, this policy has not served Cobb County all that
well. We need to bypass most politically correct person for the
job and go back to best person for the job. We're guilty of
attaching too many strings to these positions.
I suggest you all show up at the next board meeting and make youselves heard there.
But I know you won't!
Your all cowards!!!!!!! Posting and venting on MDJ will not do a damn thing!!!!
Donovan--Now you can take that queen bee "bully" statue off your desk!!! Seems you have been stung by your own venom! How comical! LOL--LOL!!
What goes around sure does come around!!!
That report states that Kell has a capacity of 1,912 students. However, the population of the school was projected to be 1,903 in 2008-2009 and was projected to remain below the 1,912 figure for every school year until 2016-2017 - when the estimate shows 1,908 students.
In fact, the October 2011 FTE Report prepared for Georgi'as Dept of Education for Kell shows they had 1,681 students enrolled...well below the 1,810 students CCSD had projected via the McKibben Report for this school year.
It would seem that, while the school is well under capacity, they have specific classes that are way over capacity - an administrative/scheduling issue. Hopefully, some new leadership will be able to address such issues so that the school can better serve the students.
My head has not been in the sand and I have read about the increases in class sizes and RIF. And, of course, that leads to classes being too large. But is the school's principal powerless in this situation? Can they not look at their faculty/student needs and adjust them accordingly? The school's administration has known that the classes were over crowded for how long and have yet to find a real solution? And, honestly, was anyone surprised when the workforce was decreased this year...or next year for that matter because tax revenues are NOT going up anytime soon. Where is the plan on the part of the administration to deal with these issues?
In the corporate world we have to make these decisions based on projections all the time and, while it would be great to blame the Board of Directors, the truth is, I am responsible for my Department. And in the last few years we have had to do much more with much less - the new normal.
In education, it seems all blame falls to the CCSD and the individual schools are left powerless and unable to develop a plan...am I reading this incorrectly? So, at this point, I have to disagree and hold to my conclusion that it is an administrative/scheduling issue. reading the other blogs it appears this didn't suddenly happen at Kell with the RIF...it has been an oh-going issue that appears to have been ignored. Otherwise, how is it that other schools are able to be overcapacity and still address the needs of their students?
We have been working on changes to the back end of our website. If you let me know the name you used for posting, I will be happy to go back and review your comment again. It is possible it was simply a glitch.
CCSD DOESN'T "HAVE A CLUE" AS IT IS WHEN IT COMES TO 'WHAT TO DO'.
THEIR HR DEPT. IS A MESS. THEIR MGMT. IS A MESS. THEIR BENEFITS DEPT. IS A MESS.
AND, THEIR BOARD MEETINGS ARE A *JOKE*!
THEY THROW GOOD EMPLOYEES TO THE WIND BECAUSE THEY ARE 'TOO OLD TO WORK' AND HAVE EMPLOYEES WHO ARE TOO LAZY TO WORK JUST DRAWING A PAYCHECK.
WATCH THE BOARD MEETINGS ON THE PUBLIC TV CHANNEL.
THE NEW BOARD CHAIR CAN'T EVEN USE PROPER GRAMMAR.
REALLY...
On the upside, there are a handful of caring, excellent teachers at Kell. I am hoping that things will turn around now since I still have another child enrolled there.
secondly, it doesn't follow that taking responsibility for your own children will make the teachers any better at teaching, or the staff more likely to recognize students.
thirdly, the issue in one of the comments to which you refer is that the principal of the school does not know who most of her students are, not that some other staff member not directly responsible for the students does not know the students.
finally i don't understand why you, a parent, would blame a group that includes yourself for a problem and not take responsibility for that problem.
*Football players passing classes during football season but yet don't graduate!?
*A Certian volunteer/outside coach in the football program having way to much say in the sports programs.
*An atheletic director that needs to look in the mirror at what's the right thing to do for the student atheletes
LET'S CLEAN HOUSE AT KELL...the school needs it!
I hope this will be a memorable year for the rising
Graduating Class of 2013 ....would love to see students happy to go to school, teachers who love to teach and new traditions started this year. I think this will be a great change for all students and Kell employees.