A DeKalb County School District employee removed from his post as a school principal in 2017, in a controversial decision that saw nine principals lose their jobs, is going to lead a school again.
Ethan Suber was expected to report to Shadow Rock Elementary School Thursday. He has most recently been assistant principal at Redan High School, district officials said.
Suber was one of nine principals removed from their schools in 2017 by then-Superintendent Steve Green in a move Green called at the time necessary to improve student achievement. He said the moves were based on standardized test scores and other measures of progress. It was met with outrage and disdain from those who worked for many of the principals.
"Consider where these kids come from," Ernestine Jones, then a fifth-grade social studies teacher at Panola Way Elementary School, said at the time. "They're not the kids coming from the neighborhoods that have everything. They come from single-parent homes. They're being abused, molested. They're coming to school hungry. A lot of times, their mind's not on passing this test."
Test scores from Suber's last year at Panola Way, which were released several months after his removal, showed improvement.
Green reached an agreement with the DeKalb County Board of Education to part ways in November.
Interim Superintendent Ramona Tyson said she was giving Suber another chance because of his positive track record in improving student outcomes.
“I have full confidence in Ethan Suber’s leadership ability to help our students thrive,” she said. “We’ll ensure Mr. Suber has the resources and wraparound services necessary to serve his school community and lead our students to academic success.”
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