Gwinnett’s First Black Superintendent Talks Equity, The Pandemic, Controversy Over Mask Mandate
Gwinnett County’s new superintendent Calvin Watts say the school district’s mask mandate will remain in place despite parents threatening to sue and raising over $21,000 for legal fees.
Mark Lennihan / AP Photo
Georgia’s largest school district recently swore in a new superintendent.
The Gwinnett County Public Schools recently bid farewell to Alvin Wilbanks, who led the district for 25 years, and has been credited for a lot of its success. His departure was controversial; the board decided to usher in new superintendent Calvin Watts — a year before Wilbanks’ contract ended.
That decision added to existing tensions on the school board and in the community over a range of issues. Most recently, Watts led the Kent school district near Seattle. Before that, he was a Gwinnett administrator for 13 years.
Watts joined WABE’s “All Things Considered” to ask about his priorities for the district. Watts is also the first Black superintendent to lead the district — where he says for every 10 students, 8 are students of color.
Even though Watts is a somewhat familiar face, he is also facing backlash from some community members and parents who have threatened to sue the district over its face mask mandate. A GoFundMe created to stop the district from requiring face masks has raised more than $21,000 to cover legal fees. People in and out of Gwinnett County have donated.
As students head back to in-person classes across metro Atlanta, Watts’ administration is sticking to the mask mandate. Watts says that the district will not forget that we are still in the middle of a global pandemic.
“What I’ve learned as an English major, I know more about writing, and reading, and teaching reading, than I do about epidemiology,” Watts said.
“And I will always base decisions on what is grounded in science, and what is based upon the expertise of our CDC.”
Lily Oppenheimer contributed to this report.
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