About
James and Mandi Herndon have lived in the City of Decatur since 2008. As the father of rising 3rd grader at Talley (Mackenzie) and rising Pre-K'er at College Heights (Charlotte), James and Mandi are present and active at both schools.
Serving Decatur
James has taken a leadership role on many committees and has actively proposed budget and formula changes to the School Board and Superintendent Dude. In the past two years, he has served on the following committees:
Glennwood SLT (School Leadership Team) - Chair 2018-2019 - James championed open communication, the sharing of information, and the establishment of norms to increase parental participation. He sat on Principal Interview teams for Clairemont and Glennwood, pushed for the creation of committees dealing with Communication, Diversity, and Nominations.
SLT Steering Committee - Talley Street - 2019 - By invitation, he was asked to serve on the Talley Street committee to guide the opening of the Talley St Upper Elementary School. Work included writing the new SLT by-laws, work on the vision and mission statements, and community building around the Talley neighborhood.
Member, SCLT - System Charter Leadership Team - 2019 - Since being elected, James has helped push for a re-invigoration of the SCLT [the charter required meeting of the SLTs]. Work includes calling for open communication between the schools, working to share a mission and vision document for all system SLTs, and re-writing by-laws to empower SLTs to communicate with the School Board.
Committee Member - School District Boundary Committee - 2018 - James worked on the system wide efforts to re-draw the Decatur school boundaries to incorporate the new Talley Upper Elementary School into the district wide plan.
Professional & Educational Background
James was the Director of the Barkley Forum for Debate, Deliberation, and Dialogue at Emory University for 12 years, where he taught open dialogue, community outreach, and engagement. http://barkleyforum.emory.edu/index.html
Previously James was an English teacher at Chattahoochee High School in Fulton County. He received his MA in Communication with a focus on Qualitative Studies and Education Studies from the University of Alabama while teaching Public Speaking courses. James is a graduate of Mercer University in Macon.
Serving Decatur
James has taken a leadership role on many committees and has actively proposed budget and formula changes to the School Board and Superintendent Dude. In the past two years, he has served on the following committees:
Glennwood SLT (School Leadership Team) - Chair 2018-2019 - James championed open communication, the sharing of information, and the establishment of norms to increase parental participation. He sat on Principal Interview teams for Clairemont and Glennwood, pushed for the creation of committees dealing with Communication, Diversity, and Nominations.
SLT Steering Committee - Talley Street - 2019 - By invitation, he was asked to serve on the Talley Street committee to guide the opening of the Talley St Upper Elementary School. Work included writing the new SLT by-laws, work on the vision and mission statements, and community building around the Talley neighborhood.
Member, SCLT - System Charter Leadership Team - 2019 - Since being elected, James has helped push for a re-invigoration of the SCLT [the charter required meeting of the SLTs]. Work includes calling for open communication between the schools, working to share a mission and vision document for all system SLTs, and re-writing by-laws to empower SLTs to communicate with the School Board.
Committee Member - School District Boundary Committee - 2018 - James worked on the system wide efforts to re-draw the Decatur school boundaries to incorporate the new Talley Upper Elementary School into the district wide plan.
Professional & Educational Background
James was the Director of the Barkley Forum for Debate, Deliberation, and Dialogue at Emory University for 12 years, where he taught open dialogue, community outreach, and engagement. http://barkleyforum.emory.edu/index.html
Previously James was an English teacher at Chattahoochee High School in Fulton County. He received his MA in Communication with a focus on Qualitative Studies and Education Studies from the University of Alabama while teaching Public Speaking courses. James is a graduate of Mercer University in Macon.