On Friday the Atlanta Public Schools, APS, released it's latest plans for a redistricting project that has received lots of parental and community scrutiny. From a Buckhead standpoint, there was a lot of concern with entire neighborhoods moving in and out of elementary schools, Sutton Middle School overcrowding, and the new North Atlanta High School. In a big way, Buckhead homes are bought and sold according to the school district they fall into. It's a really big deal to both homeowners and home buyers alike.
I can tell you that many parents in the Pine Hills neighborhood were able to breath a sigh of relief with the new plans which keep their neighborhood in the Sarah Smith Elementary School district, one of the top elementary schools in the city of Atlanta. The question is, will it stick and which plan will make the cut?
The first public meeting is tomorrow night, Wednesday February 1st at North Atlanta High School from 6:30-8pm.
Click here to see all of the details: http://www.atlanta.k12.ga.us/Page/413
According to an email I received today from Jackson, the PTAPresidents of the 8 schools in the Northside Cluster have requested that theyhave a few moments at the beginning of the meeting to pose school-specific questions. Along with North Atlanta Parents for Public Schools (NAPPS) and NancyMeister, our Board of Education Representative, the PTA Presidents met onSunday evening to compose the following list of concerns for our cluster, whichhave already been sent to Mr. Davis, Superintendent of APS:
1. In both options, the fullintegration of the K-12 IB curriculum is compromised at the elementary schooland middle school levels despite this being “not recommended” under theSecond Tier Priorities. Non IB schools are being moved into the cluster.Some students will not have the benefit of IB until high school under bothoptions. Why is this the case?
2. What is the justification(fiscally, attendance, etc.) for a third middle school? Capacity ofproposed middle school needs to be provided.
3. Why are students beingshifted north to highly utilized and overcrowded school districts whenunderutilized schools to the near south, east and west arenot considered? Top Tier Priorities are violated such as “Attempt toassign students to schools located closest to their homes”, “Allow K-8 studentsto walk where possible”, “The proximity of ES to MS should be maximized”.
4. In many of the elementaryschools, option A and B disrupt diversity by moving students out of theircurrent schools. (E. Rivers, Garden Hills, and Bolton) Why is thisnecessary?
5. Short range plans forschools such as Brandon, E. Rivers, and Garden Hills are not being met ineither option. Plans are indicated for expansion at Brandon and E. Rivers, yetno specifics are given (where expansion will take place K-1 or 2-5 or whatcapacities will be in new elementary school) What will these schools do in themeantime before a new elementary school can be opened?
6. Neighborhoods are beingsplit in plans for Bolton, E. Rivers, Smith, and Garden Hills. Students who cancurrently walk to school will now have to be bused past their current school togo to their new assigned school. School buses from different schools areshadowing each other in neighborhoods such as Pine Hills. Violates TopTier Priority “Attempt to avoid splitting neighborhoods”.
7. We need overlays whichdetail changes in each school before and after redistricting in both options.Need to understand the +/- with regard to percentage in enrollment changewithin each school and each option. Need to understand final capacities witheach school and each option and how it changes +/-. Not enough data presentedto make an informed decision on either option.
I'm looking forward to hearing how the meeting goes; I'm sure it will be high energy!
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