Medlock neighborhood redistricted to Fernbank Elementary

The Dekalb County School District has finalized its attendance zone review and on February 4, 2019 approved the redistricting of Medlock children from Laurel Ridge Elementary to Fernbank Elementary. Attendance to Druid Hills Middle and High Schools remains unchanged. Fernbank Elementary is authorized to teach the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme and is located in the Druid Hills neighborhood.

New Fernbank Elementary attandance map (in green), approved Feb 4, 2019.
Medlock Area Neiborhood Association homes are outlined in bright pink.
Please refer to full-size map at https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/Meetings/Attachment.aspx?S=4054&AID=1013253&MID=75258). Click to enlarge

This announcement is not unexpected (multiple meetings are documented in the DCSD website, with the final approval available here). The news is still bittersweet for many. As is the case for most neighborhoods, our elementary schools have served as community engagement cores as parents partner with local teachers and administrators in the care and education of the little ones. When Medlock Elementary closed in the spring of 2011, that focus primarily turned to Laurel Ridge Elementary (and later, also to the International Community School, a DeKalb K-5 charter school that relocated to the old Medlock Elementary site). Laurel Ridge welcomed Medlock's kids and parents with open arms and, with an influx of young families moving to our neighborhood, grew by leaps and bounds in recent years.

Laurel Ridge is now beyond capacity, and, as an older school, the physical plant is in need of upgrades. Enter Fernbank Elementary, whose prior buildings (circa 1957) were replaced by a new, larger facility that opened in 2015. Since reopening at 157 Heaton Park Drive, Fernbank has also welcomed school children from the Cross Keys attendance zone while a new facility for the John R. Lewis Elementary was built. As the new John R. Lewis school opens in Fall 2019,  Cross Keys children will leave Fernbank, passing the baton to our Medlock kids (as well as others, please see the new attendance map here).

Fernbank Elementary is helping the transition as follows:

"If you are a parent who is being redistricted into Fernbank's attendance zone, we are excited your family will be joining us! We are planning some things for you:

• One evening in March, we will host an open house for parents and students alike. This date and more details will be announced soon! 

• On Saturday, May 4th, at 3pm, we will be holding a "family play date" on our playground and back field. This will be an opportunity for our existing Fernbank families to welcome, mix and mingle with our new ones before school lets out. 

• For all new families who will be joining Fernbank in the fall, we will be extending an invite (and accepting new members) to join our Fernbank Parent Facebook group once the cluster redistricting is finalized."

Additionally, campus tours are available as outlined in its Future Students page at https://www.fernbankelementary.com/future-students. Please visit Fernbank's website for information on the Pre-K lottery. Also note that Fernbank is inviting new and transfer students to participate in their summer camp. 

School redistricting may impact Medlock

A series of meetings have taken place as the DeKalb County School System (DCSS) considers redistricting options for some elementary schools in the Druid Hills cluster. Decaturish summarizes the landscape leading to that decision here.

Medlock's attendance pattern to elementary school will likely change as a result.

MANA has sent the below letter to DCSS, outlining support for an option that "maximizes elementary school seats in the cluster and keeps the Medlock area together."

Click to enlarge. 
1The Medlock Area Neighborhood Association includes residents within a boundary approximately defined as the following: North: North Druid Hills Road at Willivee Drive and North Druid Hills Road at North Hills Drive; South: North Decatur Road; East: Willivee Drive (both sides) between North Decatur Road & North Druid Hills Road; West: North Hills Drive, Pine Bluff Drive, Harrington Drive & Scott Blvd, Lawrenceville Highway, excluding Tuxworth Springs Condominium .

DCSS's website notes that there is a one remaining public information meeting on November 28, and feedback can also be delivered via survey.

Meeting 3: The third meeting presents one “Staff Recommended ” op on and gives the public one more opportunity to provide feedback. The proposed dates for the third meeting of each process are:

• John Lewis Redistricting: Tuesday, November 27 , 2018 @ Cross Keys HS, 7 PM
• Druid Hills Redistricting: Wednesday, November 28 , 2018 @ Druid Hills MS, 7 PM
• Online Survey: November 27 – December 6, 2018 (midnight)

Board Approval: After the third public meeting , Planning department staff will incorporate all public feedback into a “Superintendent‐Recommended Redistricting Plan ”.

• First Read: January 7th, 2019 Board meeting
• Board Approval: February 4th, 2019 Board meeting.

DCSD releases attendance line adjustments and proposes a modified timeline for Fernbank Elementary

Tanya Myers, MANA's education liaison, alerted us that the DeKalb County School District is considering a proposal that would accelerate the construction of the new Fernbank Elementary grounds and shift attendance lines for many young Medlock residents:

Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson presented a draft of her plan to merge some schools and expand others as part of a new five-year school construction program. ... Another proposal also provoked a strong reaction: Atkinson recommended floating $80 million in bonds — borrowing money — to expedite construction of several schools.  Read the whole article @ AJC.

Following up with a Fernbank contact and with Mr. McChesney, Tanya reports that "it looks like the new plan would have our neighborhood (most of or perhaps all) redistricted to Fernbank with the enlarged school re-opening to accept 200 additional students in fall of 2014. This proposal returns Laurel Ridge to its original (2011) attendance zone prior to the addition of Medlock students."

Tanya also clarified that "under the SPLOSTIV timelines that the board has already approved, the new, larger Fernbank Elementary will open January 2016. If the bond were approved, construction timelines would be accelerated and the new, larger school would open January 2015 (see page 53 on the above link for the comparison). It may be worth pointing out that the only difference is one of timelines; redistricting is planned to happen whether the bond is approved or not."

Dr. Atkinson's presentation is posted at the DCSS website, SPLOSTIV section. Below is the Druid Hills Cluster proposal:

Image from from http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/www/documents/splost-iv/proposed-organization-facilities-presentation-and-binder-%282012-11-12%29.pdf

The image below superimposes the attendance line adjustment on a Google map of the area, using the location of the schools (in both depictions) as anchor points. This image is presented for informational purposes only.

Overlay of proposal, showing Fernbank Elementary as marker "A" and Laurel Ridge Elementary as marker "B".
The purple area highlights Fernbank Elementary's proposed reach.

Below, the same map, with MANA highlighted in yellow. Again, noting that these depictions are not final nor validated by DCSS, it appears that some MANA neighbors who reside in parts of Hunting Valley and Willivee Drive would remain in the Laurel Ridge Elementary attendance zone.

As we know more, additional information will be posted.

ADDENDUM: Battle of the Annexations? The extended Fernbank attendance line overlaps City of Decatur's annexation goals.

Image added to highlight overlap between newly proposed attendance lines for Fernbank [purple highlight] vs. City of Decatur's annexation plan [inset]. The overlapping areas appear in blue and green in the City of Decatur map (the magenta area already attends Fernbank Elementary).