SAT scores improve in DeKalb County

The AJC reports that DeKalb saw big gains in SAT scores:

"The 2014-15 mean total score was about 1332, more than 100 points higher than the 2013-14 score of 1228, the analysis found."

Across the state, mean scores improved by 5 points.

The schools with highest mean scores in the DeKalb County School District were DeKalb School of the Arts (1722), Chamblee Charter High School (1663) and Lakeside High (1580). Druid Hills High School posted a mean score of 1400 (vs. 1324 in 2014).

Nation-wide, the combined mean score was 1490. For scores on all state high schools, see the AJC SAT database at http://www.myajc.com/local-education/2015-georgia-sat-scores/

New ways to support fundraising at Laurel Ridge Elementary

Laurel Ridge Elementary has some new ways you can help support the school's educational mission - both are quick, free, easy, and allow you to turn the shopping that you're already doing into additional dollars to support local public education.

For those who are smartphone users, Shoparoo offers an easy way to scan receipts using the free Shoparoo mobile app that turns pictures of your shopping receipts into cash donations for Laurel Ridge. It doesn't matter where you shop or what you buy - every receipt adds up to funding that can help support your local elementary school.

After testing the app, it seems pretty easy and folks at the school are telling me that the dollars are already starting to add up. Receipts from stores that sell grocery items return instant cash to the school (think Publix, Target, Kroger, convenience stores, dollar stores...) and receipts from other retailers earn entries for cash prizes.

More details are available at the Shoparoo website.

Kroger Community Rewards

Another great opportunity for folks to help Laurel Ridge Elementary with fundraising that is easy and painless.  Kroger will donate a percentage of your purchase to Laurel Ridge through your Kroger Plus card!  Just create an account and choose Laurel Ridge as your community partner. Use the following link to start earning money for Laurel Ridge today!

https://www.kroger.com/account/create

1.     Select your preferred store which may be:

        2205 Lavista Rd Ne, Atlanta, GA 30329 (Toco Hills Store)

        2875 N Decatur Rd, Decatur, GA 30033 (Dekalb Industrial Store)

2.    Enter your Kroger Plus card number.

3.    Scroll to the bottom of the page to “Community Rewards and choose Laurel  Ridge as your school!

 

That’s it!  Laurel Ridge earns money every time you shop at Kroger and use your Kroger Plus Card!

We've mentioned Box Tops for Education and Coke Rewards at several of our past community meetings - these are still a great fundraiser for Laurel Ridge Elementary, so don't stop collecting! You can either bring them to a community meeting or contact Tanya Myers at medlockassoc@gmail.com for pickup.

Update(ish) on Druid Hills Charter Cluster

The conversation continues regarding the Druid Hills Charter Cluster (DHCC) petition, although it appears to have become very one-sided in recent weeks. DHCC advocates have been pushing the district and school board over the last several months to put the revised petition onto the school board agenda for another vote. And information from the DeKalb County School District's (DCSD) perspective? Cue the crickets chirping.

Representatives from both DHCC and DCSD were invited to speak at the September meeting of the Emory LaVista Parent Council meeting. David Moore, legal counsel for DHCC, presented a lengthy history of the charter petition from origination (out of concern regarding disparities in learning achievement between the five feeder elementary schools) to today (a revised petition has been sitting at the county offices since May 1, 2014; any actions taken by DCSD are largely unknown). The representative from DCSD, Dr. Frazer, kept her presentation to a strict description of the charter application timelines as they are presented on the DCSD website. During the question and answer period, it was clear that Dr. Frazer was not going to or was not allowed to answer questions on anything other than timelines in a general sense. As one might imagine, this left the audience (and DHCC representatives) feeling rather frustrated and confused. You can read more about the ELPC board's response to this here.

This past week, the Druid Hills Charter Cluster published their account of interactions with the school district from the beginning of the process. It is, of course, one side of a two-sided story - but it is a disturbing read. Since DCSD and the board aren't talking, we don't know their perspective on the petition review and (non)approval.

The next school board work session and business meeting are scheduled for Monday, September 8, and based on the agendas that were posted Friday afternoon, there will be no vote or discussion on the DHCC petition. Cue the crickets again...

How long will this continue? Anyone's guess, it seems. However, even if approved, it is hard to imagine how such a ground-breaking charter cluster could ever be successful without these two parties entering into more constructive conversations.

Druid Hills Charter Cluster meeting [Aug 27]

Ongoing dissatisfaction the DeKalb County Board of Education's management of the schools under its care is a key driver for calls for cityhood and annexation that are currently fragmenting DeKalb County.

Parents, educators and concerned neighbors have been exploring ways to improve DeKalb public schools serving our area. The Druid Hills Charter Cluster was created (visit their site here) with a goal to enhance "school autonomy, parental involvement, and student and teacher progress."  The cluster includes its namesake, Druid Hills High, as well as its feeder schools: Druid Hills Middle School, Briar Vista Elementary, Fernbank Elementary, Laurel Ridge Elementary and McLendon Elementary.

The initial charter was not approved and a revised version has been submitted. The Emory La Vista Parent Council has a sample support letter that challenges the Board of Education's rejection of the initial proposal (click here to read it). This rebuttal notes that "the State Office of Charter Schools and the DeKalb County Schools Director of the Office of Charter Schools found the DHCC petition met the Georgia Charter Schools Act criteria". The cluster would grant

"...governance of seven diverse school communities - five feeder elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school - to a non-profit board sourced from educational professionals including former Georgia Department of Education officials, former principals of DeKalb County Schools, and individuals vested in the cluster and its surrounding businesses and organizations."

The Emory La Vista Parent Council has  organized an information meeting to educate residents about how the proposal works and what is at stake.

Charter Cluster Meeting
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Sagamore Hills Elementary School
1865 Alderbrook Road, Atlanta, GA 30345
Join us at 9:15 am
(refreshments begin at 8:45 am)
http://us3.campaign-archive2.com/?u=c09842563353870ea220d16ae&id=3ac17695c8

If you are unable to attend, please consider voicing your support directly to the DeKalb Board of Education. The above petition website includes a sample letter and quick link with email addresses for all DeKalb Board of Education leaders: michael_l_thurmond@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us, melvin_johnson@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us, jim_mcmahan@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us, john_w_coleman@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us, marshall_orson@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us, michael_erwin@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us, david_campbell@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us, joyce_a_morley@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us, karen_carter@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us, thaddeus_mayfield@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us

DeKalb County: ask the CEO about greenspace dollars, annexation, cityhood and education

The AJC reports that DeKalb County's Interim CEO Lee May will host six community meetings during the month of August. The topics will cover "accomplishments and issues, including cityhood and government structure." Lee May (County Commissioner for District 5) was appointed interim CEO by Governor Deal in July 2013 when then CEO Burrell Ellis was suspended following his indictment on felony charges.

The meetings are scheduled to run from 7:00 - 8:30pm on

Aug. 7  at Derwin Brown Memorial South Precinct (2856 H F Shepherd Dr., Decatur, GA 30034),
Aug. 12 at Stonecrest Library (3123 Klondike Rd., Lithonia, GA  30038),
Aug. 14 at St. Timothy United Methodist Church (5365 Memorial Dr., Stone Mountain, GA 30083),
Aug. 19 at Tucker-Reid H. Cofer Library (5234 LaVista Rd., Tucker, GA  30084),
Aug. 21 at Welcome Friend Baptist Church (3198 Bouldercrest Rd., Ellenwood, GA 30294), and
Aug. 26 at the Maloof Auditorium (1300 Commerce Dr #5, Decatur, GA 30030).

Please attend or email the Commissioners with your thoughts and concerns. Their contact information appears at the end of this post.

Recently, CEO May released a document reviewing his first year in office as interim CEO. "A Retrospective Look Back, A Progressive Move Forward" outlines accomplishments in public safety, police and fire services, disaster response, infrastructure, sustainable communities, development, leadership and youth services.

July 2014: AJC map shows overlapping 
cityhood proposals.

Hopefully, the above meetings will offer a chance to get answers on topics not covered by this annual report such as


Cityhood:  Some folks in Druid Hills are exploring annexation to the City of Atlanta. In early July, leaders of the overlapping Lakeside and Briarcliff proposals announced a collaboration, but no updates have been issued.  Our neighborhood's fate in these deliberations remains unknown.

Schools: A Druid Hills annexation raises questions about what would happens to DeKalb County public schools located in Druid Hills neighborhoods. Meanwhile, the Druid Hills Charter School Cluster proposal (created in response to dissatisfaction with how DeKalb County schools are administered) continues to meet resistance from the DeKalb Board of Education and Superintendent.

Greenspace funds: It makes more
sense to invest in existing commitments
via Commissioner Kathie Gannon

Greenspace funds: For several months now, the Civic Association Network (CAN) and our Commisioners Rader and Gannon have actively questioned a proposal to use $5 million greenspace dollars to purchase the South DeKalb YMCA. The Board of Commissioners' agenda for August 12 includes a vote on this purchase. Please see this Decaturish.com item summarizing Commissioner Gannon's reasoning that the County is better off investing in facilities it already owns and that are in need of maintenance and development.

---

Commissioners' emails ready for cut/paste: ecboyer@dekalbcountyga.gov, jrader@dekalbcountyga.gov, larryjohnson@dekalbcountyga.gov, sbsutton@dekalbcountyga.gov, lmay@dekalbcountyga.gov, kgannon@dekalbcountyga.gov, stanwatson@dekalbcountyga.gov

Commissioner   (District)	Assistant(s)	Phone	Email
Elaine Boyer (District 1)	Bob Lundsten Courtney Townsend	404-371-2844	ecboyer@dekalbcountyga.gov
Jeff Rader (District 2)	Caroline Enloe	404-371-2863	jrader@dekalbcountyga.gov
	Debbie Schneider
Larry Johnson (District 3)	Margaret Britton	404-371-2425	larryjohnson@dekalbcountyga.gov
	Ingrid Butler
Sharon Barnes Sutton (District 4)	Judy T. Brownlee	404-371-4907	sbsutton@dekalbcountyga.gov
	Marguerita M. Lance
Lee May (District 5) Interim CEO	Latrese Young	404-371-4745	lmay@dekalbcountyga.gov
	Edmond Richardson
Kathie Gannon (Super District 6)	Corrin Wagnon	404-371-4909	kgannon@dekalbcountyga.gov
	Davis Fox
Stan Watson (Super District 7)	Kelly LaJoie	404-371-3681	stanwatson@dekalbcountyga.gov
	Tiffany Campbell

Fire Department helps collect school supplies for DeKalb elementary school kids [ends Aug 4]

Our closest fire station: 3858 North Druid Hills Rd.
near the Shamrock Plaza Publix.

Click to enlarge the Chief's letter.

Darnell D. Fullum, Director/Fire Chief of the DeKalb County Fire Rescue Department, invites us to donate school supplies to benefit DeKalb County elementary school children.

You may drop off supplies at any DeKalb County fire station. Supplies must be delivered by 5pm on Monday, August 4.

Our closest station is Fire Station 9, located at 3858 North Druid Hills Rd. For a list of other County locations, click here.

To ensure the supplies are a good match, please refer to this wish list:

1. Backpack
2. Elmer’sschoolglue
3. Gluesticks
4. Blunt safety tip scissors
5. Number 2 pencils–NOT mechanical
6. Highlighters
7. Dry erase markers
8. Washable markers
9. Coloring pencils
10. Pencil pouch with zipper
11. 24/32/48 count crayons
12. Large erasers
13. Ruler
14. Wide ruled notebook paper
15. Black and white composition books
16. Construction paper
17. Spiral notebook
18. Index cards
19. 1.5 inch binders with pockets
20. 3 prong folders with pockets
21. Hand sanitizer
22. Anti-bacterial hand soap
23. Box of Kleenex
24. Paper towels
25. Zip lock type bags – sandwich/quart/gallon

Printable list after the jump...

Schools Update

As previously noted, the DeKalb County Board of Education (BOE) has been summoned by the Georgia Department of Education to discuss SACS's recent decision to place the school system on probation. Recent Georgia law allows the DOE to make recommendations that could result in Governor Deal replacing BOE members.

As we wait for the results of the DOE meeting (scheduled for Jan 17), please visits these links that MANA education liaison Tanya Myers has gathered for us:

• Two current BOE members, who had in the past been vocal in pointing out irregularities in the Board's functioning, are currently blogging about their experiences:

Don McChesney's blog: http://blog.donfordekalb.com/
Denese Jester's blog: http://whatsupwiththat.nancyjester.com/

• Parents for DeKalb Schools has a Facebook page where you can join the discussion.

• School choice is scheduled to happen much earlier this year.  Per this flyer, open enrollment opens on January 14 and closes on February 1, 2013 (in previous years, enrollment happened in March).

Per the DeKalb School System's website (note: catalog not yet updated for academic year 2013-2014), 

Parents in DeKalb County have the opportunity to make choices regarding their children's public school education. The DeKalb County School District offers a variety of school choice programs to students currently enrolled in public schools, private schools, and home schools. Because there are several programs serving students in grades prekindergarten through twelve, a school choice programs catalog is available to assist in selecting a program that meets the needs of your child(ren). The programs are designed to address interests such as math, science, technology, performing arts, environmental studies, engineering, career explorations, world languages, and advanced studies.

School choice applications will be completed online at http://eportal.dekalb.k12.ga.us/. Parents need to create a login/password to access the website:

• The International Community School at Medlock is a public charter school that accepts new students K-5 via a lottery system; the lottery deadline is in early March. For additional information, see the ICS admissions page.

• The Hess Academy is a new private school at 611 Medlock Road. They will host a series of open houses in the near future; see their admissions page for additional information about their curriculum, tuition, etc.

Hess Academy Open House

Curious about the Hess Academy, the preK-8 school that operates on at 611 Medlock Rd. (aka North Decatur Presbyterian Church)? Hess Academy will hold several open houses as follows:

January 24, 10am – 12noon
February 7, 7 – 9pm
February 21, 10am – 12noon

"Parents and perspective students are invited to tour our facility, and meet with our Principal and staff. To learn more about the quality education Hess Academy offers visit our website or contact Diane Henderson at 678-308-6380 for more information."

GA DOE summons DeKalb Co. School Board

Per CBS news, the DeKalb County School Board has been summoned by the GA Department of Education (DOE) for a follow-up on the recent SACS report that placed the system on probation and questioned the school board's ability to function and commitment to the needs of DeKalb students:

Board members must appear before the state board at 1 p.m. on Jan. 17. 

The state board will then make a recommendation to the governor who has the final say on whether DeKalb board members will be replaced.  ...  Continue reading @  CBS Atlanta website.

Discussion on the GA Charter School Amendment [Oct 17]

Via CHCA...

Event Date and Time:  10/17/2012 - 9:15am

From the Emory Lavista Parent Council, Cosponsored with eduKalb.

Join us at 9:15 am  (refreshments begin at 8:45 am), Wednesday, October 17, 2012, at the International Community School (Formerly Medlock Elementary), 2418 Wood Trail Lane, Decatur, GA 30033.   

The Georgia Charter School Amendment: The Devil is in the Details.   

Rep. Scott Holcomb will provide an overview of what led to the amendment being proposed and then join Mark Peevy, former Executive Director of the Georgia Charter School Commission and Margaret Ciccarelli, Legislative Services Manager and Attorney, Professional Association of Georgia Educators  for a discussion of the proposed Georgia Charter School Amendment and how it will affect our schools and choices.

As you probably know, the November 6 election will include a vote on a constitutional amendment to modify how charter schools are established in Georgia. The amendment is not about voting yes or no on whether charter schools can be established, but is about control over how they are established. Voting yes would amend current law to allow the Governor and a politically appointed commission to approve new charter schools. Voting no preserves the current system, whereby local school boards,  in conjunction with the State Board of Education, make determinations over charters in their districts. This decision is being watched closely because it may set precedents for other states to follow.

This is a rather contested decision, as Governor-approved charters would compete for public funds.

A search of AJC online articles turns up a number of items on this ongoing debate. Creative Loafing,  the AJC's Get Schooled blog, and the Huffington Post all have featured this issue in recent weeks.

Pro and Con Arguments

YES: Proponents argue that the amendment will enhance school choice and preserve local control of schools (since schools are run locally). The GA Chamber of Commerce has issued a pro-amendment position statement.

NO: Detractors argue the move is dangerous because it removes power from local, elected school board officers and grants it to a non-elected independent board located elsewhere. The VoteSmart Georgia website argues against the amendment. There are also serious concerns about commercial interests influencing the decision:

• Outside money pours into Georgia for charter amendment fight [AJC, Sept. 14, 2012]
• A private electronic memo outlines charter school campaign [AJC, Sept. 15, 2012]
• Attorney says Olens 'strangely quiet' on whether amendment advocacy opinion applies to Gov. Deal [WABE/NPR, Oct. 11, 2012]

DeKalb Board of Education under scrutiny from SACS

Today's AJC reports that...

An accrediting agency wants the DeKalb County school board to answer allegations that it has mismanaged its oversight of the system and ignored key financial responsibilities. 

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools said it’s received dozens of complaints from a broad spectrum of people in DeKalb. Parents, public officials and school staffers have alleged everything from financial mismanagement to undue influence in hiring — all while the school system faces a financial crisis... Read on @ AJC

DeKalb County Schools: budget woes, Fernbank Science Center at risk

---

UPDATE: Sign petition @ http://www.change.org/petitions/dekalb-county-board-of-education-save-fernbank-science-center

---

Last Wednesday, the AJC reported that DeKalb County School System's Superintendent presented a dire picture of the system's budget to the DCSS Board of Education. One big concern is that Superintendent Atkison

"...wants to raise the tax rate by 2 mills while also increasing the student-teacher ratio by three per classroom. She and her staff revealed Wednesday that the DeKalb school district must close a $73 million gap between projected revenues and planned expenses. The gap is a result of a drop in property values in the county, plus a rise in health care and other costs, among other things." 

Following up on Friday, the AJC focused on how proposed budget cuts currently include shutting down Fernbank Science Center (FSC):

"The decades-old institution, owned and operated by the DeKalb County public school district, has offered a hands-on education to students and other visitors from across metro Atlanta and elsewhere. However, it might close, under a recommendation Thursday by the school board’s budget committee. Fernbank Science Center, which includes a planetarium, is near the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, which is operated by a separate nonprofit. 

At an annual cost of $4.7 million, the building and its 56 full-time employees now are looking like a luxury to school officials. They are struggling with a $73 million deficit, and may have to cut teachers and school days to balance the budget."

N.B. Fernbank Science Center (FSC) is operated by DCSS, and is independent from the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. See Fernbank Museum's history page for how the two are connected. Fernbank Forest had been managed by the FSC but as of June 2012 will revert to the Museum's control as their 48-year arrangement expires.

These reports have triggered spirited discussion in various blogs such as Decatur Metro and the AJC's Getting Schooled.

If you want to share your thoughts or concerns with the DCSS Superintendent or the DeKalb Board of Education, DeKalb School Watch Two (a blog that focuses primarily on DCSS issues) has one-click email links on the right margin.

Also note that the DCSS Board is scheduled for a budget meeting on Wednesday, May 30 (this link includes DCSS's meeting schedule and some meeting minutes; BOE member Nancy Jester has some of her own meeting notes available through her own blog.). DCSS meetings are broadcast on PDS-TV24.