by Audra Anders for The Aha! Connection
First of all, I have the WORST cold but even if I were feeling tip top, the LAST thing I want to spend my time on is studying these Austin Elementary redistricting maps, PAC letters and heated Facebook commentaries. Literally there are a zillion things I’d rather be doing, including having my big toe amputated.
But alas…the topic is very important. HOW CAN I STRESS THAT THIS IMPACTS EVERY SINGLE HOMEOWNER IN DUNWOODY. NOT JUST THOSE WITH ELEMENTARY AGED KIDS. Houses are bought, sold, and appraised based on school districts, whether you want to admit it or not.
Secondly, why can’t everyone just get along? My DHS Senior has best (yes, best) friends (male and female) from every single elementary school in the DHS district except Hightower. (We need to remedy that and find a Hightower friend in 2020.) Maybe I should grab one his friends’ Moms from each district and we could figure something out that is “fair and square” for everyone? Perhaps since we are “older” therefore we are “wiser”. Sadly it is too late for that. All of us oldies should have been paying attention. Or maybe we should have just let the kids decide? Sounds like a GREAT project for a DHS AP Human Geography class to me.
But…rather than give you my opinion about each and every map, letter and comment I’m going to ask that you review for yourself and consider putting our entire city FIRST….not your personal home value. If we think about what is fair and square for all and compromise…then we’ll be #DunwoodyStrong and can continue to watch all of our elementary schools thrive!
Here’s the link to the survey that everyone who lives in the Dunwoody High School district should take before December 11th (Wednesday). The survey allows community stakeholders to share their opinions and will be open until midnight on 12/11/19. Do not relinquish your opportunity to share your feedback as this will be the final chance for community input.
Here’s what you should review before taking the survey:
- The latest DeKalb County School System Recommendation for Redistricting Lines
- Austin Elementary School PAC Letter
- Chesnut Elementary School PAC Letter
- Dunwoody Elementary School PAC Letter
- Kingsley Elementary School PAC Letter
- Vanderlyn Elementary PAC Letter
From what I can tell, the primary goals are:
- Reducing the number of homerooms slated for portable classrooms.
- Similar distribution for each school of apartment dwelling communities and single family homes. (*Keep in mind it is apparently illegal to draw attendance lines based on type of housing.)
- Addressing future growth using accurate data for longer-term projections
- Keeping neighborhoods intact (Some are stretching the definition of “neighborhood” to include those who go to the same Swim/Tennis)
- Relief of some of the cluster’s overcrowding by transferring some Hightower Elementary School students to the new Doraville United Elementary School (across cluster but the kids have similar English as a Second Language needs)
In addition to taking the survey, many schools are encouraging that citizens write an email to the DeKalb County School Board members expressing their thoughts about the most recent plan.
DeKalb County School District Contact Information:
- Ms. Ramona Tyson, Interim District Superintendent, Ramona_tyson@dekalbschoolsga.org
- Mr. Daniel Drake, Interim Chief Operations Officer, daniel_drake@dekalbschoolsga.org
- Hans Williams, Director of Planning & E-SPLOST Programming, hans_g_williams@dekalbschoolsga.org
- Dr. Sherry Johnson, Regional Superintendent, Region I, sherry_johnson@dekalbschoolsga.org
- Dr. Michael Erwin, District 3 (Board Chair), michael_erwin@dekalbschoolsga.org
- Mr. Marshall Orson, District 2 (Vice Chair), marshall_orson@dekalbschoolsga.org
- Mr. Stan Jester, District 1, stan_jester@dekalbschoolsga.org
- Ms. Allyson Gevertz, District 4, allyson_gevertz@dekalbschoolsga.org
- Mrs. Vickie Turner, District 5, vickie_turner@dekalbschoolsga.org
- Mr. Diijon DaCosta, District 6, Diijon_Dacosta@dekalbschoolsga.org
- Dr. Joyce Morley, District 7, joyce_morley@dekalbschoolsga.org
Even though this is not fun, it is important. My concern is the proverbial “squeaky wheel” will get the grease. So, my husband and I are going to discuss this weekend, take the survey, and write letters. We love our city, and our elementary, middle, and high schools. Our goal will be to promote making the attendance lines fair and square for everyone in Dunwoody. I hope yours will be too.
