MM: Decatur Parents Rally for Special Ed, Is the Streetcar Good for Commuters?, and the Most Polarizing Animal in the West

  • Decatur parents rally for exceptional education expansion [Neighborhood Newspapers]
  • The Atlanta Streetcar is good for tourists.  What about regular commuters? [Atlanta Magazine]
  • 2015 Legislative Preview [CL]
  • Supporters of proposed city of Tucker updating economic report [Decaturish]
  • La Madeleine NOT coming to Emory Point [TNT]
  • Wolflandia: The Fight Over the Most Polarizing Animal in the West [Outside]

Photo courtesy of Robert

9 thoughts on “MM: Decatur Parents Rally for Special Ed, Is the Streetcar Good for Commuters?, and the Most Polarizing Animal in the West”


  2. I find the term “exceptional education expansion” to be a bit misleading. It’s not that the program is expanding but rather that it has to keep up with growing demand as 1) our student population grows; and 2) a greater proportion of parents of exceptional students understand the requirements of federal and state law. The response does not seem to be encouraging: “Although this is a very important piece of what we do, it is one department out of six, as well as every single principal, that we must consider,” Edwards said. “We have to think about the budget in terms of the big picture of our school system.” Of course, the budget and big picture have to be considered. But it also must be considered that sufficient spending on students with special needs–whether they be developmental or gifted–prevents costly problems down the road.

    1. We withdrew from City Schools of Decatur because the system’s “Exceptional Student Services” department did such a poor job at Renfroe. The ignorance and insensitivity of several teachers and the indifference demonstrated by the administration was appalling.

    2. Sort of sounds like Edwards is taking a page out of the Pump Up the Volume principal’s handbook- drive out kids who could lower test scores…

      1. Not exactly. These kids (and I know because I have one) do not take the standardized tests you are thinking of.
        This is all about money and space. And would CoD rather use their (our?) money and space for something other than serving these children with Profound Intellectual Disability and/or Multiple Disabilities.
        Sometimes, there aren’t enough kids of similar level/need and age to group together to make a class. We are a small district, and these are very small numbers of students we are referring to. However, the parents of these children have had experiences with CoD that make them question our school district’s commitment to keeping our kids here in the community.
        Bottom line: it’s much much cheaper and easier to send these kids to DeKalb County Schools. It should only be done as a last resort- and for sound educational and not financial reasons.
        These kids are a part of our community. I wonder if anyone has ever wondered where my daughter went off to. She was the loudest child ever in the special needs classroom at Oakhurst Elementary. Now she’s in Dekalb County Schools even though we live only a few blocks from many community schools.

        1. Maybe the position that is vacant now that Ms. McCain has left could be used for 3 special ed teachers/staff? Or another school psychologist? As a community, we are only as kind and as civilized as we treat the most needy of us. There is no one more deserving of our respect and kindness than a child born with a disability. A wise school system insider once told me–there’s money, believe me, there’s money. Advocate for your child and it will help all the other children in a similar situation. If Coralwood or another DeKalb County school is the best solution for your child, it’s great that it is the cheaper option. But I would be very wary of middle school or high school programs in DeKalb County. I have heard horror stories from insiders. Those horrible incidents may be sporadic but they are unlikely to occur in CSD where teachers, parents, staff, or students would notice and speak up.

          I agree with your statement that sending our children to DeKalb County Schools should only be done as a last resort for sound educational, not financial reasons. That’s consistent with the law as I understand it. Parents may need legal assistance with this.

          Thank you for being a great Mom and for caring about the other children as well.

    1. There are some fantastic case managers at Renfroe, but a few seem lacking–hard to tell from the outside whether they are overworked, overwhelmed, less competent, inadequately supervised, inadequately supported, and/or something else.

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