As a Kool-Aid-drinking Decaturite, I’m always interested in the latest and greatest variations of “smart growth” developments that pop up around Atlanta.  As such, I was interested to hear that the big daddy project of them all has a new website.   Atlanta’s Beltline Project has just launched a more user-friendly site with a lot of familiar colorful pictures, maps and mockups.

While a lot of people doubted whether such a large project would ever get out of the planning stages, numerous acquisitions by the city (ie. Bellwood Quarry) seem to be moving the project forward.  The closest the line would come to Decatur would be down along Ponce/North near the Carter Center.

Additionally, if you haven’t heard the local WABE interviews with key figures involved with the Beltline, check them out here.

Hat Tip: Creative Loafing

Adults and kids alike are invited to attend the DeKalb History Center’s Haunted Courthouse Party on Thursday, Oct. 25th from 5:30p-9:30p at the old DeKalb Courthouse on the square in Decatur.

The $30 admission for adults and $10 for kids includes dinner, a costume contest and live music from The Rainmen. Children’s activities will take place from 5:30p-7p and include Ghost Storytelling (or in other words “Ghost Stories”), Witch Storytelling (storytelling by a witch?) , a puppet show, a magician, face painting, balloon animals and goody bags.

For tickets or more information call 404-373-1088

Go DeKalb

In Decatur received an email from Decatur schools notifying the public that, as scheduled, Decatur’s Charter School Petition is now online. Click here for the 77 page document.

Much of what was said in the city’s grant application is reiterated in this document. Decatur sees charter status as a key component of the CDS Strategic Plan’s oft-repeated vision that “City Schools of Decatur will be one of the top ten community school systems in the nation”. (I would be curious to know what measurements are used to ultimately determine this)

From what I can gather, CDS believes that the flexibility that comes along with charter school status will ultimately help the school system reach more aggressively for the very high bar they set for themselves back in the 2004 Strategic Plan.

The most tangible, actionable changes that would come with adoption of charter status are found in three phases on page 25 of the petition.

Here’s phase 1:

• Develop school level award system (incentive pay) based on student growth
• Develop a new teacher appraisal system
• Implement a comprehensive professional learning plan for School Leadership teams (school based governance teams)
• Assess and refine charter governance model
• Begin a plan to replicate the Ben Franklin Academy model (competency based)
• Identify struggling students in grades 6-12 and implement intervention plans based on the Response to Intervention model
• Fully implement Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment
• Implement graduation plans for all students in grades 9-12
• Examine the feasibility of IB for All for students in grades 9-12 (here’s a Newsweek article that describes the rigorous IB for All process)

See page 25 of the petition for phases 2 and 3.

Don’t forget about the public input session next Tuesday, Oct 16th at 6:30p at the Central Office at Westchester.