Fifth Avenue School to Be Torn Down Next Week
Decatur Metro | August 10, 2010The “Chair’s Report” for this evening’s Decatur School Board meeting notes that the old Fifth Avenue School’s demolition is scheduled to occur from Monday, August 16th thru Monday, August 23rd.
The demolition will make way for the city’s new 4/5 Academy.
And though everyone continues to refer to the new school as “Fifth Avenue”, I wonder if there has been any discussion of whether to name the new building something else. Anyone heard anything?
I suppose I could ask.
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I LOVE naming things! On the one hand, I respect the history of the Fifth Avenue school and it would be nice to keep the historic name, even if the historic building is gone. On the other hand, The Fifth Avenue 4/5 Academy is a little odd, kind of “five-heavy”.
Southwest Decatur 4/5 Academy? (to make it easy to find)
Oakview 4/5 Academy (referring to the other street that borders it)
Decatur 4/5 Academy (after all there’s only one)
Here’s my all time favorite: Westchester 4/5 Academy! Isn’t it perfect? We memorialize a great elementary school (Ms. Kuebler would be SO honored), solve the problem of “reopening Westchester”–voila, it is!, and yet don’t inconvience the administration at the building formerly known as Westchester. The latter could become the “City Schools of Decatur Administration Building”.
(Three smiley faces to show this is humor because otherwise I might upset both the crowd that wants Westchester used as a school or community building AND the opposite camp).
I was thinking more along the lines of naming it in honor of someone, as was done with Renfroe.
That’s kind of dangerous. Tastes change. From what I hear, Superintendent Carl S. Renfroe presided over de facto segregated schools and needed some lobbying to do the right thing. With the exception of Renfroe, all the rest of our schools are named after the area they are in, rght? I’d stick with that. (And I got to admit that wouldn’t work well for Renfroe–The Railroad Tracks Middle School doesn’t resonate well).
Karass, Like a cold Guinness you’re BRILLIANT!
I must admit that naming it something derivative like “Southchester” totally was on my mind when I read your post.
Thanks for the chuckle.
Let’s add as much confusion as possible with “The 4th/5th Academy between 4th and 5th Avenue”.
“The 4th/5th Academy for 9 to 11 year olds and CRCT scores >800 between 4th and 5th Avenues”
Dang. Bruce Roaden tells me it will continue to be called “5th Avenue”.
I’m still hoping that Coke steps in at the last minute and pays the full cost of construction so we can call it Coca-Cola Academy. Has a nice ring to it.
Missed opportunity to have a neat activity that might really bring folks together around the new school. The kids could vote (but The Bulldog 4/5 Academy might win), the teachers/staff could vote, the community could vote, and the Academy’s SLT could decide–this is a school-level decision, no?
And I assume Glennwood will stay Glennwood when it morphs back to an elementary school. Well, at least the Fifth Avenue name is consistent with the six other schools that will have location-based names. But The Fifth Avenue 4/5 Academy will not roll off tongues smoothly….
Coke-cademy! Hmm…that may give people the wrong impression.
Why do you have to call it the 4/5 Academy rather than just the plain old Fifth Avenue Academy?
The 4/5 is used to distinguish it from other elementary schools which are K-3. “Academy” can mean any level of school. My mother graduated from an “Academy” even though it was a public high school with a graduating class of only 36! Plus I think CSD is really into the 4/5 concept and wants to highlight it. But I agree that the shorter name is smoother, easier to remember, and takes up less space on fundraising flyers!
But no one calls the current school “Glennwood 4/5 Academy.” It’s just “Glennwood Academy.” (See CSD’s website.) So I assume the new school will be “Fifth Avenue Academy.”
Oh. Somewhere along the way, the 4/5 got dropped. I used to get corrected for just saying Glennwood. Never mind. Fifth Avenue Academy it is. Go FAA Gators!
So Gators may no longer be the best mascot. Will Glennwood hold on to them?
How about the Fifth Avenue Academy FIRECRACKERS? or FIRE ANTS? or FIGHTING COYOTES? or FLYING FALCONS?
My guess is that it will be the Fifth Avenue Bulldogs. If it’s done like it happened at the reconstituted Clairemont six years ago, they will let the kids decide on a new mascot. And bulldogs always win. I don’t know why. Get prepared for the Fifth Avenue Academy Bulldogs.
I’m relieved to hear that. I imagine many Decatur residents who are alumni of Fifth Avenue probably agree. As much fun as it is to name things, it can seem kinda silly (not to mention tone-deaf) when the object in question already has a name.
so excited to get things underway…..cue the alleluias!!
I have this urge to go buy a coke & a lottery ticket!
I’m going to be a little sad to see that cool old building go, but so happy to once again have that corner filled with the sounds of children’s laughter.
This is off-topic, but what’s the timetable for the K-3 redistricting decision? I don’t think it will affect us, but at some point relatively soon I would like to tell my kid the name of her school for next year and have confidence that I’m actually correct.
Never, ever, ever, ever count on being districted to a particular place…! Ask the old Fifth Avenue families who were told they were leaving temporarily for renovation of the school….! Life changes, your child will survive no matter what, if the allocation of teachers and principals go well. It’s gentrification that is most affected.
From the Superintendent’s June overview…
“Over the summer, we will be working with GSU to determine three plans for redistricting so that Glennwood can be brought back on line as a K-3 the year after next. It is my hope that we can take this matter up early so that parents will be aware of the school their child will be assigned to and we can determine the enrollment at Clairemont and Winnona Park for the future years.”
And from the Superintendent’s August overview…
“We are working on producing the maps to redistrict students to Glennwood (which will become a K-3 school). Our hope is to have the maps ready for review by you and the community in early fall so a decision can be reached early. “
Thanks DM! We’ll be happy wherever we end up, but I am crumbling under the relentless cross-examining from my four year old about the name of her “next school” after College Heights. I’m pretty sure it will be Oakhurst, so that’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it, for now.
This may be a stupid or unanswerable question, but how big of a re-districting is this expected to be? I was under the impression that it would mainly involve moving kids on the North side of the tracks back to Glennwood, but now y’all have me paranoid that any or all lines may be re-jiggered.
I think there will be a pretty dramatic redistricting from what I recall. No school is spared. The teachers and perhaps the principals will be moved around too.
Excellent point. Maybe DM can find out. I think it was CSD Mom who tried to get us to think about this back when the big topic of conversation was whether or not Fifth Avenue should be the 4/5 Academy vs. Westchester or a central location or some other solution.
I would assume that the parts of the current Clairemont and Winnona Park districts that used to go Glennwood prior to 2004 would do so once again, although the old lines were always a bit odd and jagged and might get cleaned up. That is logical and will probably be well accepted because it brings back a neighborhood school although it will still be an adjustment for those kids who have been part of one school community and now will need to go to another. But at least it’s a brand new school community, not some kids having to break into an established school the way it was back in 2004. I hope CSD does a better job of preparing the kids this time. Last time, there was little, if any, effort to reach out to the kids ahead of time, explain what was happening and why, and make the transition easier for them, other than the usual back to school events. It’s not too early to start now.
I don’t know if the departure of kids from Clairemont and Winnona Park will leave an imbalance that will require kids from Oakhurst to be moved about. It may be that things are fine at that point. Perhaps parts of Oakhurst north of the tracks will go back to Clairemont? I would suspect that the current line between Winnona Park and Oakhurst would remain.
The movement of teachers and staff is a biggie. Hopefully SLTs will have a big say in this since it clearly has a big impact on their individual schools. The new Glennwood Elementary needs to form an SLT now vs. later so it can have a say. I suspect that principals will not choose to be moved around like before the way most did in 2004. There has to be a lot of discussion going on about this right now in Central Office since decisions will have to be announced within 9 months. SLTs should make sure they are part of it.
karass, I am not being rude, but why do kids need a year to prepare? They are in different classes with different teachers and kids every year and they change schools in preK and fourth grade anyway… my kid’s not elementary age yet, but I am curious as to why developmentally they need more than the summer to adjust.
The question for me isn’t really the exact length of time but a thoughtful, planned, series of communications for the students so that the transition seems logical, orderly, and comfortable to them, including a site visit. Just as we prepare students to go to next level of school, whether it be to kindergarten, the 4/5 Academy, middle school, or high school. A back to school pool party is a different kind of event. For all I know, this is being planned; I just want to make sure it gets more attention than it did last time. The last reconfiguration was so chaotic, for many understandable reasons, that preparing the children was minimal, just the usual orientation and pool party without any specific attention to the big change going on. This time, there’s plenty of time to prepare a thoughtful, efficient, and smooth transition for the teachers and children who are moved. And don’t forget the families. Many of us have complicated family and work lives, some with two separated parent households, with down-to-the-wire morning routines that get kids to and from two to four schools, all with different start and ending times, sometimes involving part-time babysitters who have their own schedules, often ASC or Emory students. We need information and time to adjust too!
School changes do impact kids. They may have difficulties expressing it, but they spend a good bit of time thinking about it. At least my little kin do.
My little nieces (4th graders) went through redistricting changes that sent them to new schools after 1st & 2nd grades. Being able to settle in & call a school home made a HUGE difference in their outlooks. Before, it was just something you go & do. Having a real sense of “school” community has totally changed things. Now, they’re fully energized to do the schoolwork & the activities because they “belong.”
The bonds good teachers build with their students carry on far past the year spent together. My nieces’ school accountings so far have focused as much on last year’s teachers as their new ones. They’re confounded by losing their 3rd grade teachers to new schools. It’s a very real loss that’s on their minds quite a bit. They’d counted on them always being there- like “family.”
Decatur Heights and Glenn Estates have felt the pain of losing our neighborhood school for the last six years. We will be so glad to have Glennwood as our focal point again, bringing our neighborhood together in ways that we haven’t had in recent past. I’ll be around to help make sure Glennwood Elementary hits the ground running!
CSD Mom-
Glad that the kiddos will finally be “home” soon & that they’ll have parents like you looking out for them!
[ DM- :0) !!! ]
I’m pretty sure the upcoming redistricting process will effect all of our elementary schools to a significant degree.
Our Clairemont community will be divided into two schools. As for me, I am grateful to have been a part of Clairemont during these years when most of the families on the northern side of town were combined into one school. My future third grader could end up at Glennwood or Clairemont and our family will be happy with either. We have spent the last 5 years becoming friends with children and families who live in both of the new districts. It’s been great and things will be fine either way. Some families from Winnona will certainly be going toGlennwood. Oakhurst cannot house all of the children in their district this year. We have 16 Oakhurst district students at Clairemont and Winnona has children from the Oakhurst district as well. I can’t imagine a scenario where the Oakhurst district will not be made smaller.
As we enter the redistricting process, I hope everyone will get involved, but also be open to the changes it will produce. Some of us may not end up where we think we need to be. BUT the good news is that we have three, soon to be four, great elementary schools. Everyone will end up at a great school. And remember, children are far more adaptable than we cranky adults are. They’ll be fine.
Wonder if any of the fixtures ( lights/blackboards/etc) will be put up for sale. Some of that old stuff is way cool and would sure like to buy some. Anyone know about selling off any of such things?
Interesting. I live right next to the school so I wonder if we’ll be alerted to the demolition by any other source than the ever reliable DM. Also, ditto on the stripping of the fixtures from the old building. The windows still have stickers and pictures in them, so I’m betting there is plenty of craigslist fodder on the inside.
That’s odd. Elsewhere in one of the notes from the Superintendent, she mentioned alerting the neighborhood of the demo.
Either way, happy to have been of service!
Anyone else here attend 5th Avenue? I graduated from there in 1960. Did all seven grades. I would love to see inside the main building once more before it’s gone. I have bricks from two of the three old Decatur High buildings. Now I’ll add one more. I guess DCS are trying to tell me something!
My grandmother in law attended 5th avenue but I think she have attended in the 40s. Even though she no longer lives in Decatur, she is pretty excited about it being re-opened and her great grandchildren attending there.
Can the Academy really be finished 9 months from demolition date? Most houses can’t be built in that time frame – an entire school building … I am not so sure? Thoughts?
In my experience with the Clairemont, College Heights, and Renfroe additions, yes. Surprises me too. Evidently we are small fish in the big sea of clients when we get a home renovation. But a whole school is a lot of moola and I guess the builders focus solely on it. But usually there’s some finishing touches left undone, often the playground. Those things might take another year.