School Board Delays Vote on K-3 Rezoning, But Leans Towards Map 7A
Decatur Metro | December 11, 2013 | 9:42 am
Decaturish reports that the Decatur School Board voted last night to delay a vote on K-3 rezoning so they could make sure all were clear on the finalized map they were approving – a version of Map 7A. You can view a detailed PDF of Map 7A HERE.
At a special meeting scheduled for December 18th, the Board plans to vote on Option 7A, with a few modifications which are detailed in the Decaturish post.
Related Posts:
-
April 16, 2015 Decatur School Board to Ask for $75 Million Bond (1)
-
April 16, 2015 School Board Approves Tuition Increase for College Heights “Birth to Age 3″ Program (70)
-
April 21, 2015 City Commission and School Board To Hold Work Session Next Monday To Discuss $75M Bond (0)
I am pleased to see the following in the Decaturish report: “However, Superintendent Phyllis Edwards said rising third graders in all attendance zones will be given the option to remain at their current school at the beginning of the 2014 year. The exact parameters of how that grandfathering process will work haven’t been released, but Edwards got clear direction from the board on it. Board members want to give parents the option of allowing their students to finish their K-3 experience at the school where they started.”
Thank you, Board. That’s putting the needs of students first, rather than the need of adults to check things off of to-do lists. I’m sure it’s an extra year of logistical headaches for CSD but worth it for the students involved.
I think all of Lenox Place is disappointed in the school board at this point.
I feel bad that Lenox Place is so easy to flip. It got flipped away from its long-time school (Westchester) in 2004 and now it’s being flipped away from its long-time school again (Oakhurst). I hope the optional grandfathering of third graders helps. Plus, I hope that the reopening of Westchester as an elementary school is as successful as the reopening of Glennwood. For at least a while, it should have some of the least crowding of any school. Smart, on-the-ball teachers are often eager to transfer to a new school with uncrowded classrooms. Especially if a supportive, dynamic, good leader is chosen as principal. Plus it’s got a great marquee with a great motto: Westchester: A Community Learning for Life!
Hint re parking–rather than fight for Scott Blvd. spots, just park on one of the streets that have cute paths leading to the school. Less hassle, less traffic, peaceful walk through Hidden Cove Park.
Agreed. Most residents of Lenox Place. Rosewalk and Parkwood are disappointed in the school board. Our wishes were disregarded when Westchester closed and we have been disregarded again, despite making our case at all the public meetings.
Very true. The good news is we are about to have a new school board. Everybody who wants small attendance zones with maximum walkability needs to challenge the new board to look at the 4-5 concept. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with 4-5 from an instructional perspective, but it does increase the size of the K-3 attendance zones which means K-3 kids in Lenox Place, Rosewalk and Parkwood will be riding the bus to Westchester instead of walking to Oakhurst (and just about every kid in the city will be riding the bus to 4-5).
do you think the increased costs associated with the K-5 are worth it for some kids to have a shorter distance to walk?
I agree that walkability is important but our schools are already quite close. Not all are walkable, true, but when you look at Atlanta or Dekalb we are all located pretty close.
What is the increased cost of going back to K-5? I’m sure the administration can make some up, but you better take it with a grain of salt. It will be the same number of schools, administrators, teachers, custodians, etc. Eliminating a bunch of bus routes will SAVE money – without a doubt.
“and just about every kid in the city will be riding the bus to 4-5″
This is simply not true now, and there is no reason to believe it will change.
+1
The consternation that parents show over the poor children who have to switch schools and the relief they feel for those who get to finish up third grade in the same school is laughable to me. Children are so much more resilient than most give them credit for and they would forget there was even an issue in the first place after their third day in any new school. I started kindergarten in Wisconsin, went to a second one in Southern California, a third one when we moved from our temp apartment to our new home, and wound up in the same one I started in when we were transferred back to the midwest. I started first grade in Wisconsin and finished in Indiana, Started 3rd in Indiana and finished in West Chicago. Started 3rd in West Chicago and finished in Allentown, PA where we stayed until we moved again between 9th and 10th grade to my final school in Libertyville, IL.
Worry less, enjoy more.
Wow, my mom did the same thing in 4th grade as you did in K. She started 4th in one school and went to two others before ending up back at the original school to finish 4th grade.
This is supposed to reassure us, that students could move from school to school and end up like you?
(Just kidding–but do you think it’s responsible for your politics?)
I totally saw this one coming and posted anyway! You may have a point, and you may be right. Moving around and seeing so many different things rather than being sheltered in a singular protected bubble could very well have shaped some of my politics.
We’ve been back and forth between K-3 schools three times since 2004. Your kids will be fine.
You just don’t get it, Keith. This is (NOT) about the kids!!!
Amen – had a parent say to me that he was upset for his sons best friends would be moved to another school…this is all about the parents. Kids will be fine – having Lenox Park at Oakhurst vs. parts of Hill made no sense to me in the first place shouldn’t you go to Oakhurst elementary if you live in Oakhurst??
Greenwood Circle resident here (think Rosewalk, Lenox Place). Instead of strolling a few blocks hand-in-hand wtih my children to elemtentary school for the next six years, I will be driving them 3.2 miles per day. This equates to:
over 3,456 miles after 6 years commuting my two children to school (as opposed to walking);
that is 3,240 lbs. of carbon emissions added to downtown Decatur air;
at a cost of over $450 in gasoline;
or the CSD will bus them while footing the bill and adding to their own expenditures;
**These figures only take into account 180 school days and not additional trips for meetings and events outside of normal class hours.
Yeah, but back in 2004 you guys were having fits about having to go to Oakhurst and fought hard to keep Westchester open so you could drive the 3.2 miles, even though Oakhurst was the closest school to those neighborhoods and was walkable.
What gives?
Yes, my neighborhood has been through this before. We embraced the change like we were told and grew to love our new Oakhurst school and community. Why shouldn’t we strive to retain that?
Mr. Fixit: One reason many of us protested the sudden closing of Westchester was that we could see all the families with babies moving to Decatur and didn’t believe it made sense to close a school.
Honey, I think if you go back, you will NOT find residents of Lenox Place who were up in fits about being sent to Oakhurst. In fact, we were among the first to embrace that school and helped make it stronger. We objected to the way the board made its decision to close Westchester.
I can literally SEE Oakhurst from my front porch. My kids are almost out of school, so this won’t be an issue for me.
+1. It was the divisiveness, behind the scenes lobbying, blaming, and lack of believable data that left such a bad taste in the mouths of many in 2004. The listserv nastiness was bizarre. Some families went to Oakhurst despite being districted to Clairemont just to escape the nastiness. I’m glad that discussions on blogs like this have been infinitely more civil and reasonable this time.
And, if LP goes to Oakhurst, then someone at WP or Glennwood will have those same “problems”. System wide it is a wash.
Not necessarily.
Actually, option 7-A causes the least amount of families to lose their walkability, so it is a net gain for the city.
I’m mad b/c I am personally inconvenienced. I don’t care if my [insert other neighborhood] neighbors are inconvenienced. Is that the correct interpretation?
jwl…is this directed at me? I absolutely do not want my fellow Decaturites inconvenienced. This is not all about me. The particular map in question negatively impacts my desires for certain aspects of my childrens school experience. I am not alone in this thinking. It doesn’t mean that I wish ill effects on other neighborhoods. I am a mom thinking of my children. If I don’t, who will?
I do wish more time could be spent analyzing all options, including K-5. But maybe that will happen with the next round of rezoning; within the next five years according to the superintendent.
You should move closer to Westchester. Save time, gas, money, pollution and if Westchester turns out to be the new Oakhurst then in 6 years you can sell at a big profit and move close to 4/5.
“and if Westchester turns out to be the new Oakhurst then in 6 years you can sell at a big profit ”
You mean WHEN, not IF. And more like 2 years, not 6! And forget the Great Lakes, Garden Lane is “Westchester” now!
And then be rezoned again.
Two of the board members acknowledged Tuesday night that we will be rezoning in a few years (there’s no way we’ll make it to 5 years). Dr. Edwards said they will do everything they can to accommodate without rezoning until they get to a point that we’re at now. Once we get Westchester opened in August, will planning immediately begin for the next elementary school to open? I hope so.
Earlier this year we moved from MAK (where we would have been moved from WP to OAK), to Lenox Place (where we will now be moved to Westchester), because we needed more space for our growing family and were essentially priced out of our neighborhood (and forget buying anything in Oakhurst with more than 3 bedrooms). So my son has gone from College Heights, to WP, to Oakhurst, and next year he will be at Westchester.
I continually hear from people who don’t have to move their own kids that children are resilient and they will be fine, and that Westchester will be a great school (we agree) and that we are lucky to live in such a good school system (again, we agree, but let’s not forget that we picked CSD and pay very high taxes for this great education). Well, we have been rolling with the punches and are active school and community participants, and will continue to be engaged at our new school. We know Westchester will be great.
But 4 schools in 4 years does not provide the level of stability that I had hoped for my child. I would love to speak with a parent who is excited to change their child’s school every year. Maybe I need this kind of perspective to feel better about the educational choices my husband and I are making for our children. We have two little ones at College Heights and my youngest will not attend Kindergarten for 5 more years. I’m sure the city will look a lot different by then in terms of our schools and demographics. I truly hope that this latest rezone will bring more community dialogue about CSD education for the future. I would expect that people who were not touched by this latest go around may be in for it next time -especially when a new elementary school opens on the south side.
One final thought – I attended all of the board and community meetings regarding this issue and heard many comments from other community members about trusting the educators to make the best choices for our children and letting the process work. I respect our board, principals, and also the truly terrific teachers we’ve come to know in just a few short years. Having already been to 3 CSD schools, we’ve come to know many great families throughout Decatur (another big upside to changing schools a few times). But don’t expect that I or any other parent should just blindly accept whatever change we are handed. Not when we see what happened with APS. Not when Georgia is consistently ranked in the bottom when it comes to education on a national level. Parents should always advocate for their children, and by doing so we hope they will learn from example when it’s their turn.
There are ten years between my oldest and my youngest. Yes, the system looks very different now for my 8-year old than it did for my now 18-year old. Of course it does–that’s a given.
“Instead of strolling a few blocks hand-in-hand wtih my children to elemtentary school for the next six years, I will be driving them 3.2 miles per day”
A kid who has been in elementary school for 6 years is, what, 12 years old? He/she needs to be driven 3.2 miles as opposed to biking? You can drive them if you wish, of course, but then the decision to burn the gasoline is your and yours alone, isn’t it?
My oldest starts kindergarten next year. I have another two years behind. Six years starting in 2014. My five- and three-year-olds will not be riding a bike across town.
I don’t think letting a child bike alone to Westchester along Scott Boulevard or Clairmont in rush hour traffic is a reasonable option for most parents.
It’s ironic that an argument against keeping Westchester open was that it was on Scott Blvd. and now parents are being criticized for not wanting to walk along Scott. You can’t win.
I think Westchester will turn out to be a great place, just like it used to be, if it gets a strong principal who attracts good teachers. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t empathize with the Lenox Place families who will have a huge transition, or any other CSD families who are being redistricted in the middle of their children’s school experience. There isn’t a right and wrong reaction here. If folks feel sick about leaving a school they’ve loved, that’s normal and shows that something was going right. Feeling bonded to your elementary school community and not wanting to lose it is a good thing. Hopefully the new School Board and CSD can embrace that reality and bend over backwards to make the transition a warmer and more positive experience, not blame those going through it. Back when Westchester closed, on the first day of school when half of Westchester was now attending Clairemont, no School Board member nor CSD administrator was there to greet the new families and welcome them. Only Fred Boykin, City Commissioner, was there acknowledging the big change and being hospitable. You can’t pretend or shame away people’s feelings. You have to respect them.
I agree that sensitivity from the administration and faculty would be nice here. When we broke the news to our OAK first grader last night, he was upset because OAK has won awards for being the best elementary school, and he is really proud of his school.
Well said. Thank you.
Let’s just build 5 more K-3 schools so everyone can walk. Done.
+1
or make homeschooling mandatory.
There is more and more homeschooling in the City of Decatur. I think it’s a trend everywhere but I’m always surprised at who does it and why. It’s often because of federal/state/local rules that just don’t fit certain students, e.g. children who do dance/theater/film work, children whose families travel a lot, children with medical problems whose parents don’t feel the school’s accomodations are sufficient, children who have difficulty with transitions, e.g. children who are bright but on the autism spectrum or have significant ADHD. Many students only do it for a few years, until they are able to handle the public school structure again, so it’s not a religious or philosophical issue. And then there’s those who do it because they believe homeschooling is the best education for their children. Homeschooled children seem to be amazingly successful in college admission and careers. Wish it worked for us but that would be a no-way Jose.
Anyone who lives in City of Decatur and home schools their kids automatically fails my Common Sense/Econ 101 class.
Yet, you pay COD taxes and don’t have children! 😉 Maybe you are planning on some though…
Hey now, I didn’t claim I would pass myself!
I feel for the Lenox Place community, I really do, but just so they know…those of us in Decatur Heights had a 2-mile commute to Winnona Park for 7 years after Glennwood was converted to the 4/5, during which our family did not walk or bike our two girls–not once–because it was just too far on little legs. It was heartbreaking to lose our neighborhood school but we did it because we had to. Don’t think you’re the only ones in Decatur living through this hardship.
The best we could do was embrace WP with as much fervor as we had at Glennwood, and we had a great experience there. Our kids are fine. Instead of walking to school together, we walked everywhere else.
Plus, just so you know, Renfroe is the best school in the district so just wait…the best is yet to come.
Yes, Lenox Place will adjust, just as you did and just as LP did after the last rezoning. But, wouldn’t you have been extatic if you could have remained at Glenwood?
That’s it. I’m going to have a kid just so I can bit*h about what great school he’s forced to go to.
No kidding! I am THANKFUL we have so many GREAT school options within a very small area. Seriously if you want to walk then walk. I walked further than 1.6 miles to school. Didn’t do me any harm.
I have to say something about students adjusting. Yes, they adjust and most (not all) do fine. But that doesn’t mean that every adjustment is the best choice for them. Hard choices and adjustments have to be made when logistic and financial issues exist and redistricting must occur. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t minimize the adjustments and make sure that they are all necessary. I do not believe that was done in 2004; hopefully it has been done this time.
The *ahem* demographic balance is why the predominantly white & affluent borderlands, as we are now apparently calling them, were moved to Oakhurst in the first place (when Decatur was under a federal order to end the de facto desegregation of schools). And now they they are being pushed right back to Westchester to achieve the same demographic balance. Look at the two maps,
Just to bring some positivity to this conversation, over the course of this process we have seen the discussion go from vast swaths of people at minimum concerned and at worst outraged over the proposals to much smaller pockets of dissent. Observing this from the start and seeing how the maps have been revised through several rounds, I genuinely feel that the Board and the workgroup that advised them have worked in good faith to assuage as many concerns as possible. They’re never going to make everyone happy. We know this. It’s the nature of redistricting. But all things considered, I feel like what appears will become the final map (7A) is a pretty solid effort.
Agreed! I think the board have listened and made the best choices for Decatur as a whole. Some people will be upset but I think we are losing focus on the big picture. Our children have an amazing opportunity to be educated in a really wonderful school system. For one I am thankful and if that means a) OPTING (as it’s a choice) to drive or b)walk or c) bus then then shame on me for thinking that’s a problem. First world problem for sure!
+1
Just curious Lump- earlier on in these discussions, you had been upset that your home suddenly appeared to be redistricted out of Clairmont. I’m guessing your place landed back at Clairmont. I know you’d likely had time to process the change, and with kids not yet in school maybe it was a thought easier let go- but do you think if your house had remained out of your preferred school (Clairmont), you would still like the map as much as you do now?
My guess, if I’m remembering the posts correctly, is that Lump is districted to Westchester but doesn’t have children in school yet who have to transition. They will start at Westchester and never miss Clairemont. As long as a strong principal is chosen for Westchester, folks will love it there. My guess is that the new energy will put it quickly up there with the other K-3s in popularity. What’s hardest is the transition out of a school that one has bonded to, baked brownies for, put tiles/bricks in patio for, served on committees for, made friends with other families, etc.
We were moved back and forth between Clairemont and Westchester three times over the course of the discussions and had honestly made our peace with either result. We were more concerned about the diversity and other metrics and that’s where we were really impressed with the work in the later tweaking to keep that equitable between schools so that everyone gets the best experience.
As it happens, we did end up back at Clairemont in the final map(s), but as I said, all other things being equal, if they flipped us back to Westchester tomorrow we wouldn’t be that upset.
It may seem like a silly analogy, but school association reminds me a lot of the gender expectations when one is waiting for a baby (or babies) to arrive. Thanks to premature suppositions from a couple of ultrasound techs (and especially an early incorrect guess from our OB), we thought we were heading for one gender outcome. That changed twice before we got the definitive read, but there were several weeks between each flip flop where we had time to settle on names and build a picture of what life with those imagined kids would be like. Then you’re forced to revise that picture. I think a lot of people (and I’m in the camp that believes this is more of a problem for us adults than for the kids) imprint on a certain idea of what their kids’ school experience will be (the school itself, walking versus bus/car, etc.), and being forced to revise that, even knowing the new arrangement will be just as good or likely better, takes a little time.
Me too, and we’ve been moved back and forth three times since 2004… we didn’t complain then either. Just doesn’t feel right to complain when we are so much more fortunate than most public school families. We live in one of the top ten cities in the nation and our kids atttend what I would argue is the best school sytem in the state, with no “bad” schools to be seen. We have it pretty good over here compared to the vast majority of Georgians.
I agree with Decaturmom that our children have an amazing opportunity to be educated in a really wonderful school system. However, I think we are missing the boat if we only look at academics and don’t pay enough attention to other factors that are very important in a child’s overall education success and development. Factors such as the child looking forward to going to school because they have made good friends, enjoy the teachers and the overall school community. These are all the things my kindergartner has come to enjoy at Oakhurst this year, and I cannot imagine if I had to tell him he was going to have to change schools next year. Sure he would probably adjust in another wonderful Decatur school, but he would basically be starting all over again, and arguably lose valuable time he could be learning because he is busy adjusting. More importantly, to me personally, is the fact that he would be sad about leaving his friends and the community he has come to love at Oakhurst. Luckily my family is not a victim of the rezoning, but I feel strongly for those who are, especially those from Lenox and Rosewalk who in great numbers pleaded with the school board to let them stay at Oakhurst. At the very least the school board needs to find a way to accommodate those who want their kids to remain at the same schools they have started at to be able to stay through 3rd grade. I am not sure that my fellow Oakhurst parents would agree, but I would be willing to bring mobile classrooms back if needed to accommodate those current Oakhurst students that want to remain. I am sure my son would much prefer being in a mobile classroom, then lose his good friends from Lenox and Rosewalk to another school. To me the bottom line is what is best for the kids, and part of figuring that our is paying attention to what is important from the kids perspective not just us so called “grown-ups”
We in Lenox Place, Rosewalk and Parkwood were fortunate to have support from so many of our friends and neighbors like you in Oakhurst.
As I’m reading through these posts, I’m realizing that expectations play a big role in how people feel about redistricting. If you or your children changed elementary schools frequently and had a good experience, you have different expecations from someone who wants few school transitions for their child. If your first two children walked and rolled to your neighborhood K-5 school for 6 years each, you may have a similar expectation for your third. If your expectation of CSD is to be better than the rest of Georgia, that’s different from wanting it to the best possible school system. If you are told that student:teacher ratios will not change after redistricting, you are real disappointed when they do.
I’m thinking that CSD and the community should be real up front about the fact that we are a growing school system and therefore there will be lots of reconfigurations and redistricting. No one should send their children to school here thinking that they will remain in the same elementary school the whole time, no matter how close they live to a particular elementary school. I’m sure that CSD staff and seasoned community members assume that everyone knows this. But not so for families who move into the city or don’t have school-age children yet. They are often blind-sided, not because they are self-centered, but because they are new to the world of public school and the realities of CSD. Managing expectations may help folks prepare for transitions.
I don’t have a current dog in this fight (my pups are all past K-3) and we were zoned away from Oakhurst in all plans, but I have one word of advice for all those parents that are now worried about driving to Westchester….the bus…..at least for the ride home. The kids this age love it and it is a social time for them before/after school with their neighbors. We did not use it in the mornings because it was so early, but the afternoon bus rides home are the greatest thing ever. After years of driving as a tuition family we moved to Decatur, and the concept of my kid riding the bus home and appearing in my house or on my street corner made me feel incredibly lucky and like I was getting away with something. The drivers are super and the kids like it; it makes them feel independent.
And from my friends that lost Westchester years back, I hear it has some of the best facilities of all the schools. My son went on a field trip there in the third grade to the park and field behind it and could not understand why it was ever closed. That outdoor space trumped Clairemont’s big time, and that is important to the little guys, and that woodland park is a great resource for science/nature programs. I am confident it will be a great school again. I am a little sad for the families to lose Oakhurst on our street and L/P, but think Westchester will be an excellent option.
+1 for the bus and our bus drivers. Reminder to self to get holiday gift for bus driver. They and paraprofessionals are the saints of the school system-low pay, little credit, huge positive impact on students.
++1 for sending kids on the bus over driving them to school. When you drive them everyday you are polluting our environment that much more, every single day.
Quit censoring my posts..There is nothing bad in them……
I see a good bit of name-calling in previous posts. That isn’t allowed.