The City Schools of Decatur is reaching out to the community in a couple of different ways for feedback on their Superintendent search.  From the CSD website…

The Superintendent Search SurveyPlease share your thoughts by responding to survey linked below. The survey will be open until June 3, 2015.
To access the survey: www.ecrasurvey.com/Decatur

As you respond, please remember that all characteristics listed are desirable, but we are interested in knowing your perceptions about which characteristics are “most important” for City Schools of Decatur.

Superintendent Search Community Forums

The consultant firm, Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, will facilitate four community forums to seek input on the most desirable characteristics and skills that our new superintendent should possess.

 

The community forums will be held in the Board of Education Room at the Central Office at the Beacon Municipal Center located at 125 Electric Avenue on the following days:

 

• Monday, June 1, 2015 at 6:30 PM
• Tuesday, June 2, 2015 at 6:30 PM
• Wednesday, June 3, 2015 at 6:30 PM
• Wednesday, August 5, 2015 at 6:30 PM

 

The Board members, along with Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, appreciate your willingness to participate in this very important process and look forward to learning your perspective.

 

Thank you for taking the time to share your perceptions with the Board.

Decaturish is reporting that Renfroe Middle School Principal Derrick Thomas sent a note to parents this morning announcing he’s taken a principal job in the Henry County school system.  Here’s the letter as it was posted on Decaturish…

May 12, 2015

Dear Renfroe Middle School Families and Friends,

I was offered a Principal position in the Henry County Public Schools District and have decided to accept it. This decision was an emotional one for me as I have come to know Renfroe and the Decatur Community as my family.

Everyday for the past seven years, I have had the privilege to work with the finest students any Principal could ask for. I am truly blessed for my experiences at Renfroe Middle School, the best middle school in the state of Georgia!  I want to thank each and every one of you for your continuous support and entrusting me with your children. I have formed many relationships with families and community members and I will cherish the many memories I have made during my tenure. Renfroe will always hold a special place in my heart.

Let me assure you that I will continue to serve as your Principal throughout the remainder of our school year. Our Superintendent, Dr. Edwards, will be working with the Renfroe School Leadership Team to find a new Principal who will lead Renfroe Middle School.

Again, I can’t say enough how grateful I am for my time at Renfroe. I will certainly miss my staff, the parents, and community members. However, more than anything I will miss my students. I have watched them grow up right before my eyes just like I’ve watched my own children and I am truly amazed at the growth my students have made over the years. They have truly impacted my life and for that, I am forever grateful.

Please accept my sincere thanks and appreciation as I embark upon this new endeavor in my career.

Sincerely,

Derrick L. Thomas

U.S. News and World Report has released its annual list of the top-performing high schools in the country.

On that list, Decatur High School is ranked 17th in the state of Georgia, #476 nationwide and received a “Gold” award from the publication.  You can view a more detailed version of Decatur’s ranking HERE.

Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology in Lawrenceville was the #1 ranked school in the state.

U.S. News uses a 3 step methodology to determine ranks.

• Step 1: The first step determined whether each school’s students were performing better than statistically expected for students in their state.
• Step 2: For schools passing this first step, the second step assessed whether their disadvantaged students – black, Hispanic and low-income – were outperforming disadvantaged students in the state.
• Step 3: Schools that made it through the first two steps became eligible to be judged nationally on the final step – college-readiness performance – using Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate test data as the benchmarks for success, depending on which program was largest at the school.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

If you frequently take Clairmont Road north of Decatur to get on I-85, you’re likely well acquainted with how quickly traffic moves along that road north of Briarcliff Road.

The Cliff Valley School has seen “multiple accidents directly in front of [their] campus” this year” along this stretch of blacktop (MAP), so the school has proposed a plan to redesign its entrance.  According to notes on the school’s website, the proposed final plan has come as a result of a traffic study, land survey, community survey, and input from the Georgia Department of Transportation.

The stated goals of the plan are as follows…

• allowing safe left turns onto and away from campus
• giving pedestrians safe access to our campus
• keeping Cliff Valley vehicles on Clairmont Road and out of surrounding neighborhoods
• providing for the safety of all Clairmont Road motorists

The master plan expands the circular parking lot onto two neighboring residential lots to the south and lines up the school’s driveway entrance with Black Fox Drive at the other side of Clairmont Road.  The plan calls for new turn lanes at that intersection, both into the school parking lot from the south and onto Black Fox Drive from the north.

Now that the plan is complete, the school’s website says it is seeking DeKalb County approval – a process they anticipate will take several months.

So, stay tuned.

Rendering courtesy of Cliff Valley School website.  Current photo of Cliff Valley School courtesy of Google Streetview.

The East Decatur Station Master Plan is much bigger than just the current East Decatur Station retail, office and brewery complex.

It’s about that whole area of Decatur, from South Columbia to Arcadia, which includes the city’s only currently zoned “Heavy Commercial” land. (That’s why in recent years all the breweries in the city (Like Blue Tarp and Three Taverns) and distilleries (Independent) keep popping up inside this area.  That’s the only place inside the city where these businesses can operate legally.)

But it looks like the long discussed changes in this area are about to take off.

You’ve already begun to hear about the redevelopment of Avondale MARTA Station.  But that’s just the beginning.

As you can see from the helpful map above (click the map to enlarge – PDF) there are new roads and planned changes to mixed-use zoning. There’s also potential new green space.

The three partners who own the current East Decatur Station and 35 acres between New Street and Sams Street are planning several mixed-use developments on the site over the next 20 years, according to the paper.

Additionally, what’s sure to get a lot of attention, is the idea that there could even be a location for an elementary school somewhere on the site  The AJC reported a couple of days ago that architect Jack Honderd, one of East Decatur Station principal partners is interested in providing space for a school.

“We’d love to have an elementary school over there,” Honderd said. “[City Schools Decatur] needs land and for us a school fits our vision as part of a complete community.”

Then yesterday, the AJC reported that Superintendent Phyllis Edwards “would definitely like meeting architect Jack Honderd, one of three principal partners in East Decatur Station which owns 35 acres from New Street to Sams Street.”

So I guess we’ll see if that goes anywhere.  For now, you can click over to The Decatur Minute and check out the full presentation from last week’s public info session about the larger project.

Decatur High School, Decatur GA (pic courtesy of Jon)

The AJC notes that the city and CSD will host a joint work session at City Hall at 6pm on Monday, April 27th…

“with the board presenting its case for putting a $75 million general obligation bond on the November ballot. The commission, however, won’t vote on the bond until May at the earliest. After the joint session, the board returns to Central Office for an executive session (not open to the public) that may end with an announcement of a search firm.”

The blurb also notes that the School Board will be interviewing “one or more search firms” during a work session on Friday morning in an “an early step in a nationwide search for replacing Superintendent Phyllis Edwards”.