According to Decaturish, Superintendent Phyllis Edwards made a “surprise announcement” at tonight’s Board of Education meeting.

Decatur High Principal Lauri McKain will become CSD’s new Director of Secondary Education.  McKain will remain Principal of Decatur High through the end of the 2013-14 school year.

The move comes less than a year after it was announced that Oakhurst Principal Mary Mack would become CSD’s Director of Elementary Education.

More info as we have it.

Located near the conclusion of a letter to the community from Superintendent Phyllis Edwards regarding school closings last Monday and Tuesday…

The first make-up day will be March 10th, which was previously a Teacher Workday.  Now we will have school for students on that Monday.   I am aware that many of you make plans early for the February and Spring breaks.  To every extent possible, I am trying to leave those days intact. The second day will be Thursday, May 29th with the post-planning day moved to Friday, May 30th for teachers.

CSD sent out this letter from the Superintendent last night…

Dear Parents, Teachers, Neighbors and Staff,

I am looking forward to welcoming the students, teachers and staff, and families to the reopening of  Westchester Elementary next Fall 2014.  We have been planning for the reopening of Westchester for two years.  I know that Westchester Elementary will be just as warm and welcoming a community as our other K-3 Expeditionary Learning Schools.  However, there are many steps to take before this can happen.  

K-3 Rezoning Committee

Our K-3 Rezoning Committee is in the midst of some very intense and difficult work.  In order to reopen Westchester, some Decatur families will be rezoned to attend Westchester.  In keeping with our City Schools of Decatur commitment to community and parent input and our System Charter Status, we have asked members from the School Leadership Teams, staff and administrators from schools, and neighborhood community representatives to assist in this very important work.  Each of our K-3 schools and ECLC has 2-4 members on the K-3 Rezoning Committee.  Some neighborhood associations, such as the Westchester Neighborhood Association, also have a representative serving as a committee member.

There have been three committee meetings to date including a community input session which drew approximately 150 people.  Twenty-eight people spoke as the committee listened as well as two Board of Education Members, one future Board Member, two Board candidates and me.   The comments were respectful and relevant.  Comments to date, both in person and through emails, have been captured and shared with the committee and will be shared with the Board.

The committee will meet again on Monday, November 4^th at 6:00 PM, additional maps have been developed based on the comments heard.  The new “draft” maps will be posted on the website byMonday, if not sooner. It is my hope that we can come to some consensus on the most viable maps to present to the School Board at the November 12^th Board of Education meeting.

The Dequatur (is that right?) district was hopping this morning with new buses, cops, crossing guards, and students!  Schools back. from. summer.  And the news media is excited!

• Channel 2 has an interview with Dr. Edwards, discussing enrollment and the first day of school.
• The AJC has some cute photos from a 1st grade class at Winnona Park Elementary.
• And we can’t forget the new CSD bus fleet!

h/t and photo credit: CSD’s Facebook page

From a letter from Superintendent Phyllis Edwards posted on CSD’s website…

Each year, we have experienced change and challenge.  Most recently, in the last 7 years or so, the enrollment has continued to grow taking us from approximately 2300 students when I arrived to over 4000 today. Currently, our projections vs. our actual enrollment indicate that we have met 97% of our expected growth for the upcoming school year.  I have no doubt that we will meet or exceed the projection.  If you would like to see the various enrollment reports done over the last year, please go to this link.  In response to the climbing enrollment, Oakhurst Elementary has been expanded.  Oakhurst will be completed to house students by the first day of school.  The 4/5 Academy is also under construction to add additional classrooms and a multi-purpose area that can be used for an additional cafeteria space if needed.

This year, I will also work during the first part of the year to create an attendance zone for students to attend Westchester Elementary in the 2014-2015 school year.  If the Board agrees, I will also seek a Principal to be named to lead the school.  This process will include School Leadership Team members and some staff from some of the existing K-3 schools.  A solid practice and one that I have employed in the past, includes naming the Principal during the spring so that he or she may select staff and get to know parents.  In order to ensure that existing students, especially going into third grade for the 2014-2015 school year, remain at their current school, I plan to open Westchester for Kindergarten and First graders first.   The staff and I will involve SLT members and other parents who are interested in the various processes necessary.

This is an idea that’s been dropped multiple times here on DM over the last couple weeks.  Bill Banks at the AJC got an answer.  As reported in Tuesday’s County-by-County recap,

Superintendent Phyllis Edwards “admitted the former DeVry University land in east Decatur is an “excellent location,” but added it’s not a current possibility for new school construction.”

The City Schools of Decatur just forwarded this letter from Superintendent Phyllis Edwards…

Dear City of Decatur Community,

In the fall of 2012 the City Schools of Decatur Board of Education charged me with developing a Master Plan to address continued growth in student enrollment. The beginnings of planning started this past winter with principals and instructional personnel to develop program and space needs, taking into consideration requirements from the Department of Education.

The Master Plan will take many steps and there will be many modifications before the CSD Board of Education makes decisions on any specific structures. At the April 2, 2013 Board of Education meeting, the Board will choose whether to accept the work completed by the consultant to date.

We intend to present the plan in multiple sessions after spring break. It is necessary to have some form of conceptual plans and costs before seeking input from a broader group.

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