Approved Cross Keys Redistricting Plan

It’s official.  Roughly 1700 students, mostly in elementary school, will find themselves redistricted into a new school this Fall 2016.  Last night the board approved the following Cross Keys Redistricting Plan (which is slightly different than the plan released in February). This will result in a net reduction of approximately 30 portable classrooms in the Cross Keys Cluster.
Even though all the affected students originate from Title I schools, Superintendent Green asserted they will not see a loss in services.  Dr. Norman Sauce, Principal at Chamblee Charter High School, addressed the board saying that Chamblee Charter High School welcomes the new Cross Keys students to their school and is happy to be part of the solution.  Marshall Orson, District 2 board representative, expressed the same sentiment for Fernbank and Briar Vista elementary schools.
New School Attendance Zones
.pdf link icon  Elementary School Attendance Map (dated 03.07.2016)
.pdf link icon  Middle School Attendance Area Map (dated 03.07.2016)
.pdf link icon  High School Attendance Area Map (dated 03.07.2016)
Related Posts
02/14/2016 – Cross Keys Over Crowding – The Plan
01/16/2016 – Redistricting the Cross Keys Cluster
  Public Meetings on Redistricting Options 
Elementary School Moves For Fall 2016

  • Redistricting 61 Woodward ES students to Briar Vista ES
  • Redistricting 269 Montclair ES students to Fernbank ES
  • Redistricting 394 Montclair ES students to new Former ISC school (new K-5 school)
  • Redistricting 444 Dresden students to Montclair ES
  • Redistricting 301 Cary Reynolds students to Dresden ES


High School Moves For Fall 2016

  • Redistrict approximately 232 students from Cross Keys HS to Chamblee HS

14 responses to “Approved Cross Keys Redistricting Plan

  1. How is this expected to affect the magnet program/students at Chamblee HS?

  2. This won’t affect the magnet program at all. As you probably know, CCHS has the magnet program as well as students from the attendance zone. A few lines on the attendance zone are getting pushed out to encompass a few neighborhoods currently zoned for Cross Keys.

  3. Why do I suspect that this re-shuffling of students has more to do with Title 1 funds for all schools, than meeting the needs of children and communities? Moving children from one school to another, while removing a large group from that receiving school…..etc?
    Many of the parents of these children have limited transportation access, hardship to attend parent conferences and their children may not be able to participate at their ‘neighborhood’ schools due to transportation issues. But, this has never been about kids! DCS has waisted money and time to plan and build schools. Attorney fees, PR folks and financial fraud has cost taxpayer $M.
    Kids and teachers have needs? How inconvenient!

  4. Stan, thank you for including Dr. Green’s clear statement that “resources will follow students.” Of course, that is how it should be!
    As Dr. Green may soon find out, that has not been the norm in DCSD. I look forward to his innovations in using Title 1 funds and other resources to support the Cross Keys students who will move from Title 1 schools into non-Title 1 schools.

  5. Stan Jester

    H.A.Hurley – Redistricting won’t change the Title I funding the district gets. The Title I designation and subsequent funding for a school is arbitrarily set by the district. For what it’s worth, the superintendent insists the students will receive the same services and the magnet program is staying in Chamblee.
    I am with you on the “would-a, could-a, should-a’. It’s March 8th, 2016. There are 26 classes at Dresden ES in trailers and 25 classrooms at Cary Reynolds in trailers ES. Those trailers don’t have bathrooms and are serviced by outdoor port-a-potties. Moving forward, what would you have us do?
    As a reminder of how we got here, I repost this from Nancy Jester: The 10-Year Facility Master Plan “did not consider capacity and projected growth when SPLOST IV projects were identified,” she said. “The SPLOST process is political. The data was made to fit the predetermined decisions in order to justify the building list.”
    She goes on to say,

    “The DeKalb Board of Education sent a referendum to the voters that funds building new elementary schools where we will only need 40% of the current capacity. Yet, in areas that are already at 100% and projected to need much more, DeKalb is adding very little capacity. Many communities are looking at having trailers in perpetuity. Even if some of the capacity needs were addressed in the next SPLOST, effectively a generation of children will have gone through school in trailers.
    When SPLOST IV ends, DeKalb’s taxpayers will have given the school district approximately $2 billion to build and improve schools. It is unconscionable that we have so many children in trailers throughout the district. The weight of this fact was not lost on me during the SPLOST IV process while I was on the board. This is the primary reason I voted against taking this referendum to the public.”

  6. Anonymous ~ Large groups of Title 1 students being moved to non-Title 1 schools will turn that receiving school into a Title 1 school. The funds are needed and more staff support is needed. Also, reality of all standardized testing in the US – test scores directly reflect family income.
    Now, the receiving higher scoring schools will have large numbers of low income students.
    This will impact the number of at-risk schools and GovDeal’s State Takover(Turnaround Charterizing Dekalb).
    Billionaires and politicians can’t wait to profit.
    Watch how privatizers are buzzing around the APS Carver HS cluster privatization.
    DCS may be safe for a while because DC has too many problems and billionaires may not swoop down quite yet.

  7. Dear H. A. Hurley,
    I wish your statement was true, but it hinges on the definition of “large.” As I understand it, DCSD provides Title 1 funds on a school-wide basis only at schools that have a certain level of free or reduced lunch students. It is my understanding that DCSD set the threshold for being named a Title 1 school at 70% or more free or reduced lunch students. (Stan, please correct this if it’s wrong.)
    If a school has a substantial free or reduced lunch population, but doesn’t meet that 70% level, then those students just don’t get services. The schools and the students just “deal with it.”
    Even if all 232 students redistricted to Chamblee Charter High School and if all 269 students being redistricted to Fernbank Elementary School qualify for free or reduced lunch, this influx would not push those schools over the District threshold for receiving Title 1 funds.
    Therefore, the redistricted students and their families will no longer get the Title 1 services that they received in the Cross Keys cluster, UNLESS Dr. Green makes good on his statement that “students will receive the same services” and changes the Title 1 program or provides services in some other manner.
    I feel sure Dr. Green can do this if he wishes. Let’s wait and see. For the sake of the redistricted students, I hope they don’t lose out on services.

  8. This ES redistricting is unbelievably complex. The other option they were discussing would have had Briar Vista moving to Fernbank. Much more straightforward. Why was that rejected ??

  9. RK, 2 of the 3 original options had 364 Briar Vista ES students going to Fernbank. In addition to the numerous emails and speakers that addressed the board at public comment, I talked to Marshall Orson and Ms. Neill, the principal. Also, one of the emails I received from the Briar Vista community said to call with any questions … so I did. Briar Vista ES has traditionally struggled academically. They have made some changes and their trajectory is starting to change.
    The plan released in February and the approved plan doesn’t split up this transitional Briar Vista community.

  10. Please say more about which way the public comments leaned and what Mr. Orson and Ms. Neill asked for. I’m guessing she wanted the status quo so that she can continue doing what she is doing, and that she was influential on that. Seems to me that she is doing a great job turning the school around, but she could continue that with new students as well — and the final plan creates a jaw-droppingly crazy attendance / bus pattern — so I would really like to hear more about how we got here and are justifying this decision. Thank you.

  11. Please note that I speak for myself and not the board or the administration. –Stan
    How we got here
    I refer to Nancy’s comment above regarding SPLOST IV, “[We are] building new elementary schools where we will only need 40% of the current capacity. Yet, in areas that are already at 100% and projected to need much more, DeKalb is adding very little capacity.”
    The final plan – crazy attendance / bus pattern
    There are 25 classes in trailers at Cary Reynolds ES and 26 classes in trailers at Dresden ES. Please note these are not modulars with hallways and bathrooms. These 8,9,10 year old children must go to the port-a-potty outside when it’s raining/freezing/etc…
    The administration provided options for some of their ideas while at the same time listening to input and collecting the community’s ideas. One of the ideas was to do nothing until we can add capacity with SPLOST V. At the 3/7 Cross Keys Redistricting presentation to the board, Mr. Joshua Williams talked about that idea and why they didn’t go with it. I’ll transcribe that meeting if I can find the time.
    So, moving forward, what else can we do?
    Briar Vista
    I see Briar Vista as the community, students and school house employees. There was overwhelming communication from Briar Vista and Fernbank to keep the Briar Vista community together. This is ultimately a temporary change.

  12. Stan,
    is there any move towards replacing some of the trailers in the Cross Keys cluster with modulars that have bathrooms, rather than making those students continue to use porta-potties? If not, how would citizens go about asking the District to do this? I am disappointed that the District didn’t take the initiative.
    Thanks.

  13. Last week the board approved $2.5M in SPLOST funds for Modular Classroom Building Purchase which includes 20 single wide modular classroom buildings and eight (8) modular quad units with restrooms. However, space is an issue. A 4 classroom modular takes up a lot more space than 4 trailers. Many of the Cross Keys schools are pressed for space and currently can’t accommodate the students with modulars. Hopefully the redistricting will provide some relief there.

  14. Thanks, Stan. I still don’t fully understand this purchase of modulars but hopefully it will provide significant relief for Cross Keys cluster schools. I hope someone monitors to see what actually changes between now and the start of the 2016-17 school year.