Author Archives: Stan Jester

Redistricting – Geographic Proximity – Austin And Doraville United

According to board policy, recommendations for alterations in school attendance areas shall be primarily based on geographic proximity, school capacity; and projected enrollment.

The new 900 seat Austin Elementary School (AES) will open in January for the existing old Austin ES students. Redistricted students will attend the new Austin ES in August 2020. The old Austin ES had 688 students enrolled in Oct 2018. Conceptually, more students will be redistricted into the new Austin ES to help alleviate overcrowding in the Dunwoody cluster.

To relieve overcrowding at Cary Reynolds ES and Dresden ES, DeKalb Schools is building the new 900 seat Doraville United Elementary School located in the city of Doraville, Ga. Cary Reynolds is roughly 200 students over capacity and Dresden is roughly 250 students over capacity. Doraville United ES could also alleviate overcrowding in other surrounding elementary schools.

The Redistricting Processes will follow the District’s standard redistricting process driven by three rounds of increasingly specific community input.

Austin Elementary Public Redistricting Meetings – Dunwoody HS Auditorium (7:00 PM):
• Round 1 – Thursday, September 26, 2019
• Round 2 – Wednesday, October 23, 2019
• Round 3 – Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Doraville United Elementary Public Redistricting Meetings – Chamblee Charter HS Auditorium (7:00 PM):
• Round 1 – Wednesday, September 25, 2019
• Round 2 – Wednesday, October 16, 2019
• Round 3 – Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Distance MAP
The following map shows you how many students are in a particular area and how far they are from their currently zoned school. Click on map to enlarge.

Distance Map For DeKalb Schools

DeKalb Schools Region 1 Distance Map

Doraville United

Doraville United Elementary School


PLANNING

 DeKalb Schools Maps
 Enrollment and Capacity
 Facility Condition Assessments


RELATED POSTS

Redistricting Dunwoody Cluster Elementary Schools
August 20, 2019 – The new 900 seat Austin Elementary School (AES) will open in January for the existing old Austin ES students. Redistricted students will attend the new Austin ES in August 2020.

Austin Elementary in the Crier
May 7, 2019 – Confusion and rumors circle the destiny of the old Austin elementary school once the new Austin elementary school opens.

Old Austin Elementary School
April 16, 2019 – The New Austin Elementary School (AES) is on schedule to open January 2020. DeKalb Schools is looking at options to alleviate trailers in the Dunwoody Cluster. The administration is currently looking into using Old AES to that end.

Delay in New Austin ES Opening
Aug 24, 2018 – The DeKalb Schools Operations Division was informed last week that we are experiencing a delay in the opening of the new Austin ES. This has shifted the opening of the school from August 2019 (start of the first semester of 2019-2020 SY) to January 2020 (start of the second semester of 2019-2020 SY).


REDISTRICTING POLICY (DeKalb Schools Policy AD)
Good question Ben Greenwald. I’ll promote the response to the body of the post.

An attendance area shall be established and maintained for each school in the DeKalb County School District, with the exception of certain district-wide schools. The attendance area shall relate to the neighborhoods surrounding and in which the school is located. Students must attend the school serving the attendance area where they reside unless an exception is provided by law or Board policy.

A. Alteration of School Attendance Areas

School attendance areas may need to be altered for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, population changes, capacity or operating efficiency concerns, change in the use of a school, closure of a school, and the opening of a new school. The Board, upon recommendation of the Superintendent, may alter school attendance areas. The Superintendent’s recommendations for alterations in school attendance areas shall be based on the following primary criteria:

1. Geographic proximity;
2. Instructional capacity; and
3. Projected enrollment.

When the primary criteria indicate more than one option for action, the options shall be evaluated on basis of one or more of the following:

1. Safety and traffic patterns;
2. Previous redistricting;
3. Intact neighborhoods;
4. Special programs, i.e., programs serving special needs students that require additional classroom space;
5. Condition of facility;
6. School feeder alignment;
7. Efficient and economical operations; or
8. Other criteria, to be publicly disclosed at or prior to a final decision by the Board.

The Superintendent shall develop a process for obtaining input from the community. In the case of school closures, the Board shall follow the procedures provided in state law regarding public hearings and comment. The Board, at its discretion, may accept, modify, or reject the recommendation of the Superintendent. The Board will base its final decision on the needs of all students in the District. The Board provides the Superintendent or his or her designee with the necessary authority to enact minor attendance area alterations that are consistent with the primary and secondary criteria listed above. Minor attendance area alteration are defined as a change in attendance area that involves the attendance line displaced no more than 1/8 of a mile from the Board approved attendance line and that involves a change of enrollment (positive or negative) of five or less (currently enrolled) students. The Superintendent shall notify the Board of any attendance area alterations.

B. Students Living in Areas Where Attendance Lines Are Altered

When attendance lines are altered, all students must attend the school serving their new attendance area, except that students rising into the highest grade available in an elementary school or middle school or rising into grades 11 or 12 in a high school will have the option of either continuing in their former school with no transportation provided by the District or attending the new home school with transportation provided under Policy ED. Students who choose the Board Policy AD: School Attendance option of remaining in their former school may later transfer to their new home school. Once the student has transferred to the new home school, the student cannot transfer back to the former school.

DeKalb Schools 2020 Graduation Schedule

Congratulations High School Seniors Class of 2020. According to the DeKalb Schools 2019 – 2020 Calendar, the last day of school is May 21, 2020. Graduation ceremonies will be the last week of school.

Class of 2020

DeKalb County School District 2020 Graduation Schedule (Final Version)
Class of 2020
Georgia World Congress Center

Download 2020 Graduation Schedule

Date School Time
Monday, May 18, 2020 Cross Keys High School 9 AM
Arabia Mountain High School 1 PM
Miller Grove High School 5 PM
Chamblee High School 8 PM
Tuesday, May 19, 2020 Stephenson High School 9 AM
Clarkston High School 1 PM
Redan High School 5 PM
Dunwoody High School 8 PM
Wednesday, May 20, 2020 Martin Luther King, Jr High School 9 AM
Cedar Grove High School 1 PM
Lithonia High School 5 PM
Stone Mountain High School 8 PM
Thursday, May 21, 2020 Elizabeth Andrews High School 9 AM
McNair High School 1 PM
Columbia High School 5 PM
DeKalb School of the Arts 8 PM
Friday, May 22, 2020 Southwest DeKalb High School 9 AM
Druid Hills High School 1 PM
Tapestry Charter School 5 PM
Lakeside High School 8 PM
Saturday, May 23, 2020 Towers High School 9 AM
Tucker High School 1 PM
DeKalb Early College Academy 5 PM
Thursday, May 14, 2020 Margaret Harris Comprehensive School
Ceremony will be held at the school
8 PM