Category Archives: Dunwoody High School

Free Speech … For Some At DeKalb Schools … Part II

Posted on October 17, 2018 by | 43 comments

Martha Dalton at WABE released a story today, How Does The First Amendment Apply To Public Schools

Dalton is reporting that Russell Brooks has a son at Chamblee Charter High School and received a call recently that his son was going to be suspended for four days for wearing a sticker calling for the firing of the principal.

The school district’s statement is

“The DeKalb County School District supports the constitutional right of its students to freedom of speech, but it also requires that such exercises do not disrupt or degrade the learning environment. When that standard is violated, the district reviews each transgression on its own merits and uses the DCSD Student Code of Conduct as its guide in taking corrective action.

“Three students at Chamblee Charter High School were found to have violated that standard and were held accountable. The violations were considered disruptions of the school environment per the DCSD Student Code of Conduct.”

The administration has since reduced the punishment to a one-day in-school suspension.


Student Code of Conduct 2018 – 2019


Stan Jester
DeKalb County
Board Of Education

I advocate for the First Amendment across the board. I’m concerned once again the freedom of students to express themselves is not being equally defended. It would seem that the school district only defends speech they agree with and calls all other speech disruptive.

Recall Protesting Cheerleaders at DHS. The school district sanctioned a Black Lives Matter rally at Dunwoody High School where the students held signs and yelled “Hey Hey – Ho Ho – Racist white people have got to go!”

At Cedar Grove High School the girls softball team took a knee before their playoff game.

[Updated 10/17] As noted by the Pravda commentor, “Let us not forget the 2nd amendment walkout/rally thing that happened. That certainly wasn’t quiet. It was definitely disruptive. Students were not punished for walking out of class in mass.”

However, my son can’t wear a Fake News Network shirt and Russell Brooks’ son can wear a sticker calling for the principal to be fired. There seems to be a double standard here.

What are your thoughts?

Related Articles

Protesting Cheerleaders at DHS – The Whole Story
December 17, 2017 – A black cheerleader was auto cropped out of a cheerleader squad picture when the photo was auto formatted for printing by an online system. Some students sprung into action blaming the cheerleader squad for an intentional action demonstrating racial bias. A protest for this non-event is planned for tomorrow morning and sanctioned by the school district.

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DeKalb Schools – Free Speech….For Some?
November 10, 2017 – DeKalb Schools might have a consistency problem with the First Amendment.
We received a phone call from the principal of the middle school this morning informing us that Jaxon was not allowed to wear an FNN-Fake News Network shirt.
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DeKalb Schools
Students Kneel During National Anthem
October 13, 2017 – The girls at Cedar Grove High School in DeKalb County took a knee before their playoff game. “Basically right now, the flag doesn’t’ mean what it’s supposed to, to me.” a student said.
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Posted in Chamblee High School, Dunwoody High School, Freedom of Speech

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Adequate Space Requirements For Mega High Schools

Posted on February 2, 2018 by | 35 comments

DeKalb Schools has traditionally built relatively small neighborhood schools. The district has been using these specifications for minimum space requirements when building new schools:

DeKalb Schools is adding seats in North DeKalb and is entering the era of Mega Schools. The new Brookhaven Cross Keys high school will have a capacity of 2,500 students. Surely a school with more students will need more common spaces – larger/additional gym; significantly more cafeteria space; larger/additional locker room; expanded hallways; larger/additional band room, choir room, etc …
Last December I asked the administration about the minimum space requirements for a school with a 2,500 student capacity. Chief Operating Officer, Joshua Williams, shares his thoughts

Joshua Williams

Joshua Williams
DeKalb Schools Chief Operating Officer
Date: 12/8/2018

The District’s targeted space requirements are provided in the High School Education Specifications and are for a new replacement high school with a 1,600-seat student capacity. These targeted space requirements are based upon the recently built Chamblee Charter High School which opened in 2014 with a 1600-seat student capacity. The Georgia Department of Education’s Guideline for Square Footage Requirements for Educational Facilities was used as a starting point to develop the High School Education Specifications and was enhanced based upon the District’s programming needs for curriculum and instruction.
This High School Education Specifications document will be updated to reflect the needs identified for the new larger Cross Keys High School (2,500 – seat student capacity) slated to be constructed under the District’s E-SPLOST V program. At such time, the District’s new targeted square footage requirements for the Cafeteria and Physical Education spaces will be established for any new replacement high school with a 2,500 – seat student capacity.

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Fulton County Schools Districtwide Educational Space Standards
“[DeKalb Schools] High School Education Specifications document will be updated to reflect the needs identified for the new larger [high schools]” –Josh Williams
Thanks Josh. In the mean time, let’s check out what the Fulton County School District (FCSD) does for their mega schools. FCSD has half a dozen schools with 2000+ students.
In 2015, Fulton County Schools engaged a nationally recognized educational facility planning firm to develop a Facility Master Plan.
Fulton County Schools Districtwide Educational Space Standards
Recommended Spaces for a high school with an 1,850 FTE capacity:
Page 24 – Music: Orchestra, Music Technology, Band, Chorus, Marching Band: High school band room needs to hold up to 200 students plus many large instruments.
Page 26 – Athletics – Participation in athletic activities have shown to have numerous positive impacts on student achievement, discipline, attendance, and overall productivity of the students. In order to support these athletic endeavors, the District must provide a variety of facilities.
Page 48 – Physical Education Spaces In addition to the standard gymnasium with raised track and 2,000 seat bleachers, a high school with a capacity of 1,850 will also need an auxiliary gymnasium with 375 seat bleachers.

MY CONCERNS
DeKalb Schools plans on constructing a 750-seat, 38-classroom, two-story addition to Lakeside High School extending the current footprint and bringing the new capacity to 2,500 seats. Chamblee Charter High School will be getting 600 seats bringing capacity 2,410 and adding 600 seats to Dunwoody High School bringing capacity there to 2,100.
None of the spaces recommended by the Fulton Schools Educational Space Standards are budgeted with these expansions.

RELATED ARTICLES

Lakeside HS Council
Not A Fan of the Building Additions
January 24, 2018 – To balance out the racial diversity and socio-economics of the student populations attending Lakeside HS as well as evenly distribute the students from the lengthy Buford Hwy Corridor, the E-SPLOST V Project List includes a 750-seat, 38-classroom, two-story addition to Lakeside High School (LHS).

DeKalb Commissioners Not A Fan of the
E-SPLOST High School Building Additions
February 15, 2017 – DeKalb County Commissioners are unanimously asking the DeKalb County School District to build a new high school in Doraville and not add a bunch of classrooms to Lakeside, Dunwoody, and Chamblee Charter High Schools.

750 More Seats at Lakeside HS? Why?
January 30, 2017 – Lakeside High School is currently cramming 2,184 students into a building with a capacity of 1,756 students. Only one other school in North DeKalb scored a below average 2016 School Climate Star Rating. How will adding 750 seats to Lakeside High School improve their School Climate Star Rating and academic achievement?

Is 600 More Seats At Chamblee Charter HS A Good Idea?
January 17, 2017 – Please help me understand why adding 600 seats to Chamblee Charter High School is good for anybody in that community? I suspect that any support is driven by redistricting.

Pros and Cons of adding 600 seats to Dunwoody HS
January 7, 2017 – Moving forward, I’m trying to understand the support for the building addition at Dunwoody High School. The speculation that some Dunwoody residents would be redistricted out of DHS seems to be the only reason for any continued support of the building additions.

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Posted in Chamblee High School, Construction, Dunwoody High School, Lakeside High School

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