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SECTION A: VOL. 27 NO. 7
The Official Legal Organ ofDeKalb County, GA. Serving East Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Clarkston, Decatur, Doraville, Dunwoody, Lithonia, Pine Lake, Tucker, Stonecrest and Stone Mountain.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 17-23,2017
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LIFESTYLE FEATURE STORY: Taking a bite out of Georgia Page 6B
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Student health survey
results im
BY R. SCOTT BELZER
sbelzer@dekalbchamp.com
The most recent results of a student
survey indicate a decline in alcohol and
drug use at Decatur High School (DHS)
and DeKalb County high schools.
The Georgia Student Health Survey
2.0 is an anonymous self-reported
survey conducted by the Georgia
Department of Education each year to
gauge student habits in and out of the
classroom.
The results of the survey during the
2014-2015 school year had parents
at DHS worried, as the results stated
45.2 percent of students had consumed
alcohol at least once in a 30-day period,
more than double the state average of
22.2 percent.
At the time, DeKalb County School
District (DCSD) school survey results
also showed 15.1 percent of seniors
and 12.6 percent of juniors had
consumed alcohol at least once in 30
days.
Over the course of last year, DHS
parents called at least three meetings
with community partners to discuss
the results and develop a plan. This
percentage declined to 29.5 percent
for the 2015-2016 school year and has
continued to show a decline in its most
recent results.
DCSD student results show the
same trend.
For the 2016-2017 school year,
22.5 percent of Decatur High School
students reported drinking at least once
in a 30-day period. DCSD’s numbers
also declined to approximately 5.5
percent.
Approximately 5.4 percent of DHS
students reported smoking cigarettes
in a 30-day period and even feweer
reported using other tobacco products.
Approximately 13.7 percent of students
reported using an electronic vapor
product.
At DCSD, fewer than 2 percent of
high school students reported smoking
cigarettes or using any other tobacco
product. Slightly more—less than 4
percent—reported using an electronic
vapor product.
More students reported using
marijuana or hashish over the
same period. Survey results state
approximately 16.5 percent of DHS
students had used such drugs in a 30-
day period. This is a decrease from the
2014-2015 school year, where 29.3
percent of students reported use.
At DCSD, approximately 6 percent
of students reported use of marijuana,
also a decrease from 2014-2015, when
approximately 15 percent of students
reported using.
When it came to drinking five or
more drinks in two hours, also known
as binge drinking, approximately 10.5
percent of DHS students said they had
engaged in such behavior during the
2016-2017 school year. Approximately
2 percent of DCSD students reported
engaging in such behavior.
Methamphetamine, heroin, sedative,
painkiller and prescription abuse all
reported below 5 percent at both DHS
and DeKalb County schools.
DCSD deputy superintendent and
student support director Vasanne
Tinsley said the declining percentages
represent a change in student
perceptions. She said data indicates
students are changing their decision
making, friend groups and fair-
mindedness for the better.
“The district can’t take all the credit,”
Tinsley said. “Students are feeling
more connected with their schools,
feel they’re being treated fairly and
developing mutual respect—those
things tend to move students toward
positive life decisions and activities.”
See Survey on Page 5A
Underperforming
principals retain
leadership
Reassigned principals take
new roles, possible pay cuts
BY R. SCOTT BELZER
sbelzer@dekalbchamp.com
Four of nine DeKalb County School
District (DCSD) principals reassigned
in May 2017 for “underperformance”
will retain leadership positions for the
2017-2018 school year, according to
district officials.
On July 29, DCSD’s central office
announced former Shadow Rock
Elementary principal Karen Williams
will be a new assistant principal at
Dunwoody High. Ledra Jemison,
former principal at Stoneview
Elementary, will be Stone Mountain
Middle’s new assistant principal.
Former Panola Way principal Ethan
Suberwill be Stephenson Middle’s
new assistant principal while Rodney
Mallory will remain at DeKalb
Alternative School as an assistant
principal.
In May, the four employees were
reassigned for underperforming
in five areas outlined by DCSD
superintendent R. Stephen Green.
Those reassigned includes a principal
serving for more than three years; in
a school whose College and Career
Readiness Performance Index
(CCRPI) score was less than 60 in
2016; the school’s average CCRPI
score from 2014 to 2016 is less
than its score in 2014; the school
did not outperform the “Beating the
Odds” designation; and the school
did not exit the Georgia Department
of Education’s “focus” or “primary”
designation from 2014 to 2016.
“Leadership at the school level is
See Principals on Page 5A
