EDUCATION THE CHAMPION, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17-23, 2019 • Page 10
John Lewis, DeKalb County School District officials and Brookhaven officials cut the ribbon to John Robert Lewis Elementary School. Photo provided by DeKalb County School District.
School named after civil rights leader
John Lewis encourages a student during a school ceremony. Photo by Taylor Robins.
BY TAYLOR ROBINS
Taylor@dekalbchamp.com
Congressman John Lewis was
celebrated with a ribbon-cutting
ceremony by DeKalb County School
District (DCSD) officials, community
members and students of the new
John R. Lewis Elementary School
Oct. 4.
Lewis is the U.S. Representative
for Georgia’s 5th Congressional
District, currently serving his 17th
term in the House. Lewis is also a
civil rights leader who participated
many events which eventually ended
racial segregation.
The school is the first public
school in the country to be
named after Lewis. DCSD held a
groundbreaking for the school March
2018.
Along with Lewis, DCSD
Superintendent R. Stephen Green
and Brookhaven Mayor John Ernst
were in attendance.
“[The students] will be reminded
of the sacrifices and leadership [he]
has provided,” said Green. “Each day
they will have an opportunity to meet
a high standard that [he] has set as
[he led] us through the struggles for
social justice, human rights and civil
rights not only here in Atlanta but in
Washington, D.C.”
The school located at 2630
Skyland Drive NE in Atlanta—opened
Aug. 5—the first day of the 2019-
2020 school year.
According to DCSD officials, the
SEE SCHOOL ON PAGE 11
Search for DCSD superintendent begins, community input requested
BY TAYLOR ROBINS
Taylor@dekalbchamp.com
DeKalb County School District
(DCSD) Board of Education
formally began its search for a new
superintendent Oct. 7, after current
DCSD Superintendent R. Stephen
Green announced he would not extend
his contract.
Green said the reason for his
departure is for personal, “after
thoughtful consideration with his
family.” His last day as DCSD
superintendent will be June 30, 2020.
Green became DCSD superintendent in
2015.
DCSD officials chose BWP and
Associates—a national search firm that
specializes in assisting school boards
seeking superintendents—to conduct the
search. The firm has conducted more
than 800 national searches.
“Selecting a new superintendent
is the most important task we have
as a board, and we are starting the
process by asking the community
for input,” said DCSD School Board
Chair Michael A. Erwin. “Input and
ideas from parents, students, staff, and
community and business partners will
help shape the leadership profile of
what we are looking for in our next
superintendent.”
According to DCSD officials,
“objectives for the community
engagement phase include: learning
the strengths, needs and issues of
our school district so we can better
recruit a slate of candidates to meet
our needs; being able to describe the
district’s strengths, needs and issues to
the recruited candidates; and to engage
in the process in such a way that will
build community understanding and
support for the search.”
Community members are invited
to give input through open community
forums and focus groups scheduled
for November. DCSD officials will
announce dates, times or locations for
the forums and groups soon. An online
survey will be available on the district’s
website in November also.
Information received from the
community engagement process
will be presented to the board along
with a draft profile of leadership
characteristics for the next
superintendent by BWP in December.
Applications for the superintendent
position are due Dec. 14; qualified
applicants will be presented to the
board Jan. 6 to select finalists. Finalists
will be interviewed in February. The
board could have a finalist to present to
the public in spring 2020.
