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20 | Education Facebook.com/TheReporterNewspapers ■ twitter.com/Reporter_News DeKalb Schools’ redistricting plan gains residents’ support BY EVELYN ANDREWS evelyn@reporternewspajjers.net Residents largely approved of the revised Brookhaven school redistricting plan presented at a recent public meeting, saying it better keeps together key neighborhoods and would success fully address overcrowding at some schools. “They listened from the last meeting,” one res ident said. “I’m really pleasantly surprised.” The Nov. 27 meeting was the final public input session for the DeKalb County School District’s redistricting process to fill the new John Robert Lewis Elementary and relieve overcrowding at Brookhaven schools. The plan presented would move 607 students to different schools. Lewis Elementary has over 500 open seats, va cancies that the school district hopes to use to curb overcrowding at nearby schools in the Cross Keys cluster. Named for the congressman and civil rights leader, the school is currently operat ing in a temporary location on North Druid Hills Road and will open in a new building on Skyland Drive in August 2019. Most redistricting changes in the staff-recom- mended plan would move students to Lewis Ele mentary, except for 62 students that would move from Briar Vista to Woodward and three from Fernbank to Montclair. Moving to Lewis Elemen tary would be 22 students from Ashford Park, 93 from Montclair, 210 from Fernbank and 195 from Woodward. The school district has held two prior meet ings, gathering input and presenting two options residents generally liked. But some questioned the methodology behind some choices and expressed concern about longer travel dis tances and splitting up neighborhoods. The single staff-recommended plan came out of that feedback and was presented at the final public meeting. The superintendent will now adjust the plan based on further in put and submit it to the school board for approval, scheduled for February 2019. The public can still provide input through an online survey and at future school board meetings. The redistricting changes would go into effect when the school year begins and Lewis Elementary opens in the fall of 2019. The main points of the plan were presented by Hans Williams, the district’s director of planning, before the residents split off into breakout sessions to provide feedback, which was generally positive. The plan would completely relieve Montclair and Woodward overcrowding, and part ly alleviate Ashford Park Elementary. Dresden Elementary is not addressed in this plan. “I think they achieved the number one goal, which is addressing the overcrowding,” one resident said in a breakout session. Residents were supportive of the revised plan keeping more neighborhoods together. Chunks of neighborhoods that would move seem to be more unified instead of pieced to gether, residents said. “One of the previous options carved out a portion of the neighborhood. I appreciate that this plan is keeping Ashford Park together,” another said. The changes would allow the district to remove 17 “portable classrooms,” or trailers, which one resident said is a “huge pro.” Others said the district seems to have worked out a better way to address traffic patterns. “It seems to be more efficient with how far peo ple have to travel up and down Clairmont Road and Buford Highway,” a resident said. “It seems to minimize that as much as possible.” Under this plan, Lewis Elementary would be at 94 percent capacity, which one resident said may mean the redistricting “doesn’t go far enough.” Dan Drake, the district’s interim chief operating officer, said that the district needs that buffer to ensure it doesn’t go over capacity and need porta ble classrooms. Nearby middle and high schools are also mildly affected. Eight students would move from Cham- blee Middle to Sequoyah Middle. Fourteen would move from Chamblee High to Cross Keys High. These moves would keep each student moving from elementary to high school in the set feeder patterns, Drake said. These changes would slightly increase the utilization of Sequoyah Middle and Cross Keys High, which are both over capacity. However, new schools are in the pipeline to address their over crowding. Students who would move and are rising into the final grade at each school would be able to stay with no transportation provided, the district said. Since the middle school and high school changes would increase the overcrowding, one resident said that keeping every student on the exact feeder pattern may not be nec essary and the district should take a second look at that practice. He said the district should be better at communicating how new schools would allevi ate that problem. New schools in the pipeline include a new Cross Keys High and convert ing the current high school to a middle school. Nothing is in the pipeline for Ashford Park Elementary, which would still be over ca pacity by more than 100 students, but Drake said it is likely to become part of the Cross Keys cluster once the new middle and high schools open. The school is currently part of the Chamblee cluster. Addressing overcrowding at Dresden Elementary, which is also part of the Cross Keys cluster, will come in 2019, ahead of the opening of Cross Keys North Elementary, a work ing name. For more information, visit dekalbschools.org/redistricting. ► Education Briefs Ashford Park ES to John Lewis ES: 22 Students Dresden ES to John Lewis ES: 0 Students Montclair ES to John Lewis ES: 93 Students Fernbank ES to John Lewis ES: 210 Students E - Woodward ES to John Lewis ES: 195 Students F - Briar Vista ES to Woodward ES: 62 Students G - Fernbank ES to Montclair ES: 3 Students DEKALB COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT A map shows the DeKalb County School District’s redistricting plan. Marist School Marist Evening Series Captivating courses taught by Marist School faculty and staff. Classes in religion and spirituality; art history; ceramics; photography; college planning; history and culture; poetry; self-discovery: and more. Mondays: Jan 14. Jan 28. & Feb 4. 2019 Learn more at marist.com/eveningseries Register Today Classes Filling Quickly! ‘BLACK PANTHER’ ARTIST VISITS SANDY SPRINGS SCHOOL An artist who did illustrations for major works such as a spin-off comic for Mar vel’s “Black Panther” series visited Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in Sandy Springs to mentor students. During a three-day visit in December, Afua Richardson, who has done illustrations for other Marvel comics and for U.S. Rep. John Lewis’ upcoming graphic novel, provid ed advice to middle school art students on their graphic novel projects, a school press T’plp'DQp oniH ST. MARTIN’S HEAD RECOGNIZED FOR INCREASING DIVERSITY St. Martin’s Episcopal School’s Head of School Dr. Luis Ottley was recognized by the diocese for increasing diversity at the school. Ottley was awarded the Bishop’s Cross at the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta’s annual council meeting in November for his work advancing the diocesan mission to “draw the circle wider,” according to a press release from the Brookhaven school. In his two years at the school, Ottley has hired a director of diversity and inclusion and more people of color as faculty and staff, enhanced the multicultural education committee, diversified the board and increased the diversity of the student body, the re lease said.