Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Meet with DeKalb School Chief Operations Officer
Patricia Pope, Chief Operation Officer for DeKalb County Schools is willing to meet with Kingsley parents to 'address concerns'. She states she is willing to meet and discuss and her goal is to 'provide access and equity'.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Why Academy?
As you may have heard, Kingsley students are not included in the new proposed fourth and fifth grade academy. My foremost concern is for my children’s education. My goal of this letter is to start a conversation to get other parents’ ideas and concerns into the open.
The information regarding the specifics of the new academy is sketchy. I spoke with Marilyn Steele, the area assistant superintendent. She said the principal has not been hired for the school yet, therefore the details about curriculum are not complete. According to the handout, the Academy will have a science lab, visual arts lab, performing arts music classroom, state of the art gymnasium and “many other exciting and NEW features”. See entire feature from DeKalb’s website: http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/files/CA04D89EEC404388BE0F6E9CE24672A5.pdf
Here are some advantages of having my children attend the academy. 1. The new building will be the state of the art.
2. Having the fourth and fifth graders together will make it conducive to teachers teaching one subject and therefore specializing in the subject.
3. The students will benefit from the ‘pre-Peachtree’ environment, i.e. changing classes, organizing their subjects.
4. The rumors say a foreign language will be offered.
5. Monies used in purchasing equipment, supplies, etc. will be concentrated for their age level; no preschool sized tables, desks, chairs or media.
6. Clubs and programs will have enough students to be more challenging and effective.
Please understand that I chose to buy a home in the Kingsley school district. I love Kingsley. I went to Kingsley. Unfortunately, here are some disadvantages of my children staying at Kingsley for fourth and fifth grade while the academy is operating less than a mile away.
1. My children will not have a foreign language, but everyone less entering PCMS will.
2. My children may be in for a shock when they get to Peachtree Middle School since the sixth graders from the academy will be accustomed to changing classes, organizing subjects and being in a larger school.
3. My children will be entering Peachtree Middle School from a small elementary environment verses those students coming from the academy having a two year camaraderie. This could be a social disadvantage, more so than some think it already is.
Economically, when I sell my house, I cannot say our home is included in the new Dunwoody Academy. It is a fact that homes in the Vanderlyn and Austin school district sell for more than our homes in the Kingsley school district. We are being isolated by being excluded in the new state of the art facility.
I called Decatur City School’s fourth and fifth grade academy earlier this week. My intent is to interview someone on the faculty to give me some insight into the advantages and disadvantages they have encountered. I will follow up with my findings. In Decatur, all elementary schools feed into the 4/5 Academy.
There is another train of thought coming from other Kingsley parents. From what I’ve heard, they want their children to stay at Kingsley throughout fifth grade. They want to keep their children together at one school and/or don’t want to be moved after 3rd grade. They want their children to have the opportunities that being a fifth grader at a small elementary school provides, or that a small school provides period. I personally feel the learning advantages at the academy will outweigh the advantages of staying in one building from PreK to fifth grade.
Another consideration of Kingsley’s exclusion from a realtor’s point of view: Fact: Kingsley home values (comparing similar homes) are lower than those in Austin and Vanderlyn. We could use our inclusion into the academy to hopefully equalize our resale value.
I am interested in finding other parents who have similar feelings. The above information is my idea and opinion. I believe many others have ideas and opinions, too. I look forward to hearing from you and gathering your thoughts. If I find parents at Kingsley are not willing to step up for this cause, I will probably move on. No hard feelings.
Please respond if you would like to be included in any email information and possible meetings/discussions.
The information regarding the specifics of the new academy is sketchy. I spoke with Marilyn Steele, the area assistant superintendent. She said the principal has not been hired for the school yet, therefore the details about curriculum are not complete. According to the handout, the Academy will have a science lab, visual arts lab, performing arts music classroom, state of the art gymnasium and “many other exciting and NEW features”. See entire feature from DeKalb’s website: http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/files/CA04D89EEC404388BE0F6E9CE24672A5.pdf
Here are some advantages of having my children attend the academy. 1. The new building will be the state of the art.
2. Having the fourth and fifth graders together will make it conducive to teachers teaching one subject and therefore specializing in the subject.
3. The students will benefit from the ‘pre-Peachtree’ environment, i.e. changing classes, organizing their subjects.
4. The rumors say a foreign language will be offered.
5. Monies used in purchasing equipment, supplies, etc. will be concentrated for their age level; no preschool sized tables, desks, chairs or media.
6. Clubs and programs will have enough students to be more challenging and effective.
Please understand that I chose to buy a home in the Kingsley school district. I love Kingsley. I went to Kingsley. Unfortunately, here are some disadvantages of my children staying at Kingsley for fourth and fifth grade while the academy is operating less than a mile away.
1. My children will not have a foreign language, but everyone less entering PCMS will.
2. My children may be in for a shock when they get to Peachtree Middle School since the sixth graders from the academy will be accustomed to changing classes, organizing subjects and being in a larger school.
3. My children will be entering Peachtree Middle School from a small elementary environment verses those students coming from the academy having a two year camaraderie. This could be a social disadvantage, more so than some think it already is.
Economically, when I sell my house, I cannot say our home is included in the new Dunwoody Academy. It is a fact that homes in the Vanderlyn and Austin school district sell for more than our homes in the Kingsley school district. We are being isolated by being excluded in the new state of the art facility.
I called Decatur City School’s fourth and fifth grade academy earlier this week. My intent is to interview someone on the faculty to give me some insight into the advantages and disadvantages they have encountered. I will follow up with my findings. In Decatur, all elementary schools feed into the 4/5 Academy.
There is another train of thought coming from other Kingsley parents. From what I’ve heard, they want their children to stay at Kingsley throughout fifth grade. They want to keep their children together at one school and/or don’t want to be moved after 3rd grade. They want their children to have the opportunities that being a fifth grader at a small elementary school provides, or that a small school provides period. I personally feel the learning advantages at the academy will outweigh the advantages of staying in one building from PreK to fifth grade.
Another consideration of Kingsley’s exclusion from a realtor’s point of view: Fact: Kingsley home values (comparing similar homes) are lower than those in Austin and Vanderlyn. We could use our inclusion into the academy to hopefully equalize our resale value.
I am interested in finding other parents who have similar feelings. The above information is my idea and opinion. I believe many others have ideas and opinions, too. I look forward to hearing from you and gathering your thoughts. If I find parents at Kingsley are not willing to step up for this cause, I will probably move on. No hard feelings.
Please respond if you would like to be included in any email information and possible meetings/discussions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)