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.
7 comments:
We came to Kingsley as a Charter student and have since moved into the district.We love Kingsley and all it has to offer as a small school. We were accepted to both Chestnut and Kingsley. If the Academy existed at that time we would have chosen Chestnut hands down because of the educational opportunity the Academy brings.I am also concerned about property value. Having just moved into the Kingsley district we looked at homes all over Dunwoody knowing we could stay at Kingsley due to our charter status and it was an eye opening experience seeing the cost of a house in Vanderlyn vs Kingsley. The Vanderlyn house was a minumum of 75k more than the same house in Kingsley. In my opinion having the Academy as an option will level the playing field with our neighbors and potentially improve our values. We will have the benefits of the small neighborhood school with the added benefit of the academy for the important transition to middle school. As a prospective homebuyer I would be looking options that would allow my child to go to the academy if Kingsley was excluded which will continue to inflate their property values and stagnate ours. Even though my child is not affected I still feel it important because my property value will be.
I am the parent of 3 Kingsley students and a Kittredge student. I have written the following letter to Dr Crawford Lewis, Superintendent, and to the Dunwoody Crier. Thanks for letting me state my opinion:
I am a parent of three Kingsley students (Grades 3, 1, and PreK), and I am in complete disagreement with Dr. Lewis' plan to create a 4th/5th Grade Academy for Dunwoody that excludes Kingsley students. We have been supportive of efforts to redistrict, and ready to welcome additional students as set forth in previous plans. The current plan to exclude our students in the new Academy discriminates against our students, and will put them at a huge academic and social disadvantage as they move onto middle school and high school.
When I first heard of the Dunwoody Academy, I was excited for my kids and the rest of the Kingsley students and the opportunities it would give them -- new buildings, Performing Arts Music Classroom, Visual Arts Lab, Science Lab, "and many other exciting and NEW features". I was excited that, based on the larger number of students (over 850 including Kingsley), all our students would be able to be taught on their level in all subject matters, whether it is a high achiever path, accelerated path, or in need of additional help. I have one child at Kittredge Magnet (grade 5), and I imagined that this new academy would allow the teachers to specialize in subject matter and truly challenge the students. With more students only in 4th and 5th grade, great educational strides can be achieved for ALL the students.
Imagine my shock and disappointment when I read further through the information from the meeting to find out that the Kingsley kids were not welcome! Surely this was a mistake! To exclude our students from this Academy is just WRONG! Kingsley is a wonderful school, and has always been a part of the Dunwoody Cluster of schools. Our students go on to middle and high school with the Austin, Vanderlyn, and Chestnut students, and do well there. Why treat them as outsiders in 4th and 5th grade, making the transition to middle school harder than it already is?
I understand that pulling the 4th and 5th graders from Kingsley would put the school under capacity (54%), and that Austin and Vanderlyn will still be over capacity by 10-15%. The last redistricting plan (dated 9/24/07) added students to Kingsley (to 91%), and Austin and Vanderlyn to around 101% capacity. That was acceptable to us -- why the change? As quoted by Dr Lewis in the April 23 Crier, and in footnote on the Forecast Enrollment page of last week's presentation, the plan "Provides maximum relief to overcrowded schools" and "Balances enrollment across the area". The 9/24/07 plan did a better job of this than the Academy plan. Dr. Lewis stated a "Smooth transition for all students" -- not so for Kingsley students when they move onto middle school under the Academy plan.
Do I want to see Kingsley closed due to reduced enrollment, as Dr Lewis stated in the Crier? No! I love Kingsley, and my kids are receiving a good, well-rounded education. But our students deserve the same advanced educational opportunities as the rest of Dunwoody. If we maintain the academic mix of students in our 4th and 5th grade classes while the Academy places students in class with their academic peers, even our best students will be behind academically compared to the Academy students.
Dr Lewis needs to find a way to include Kingsley students in the Academy, or he needs to go back to the 9/24/07 redistricting plan. The students in all of Dunwoody deserve nothing less than the best education available.
I thought it would be appropriate to let everyone know the official stance of the Kingsley Charter Council, and what actions we plan on taking regarding the proposed 4th & 5th grade academy.
The Charter Council is currently taking an official stance of "neutral" on this matter. Please keep in mind that the council is charged with governance of the charter, and acting on what is best for Kingsley school as a whole. Removing the 4th and 5th grade from Kingsley, in the absence of any redistricting, would have a dramatic impact on the remaining pre-K through grade 3 students. The likely response from the DeKalb BOE would be to move students or programs from elsewhere in the county to Kingsley (programs that may in fact be allowed to operate outside of the charter). This could have a significant impact on the programs available to our younger students (K-3) that are funded or supported by the council. Although it would be great to have our 4th & 5th graders included in the new school, we must also consider the consequences such a move would have on our children prior to reaching this age.
I want to make one thing very clear - a position of neutral on this matter does not mean the council has any plans of idly sitting back and accepting whatever the county sees fit to throw our way!
The charter council will be very proactive throughout this entire process to ensure that our students are not left behind. We intend to form a “4th & 5th Grade Task Force” composed of concerned parents, teachers and community members. The task force will be charged with researching information on the new academy, and making informed recommendations to the council regarding the potential impact on Kingsley and its students. This team will remain up to date on ALL developments and news regarding the new academy. We intend to be very vigilant to ensure that our students will have complete access to every opportunity available at the new academy.
We are also in the process of scheduling a public meeting at Kingsley to discuss all of these issues and concerns. We are inviting members of the DeKalb Board of Education to directly answer questions you may have. This meeting date will be announced as soon as we confirm the availability of the appropriate county officials.
Details on both the task force and public meeting will be announced shortly.
Ultimately, I know that each individual parent will need to make decisions based on what they feel is in the best interest of their own family and students. I do not have a crystal ball, but I sincerely believe that a coordinated effort from our parents can produce very positive results for all of the students and families of Kingsley.
With all due respect in regards to the comment posted by Kingsley Charter, it is painfully clear you are not acting in the best interest of all students at Kingsley. To exclude the fourth and fifth graders from the Academy would most definately put them at a disadvantage, socially, educationally, and otherwise. It seems the advantages weigh in much more if you are Pre-K to 3rd, or, and probably more glaring, for the Charter Council and staff. I, for one, consider value to my home secondary in relation to my child's education. But make no mistake about it ... I would absolutely consider selling rather than remain in a district with a board that will not fight just as hard for my child's rights for equal educational opportunities. The threat of Kingsley possibly closing due to lack of enrollment, although sad, should not be put on the backs of our 4th and 5th graders.
An interesting turn of events!
Firstly, please let me caution anyone who would take an adversarial tone towards the opinions expressed here. In my sole opinion, reasonable people can disagree, and that is OK.
I believe the Kingsley Charter to be taking the exact correct approach. They have pledged to: 1) Form a task force; 2) schedule a public meeting; 3) make those who make the decisions available to us; 4) reserve their opinion until such time as all opinions are heard and all facts are found. How can this be not acting in the best interest of Kingsley students?
As to my own opinion, the benefits to the Academy from a scholastic and social viewpoint are clear. However, without enacting some form of redistricting, the enrollment of Kingsley would drop below a point whereby the school would be self-sufficient. This could cause a closing of Kingsley (unmitigated disaster) or the possibility of importing various programs that would not be subject to the charter. In the strictest sense, if we were forced to choose between no change, or the Academy and Kingsley being closed, I would choose no change in a heartbeat.
That being said, maybe the best way to look at this is as an opportunity to help enact a compromise whereby there is redistricting AND the Academy. For Kingsley students and parents, this would be the only win-win scenario and I believe we can ALL get on the same page. Wouldn’t it be better to fight for a common goal rather than to fight amongst ourselves?
With regard to our property values, I suggest we allow that discussion to take a back seat to the discussion regarding the education of our children. While homes in the Kingsley district are, in my opinion, undervalued. It was precisely that fact that allowed me to buy a home in this wonderful district. Yes, I would personally like to realize a 30% rise in my own property value. But I would sacrifice that in a second if I could realize a 30% rise in the value of my children’s education, and so far I believe that is exactly what I have done by moving into the district.
So, in summation, lets all play nice. Lets treat the Charter, our Educators, the Board of Education, our Students, and our Parents with respect and kindness. Lets hear the facts, discover the avenues available to us, and decide what the best option is. Lets adopt that goal and move forward as one unit. I have no doubt that if we do this, we will have an outcome that is favorable to our little ones.
There are other alternatives to closing Kingsley due low numbers if the 4th and 5th graders go to the Academy. 1)Open another PreK at Kingsley. The PreK lottery was just held a few weeks ago and there were 46 applicants for the 20 spots. 2)House Vanderlyn's PreK again. 3)Ms. Graham told me we were possibly getting two special ed classes from Montgomery. 4)Redistrict anyway. I think the county doesn't want to touch this with a ten foot pole! There are options.
Let's use this time as a discovery phase. There will be many unknowns. No one has all the answers! I have learned a lot by hearing other viewpoints.
Property values are a definite second to education. I'd like to think our property values would rise and be more in line with the other attendance areas. This is not a major point to bring up with the school system.
Making change sometimes makes enemies. Like mlevy said, let's all play nice. Be considerate of others' feelings, opinions and ideas. All of us will not ultimately agree. In the end, we will all do what is best for our own children.
As a parent of a 4 and 2 year old that live in Kingsley, I'm seriously astonished by what is going on. Kids already at high performing schools (austin/vanderlyn-not sure about Chesnut's performance) are now getting the added benefit of a multi-million dollar academy that my kids won't be able to attend!! That I get to pay for!! That's in my back yard!! The dekalb county school board always has been and always will be full of incompetent bafoons that DO NOT represent OUR children's best interests.
Post a Comment