Tag Archives: aps

Grady High to Host “State of the Cluster” Meeting

Posted on by
Reply

The location of a future new 6th grade academy and other capacity issues are expected to be on the agenda when Grady High hosts a State of the Cluster meeting this Thursday February 7 at 6:30 PM. The meeting is open to the public and all interested parties are invited to attend.

Click here to read a Patch story about the upcoming meeting and to view a January 31 letter from APS Superintendent Errol Davis to the Inman Task Force regarding capacity issues. In the letter Davis acknowledges last week’s meeting with members of the VHCA board of directors and their discussion of concerns raised in an analysis of the three Task Force-recommended academy sites. The analysis was done by Aaron Fortner of the planning firm Market & Main at the request of the VHCA.

Click here to read VHCA board president Jack White’s comments about their meeting last week with Davis and to view a copy of Fortner’s presentation. Fortner will provide insight on his analysis at this month’s regular meeting of the VHCA board (Mon. Feb. 11, 7 PM, Ponce library).

VHCA Board Members Meet With APS Superintendent; Discuss Overcrowding Task Force Recommendations

Posted on by
Reply

Inman Middle School

By: Jack White, VHCA Board President

In December, the Inman Task Force formed by school board representative Cecily Harsch-Kinnane issued a report on the two issues it was asked to consider: (1) whether a 6th or 8th grade academy would be a better short-term solution for the Grady Cluster’s overcrowding, and (2) potential sites for such an academy. The Task Force preferred a 6th grade academy and named three possible sites, two of them in Virginia-Highland (one next to the existing Inman building, and the other being the block south of Cresthill Avenue and west of Monroe now occupied by about eight private homes that would be torn down.)

The VHCA Planning Committee asked Aaron Fortner – the principal at Market & Main and our municipal consultant for several years – to analyze a number of important factors outside the purview of the Task Force, particularly the traffic, policy, and planning implications and impacts of construction at the two VaHi locations. His firm compared such outcomes at those two sites to a third location also recommended (less enthusiastically) by the Task Force: the Howard School located in the Old Fourth Ward.

The Market & Main analysis is available here.

Well aware that APS will consider many factors in reaching this decision and facing an announced end-of-January deadline, we very much wanted this information and these concerns to be in front of APS Superintendent Erroll Davis before he acted. Accordingly, members of the VHCA Planning Committee met with Superintendent Davis and other APS officials last week to present the findings contained in the Market & Main report.

Our discussion with Superintendent Davis was cordial, detailed, and thorough; he specifically asked about the history of the neighborhood, the Civic Association, and its historic support of public education. Davis spoke carefully, as he always does, making several key points: (1) His anticipated January deadline for a decision will not be met; (2) He is looking for a site that could accommodate a middle school in the future, though he did not say that one would be built; (3) None of the locations recommended by the Task Force is ideal, and APS is reviewing many options, including the original three sites.

The Market & Main report makes no recommendation as to what location should be picked, but we are aware that the conclusions in it may not be welcomed by anyone who believes that expansion at the Inman or Monroe sites is the only acceptable outcome to the attendance challenges facing the Grady cluster. The report focuses on the overall impacts of building in VaHi – increased traffic, non-conforming land use, congestion – and the implications that flow from them, specifically those that might contribute over the long run to permanently altering the residential character of the neighborhood.

Such challenges exist in many contexts independent of possible new school construction. The popularity of the Beltline has heightened traffic/pedestrian conflicts on an already-stressed Monroe (where both the Piedmont Heights Master Plan and the Beltline Plan suggest changes), and pedestrian safety on Briarcliff is a very real concern for those walking to SPARK. A separate public meeting next week at Inman Middle School will hear about pending traffic changes intended to relieve congestion on Ponce.  The neighborhood has existing un-built commercial and residential capacity, the eventual utilization of which is very likely to exacerbate today’s traffic challenges.

The permanent impacts of unplanned construction in our neighborhood outside the Comprehensive Development Plan require especially thorough consideration. Our primary goal – as it is frequently is in such matters – was to examine the traffic and policy issues in a professional context with an independent planner, and that is what Market and Main provided.

As always, please let us know your thoughts about the report. Aaron Fortner will be at our next VHCA meeting (February 11th, 7 PM, Ponce library) to amplify on his work.

Education Committee Update: January 15, 2013

Posted on by
Reply

  

 

By: Nicole Foerschler Horn

Atlanta Public Schools’ Calendar Community Input

APS is seeking community input on next year’s school calendar.  The School Calendar Forum in our community will be held at Inman Middle School on Monday, January 28th from 5:30 PM until 7 PM.

Click here to see the proposed calendar: http://www.boarddocs.com/ga/aps/Board.nsf/files/933T2S754BB0/$file/20130114%20calendar%20draft%20final.pdf

As reported in The Buckhead Patch last year, the three general models for school calendars are:

Balanced Calendar: A “balanced” calendar features 8-9 week blocks of instructional days with weeklong breaks evenly distributed throughout the school year. A balanced calendar usually includes a 9-10 week summer break.

Traditional Calendar: A “traditional” calendar features long blocks of instructional time with limited breaks during the school year. A traditional calendar usually includes a 10-11 week summer break.

Year Round Calendar: A “year round” calendar usually features 8-9 week blocks of instructional time with 3-week breaks distributed throughout the year. In a year round model, intersessions are provided for students during these breaks with opportunities for catch-up and enrichment, if funding is available. A year round calendar usually includes a 5-week summer break.

School Start Times: Proposed Changes

APS announced last week it is considering changing the start times for schools. The proposed changes are:

Elementary:  Start time 7:45 (with bus drop off from 7:00 – 7:15), Dismissal 2:15

Middle School:  Start time 9:05 (with bus drop off from 8:35 – 8:50), Dismissal 4:05

High School:  Start time 8:30, Dismissal 3:30

The proposed changes were presented to the Atlanta Board of Education on January 14 and will be voted on during the February 4th meeting.

For more information about the proposed changes, read the Midtown Patch article: http://midtown.patch.com/articles/aps

If you are interested in speaking at the upcoming BOE meeting, you may sign up at 5 p.m., prior to the board meeting.

Navigating through Common Core: An Interactive Workshop for Parents

APS will host an interactive discussion with parents about Common Core. Discussion topics include:

  • Common Core – State Standards, the impact on my child and me
  • Common Core – Resources to help my child at school and home
  • Common Core – It’s easy as “ABC”

The two regional meetings for the Grady Cluster are scheduled for January 31:

10 AM – Noon: Crim High School, 256 Clifton Avenue, SE, Atlanta GA 30317

6 PM – 8 PM: Drew Charter School, 301 East Lake Boulevard, Atlanta GA  30317

If you have questions, contact APS Family Engagement Specialists Shelia Cornelius or Renee Shields at 404.802.3820.

Congratulations to Grady High School’s Posse Students

Three of the twelve APS seniors recently named 2013 Posse Scholars (each earning a four-year, full-tuition scholarship worth approximately $100,000) are from Grady High School. The awards come from The Posse Foundation, which recruits students who demonstrate extraordinary academic and leadership potential and sends them to college in supportive, multicultural teams called “posses.” Join us in congratulating Grady High seniors:

  • Autumn Rivers, who will be attending Bard College
  • Diana Powers, who will be attending The College of Wooster
  • Bill Vaughn, who will be attending Syracuse University

Named in December, Posse Scholars will spend the rest of their senior year and the summer – January to August – participating in intensive college-preparatory training sessions every week. Then, throughout their college years, scholars will continue to receive support and development in the form of mentoring, retreats, internships and other meaningful activities. The Posse Foundation administers a rigorous college access and youth leadership program that boasts a college graduation rate of 90 percent.

Again, best wishes and congratulations to the 2013 Posse Scholars across APS!

Voice — June 2012 — Join the new VHCA Education Committee

Posted on by
Reply

The VHCA Board is looking for nominations for the newly formed Education Committee. Members of this committee will be a voice for the neighborhood as they work to strengthen our community’s public schools and collaborate with other neighborhoods across the Grady cluster. The committee will consist of 7 voting members, one of which will be a current VHCA board member. The committee will meet on a monthly basis unless otherwise deemed necessary. All meetings will be open to the public. All recommendations from the committee must be approved by the board of directors. Committee members will be recommended to the board by a nominating committee. If you are interested in becoming a member, please send a letter by June 11th, explaining why you would like to be a member of the committee, to education@vahi.org.