DeKalb to debut early learning center for 3-year-old students

The former Terry Mill Elementary School in Atlanta is being transformed into an early learning center for 3-year-olds for the 2018-2019 school year. DeKalb County School District officials have tagged early learning as its latest tool to boost student outcomes, putting more than $2 million toward the early learning center. ALYSSA POINTER/ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM

Credit: Alyssa Pointer

Credit: Alyssa Pointer

The former Terry Mill Elementary School in Atlanta is being transformed into an early learning center for 3-year-olds for the 2018-2019 school year. DeKalb County School District officials have tagged early learning as its latest tool to boost student outcomes, putting more than $2 million toward the early learning center. ALYSSA POINTER/ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM

Addressing continuing issues with student outcomes, the DeKalb County School District has set its sights on younger students to better prepare them for the educational environment.

The district’s first Early Learning Academy will open in August, in time for the 2018-2019 school year. The district will be accepting members of the public for a tour of the former Terry Mill Elementary School, at 797 Fayetteville Road SE in Atlanta, which they expect to house some 200 3-year-old students.

District officials say more than $3 million was invested in the campus for renovations. They expect the school to house about 450 students, ages 3 and 4, when it's fully built out.

“The Early Learning Academy will awaken an early love of learning four our early childhood students,” Superintendent Steve Green said. “The academy will provide a foundation to develop skills they’ll need as they grow.”