Decatur schools survey asks for grade configuration input

Decatur’s school board will have the final say in whether to reconfigure the system’s elementary grade structure. A steering committee will present information from a community meeting and online survey to the board during its April 11 meeting. Courtesy City Schools Decatur

Decatur’s school board will have the final say in whether to reconfigure the system’s elementary grade structure. A steering committee will present information from a community meeting and online survey to the board during its April 11 meeting. Courtesy City Schools Decatur

In determining whether to reconfigure its elementary grade structure, City Schools Decatur held a community meeting last week where 219 showed up to weigh in on two options.

Option 1 splits the system into five K-2 schools, and three 3-5 Academies, including a new one on Talley Street. Option 2 keeps the current split, with six K-3 schools (including a renovated College Heights) and a new 4/5 Academy on Talley added to he current 4/5 Academy at Fifth Avenue.

CSD is not considering a return to the pre-2004 model of K-5 elementary schools.

The school system’s posted a follow-up survey soliciting additional feedback at http://bit.ly/EngageCSD2017. A 30-person steering committee will present information from the survey and meeting to the board at its April 11 meeting. The survey closes at 11:59 p.m. March 26.

Superintendent David Dude admits he likes the K-2/3-5 model.

“I think it’s a more natural split,” he said. “You have a balance where students spend three years at each elementary school. And there are natural curriculum changes where, for instance, in K-2 you learn to read, and starting in the third you read to learn.”

Dude hopes construction starts on the Talley Street school this fall, with a projected opening of May 2019.