A group of more than 100 Latino parents recently participated in a special meeting at Doraville’s Sequoyah Middle School to hear proposals addressing overcrowding at certain schools within the DeKalb County School District.
The parents in attendance come from the Cross Keys Cluster, which includes Briar Vista, Cary Reynolds, Dresden, Fernbank, Montclair and Woodward, as well as Chamblee High School and Cross Keys High School.
The DeKalb school system initiated the meetings in September, calling on parents to get involved and help provide possible solutions to the overcrowding problem that persists in some classrooms.
The Latino community has been a constant presence at these meetings.
“The good thing is that the county is open to hearing the needs and recommendations of the Latino community,” said Eliezer Vélez, director of Youth Programs for the Latin American Association.
The measures, which seek to redistrict hundreds of students, would affect those who will be entering fifth, 11th and 12th grades in August.
Students who wish to remain at their current school will have to provide their own transportation.
“As a district, we recognize that a classroom with an excess of students cannot have the same quality of teaching, and that is precisely why the district is taking responsibility to resolve this issue,” explained Sandra Núñez, who runs the school district’s International Welcome Center.
Upon hearing the different proposals, parents had divided opinions. While some said that the change could be positive, others worry about taking their children out of a familiar environment.
“If there are a lot of children in the same classroom, they don’t learn the same way they would if there were less. As long as it’s a good option for them, it will be much better,” said Magali García, a mother of two children at Cary Reynolds Elementary.
“The options they gave us seem really good to me, because then our children are going to get a better education and they are going to be in a bigger space, and it’s going to be a relief for all of us,” said Nancy Sales Alvarado, who children attend Cary Reynolds Elementary and Sequoyah Middle.
Vélez congratulated the Hispanic parents who participated in the meetings and encouraged the community to remain active and continue to have a presence in this initiative.
“Stay involved,” he said. “Find a way for your voice to be heard. As long as the [Latino] community goes, they [DeKalb County School District] will realize they have a voice, and that is going to be the best way to be involved and give your point of view.”
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