After nearly five months of public hearings and thousands of letters and emails from concerned community members, the Atlanta Board of Education Tuesday will consider a plan to close 10 schools and move boundaries for dozens of others.
The goal is to make better use of Atlanta Public Schools funding by eliminating 5,500 empty seats in the 50,000-student district. The proposal would reduce the number of elementary and middle schools with less than 450 students from 38 to 17.
The plan also organizes schools in a "cluster" format, where groups of elementary schools feed into the same middle and high school. And it calls for investment and new programs at several schools around the district.
It's the first time in almost a decade that APS has attempted a redistricting of this size, and it's been an evolving process.
Four scenarios were released in late November to start discussions about new boundaries. The maps were created by outside demographers and mapping specialists and were changed as the district received input and results from a demographic survey.
Two revised options were released in January, followed by two proposals crafted by Superintendent Erroll Davis.
The board will be considering Davis' second draft, but the superintendent could revise the proposal again before it comes up for a possible vote Tuesday.
Here are some highlights of the proposal from around the district, roughly divided geographically:
Central and southwestern Atlanta
Kennedy Middle and Herndon Elementary are slated to close. In 2013, Bunche Middle will receive an estimated $25 million renovation. A "career academy" is planned for the Kennedy site. If needed, Brown Middle will receive an expansion in 2013.
Southeastern Atlanta
Parks Middle and Capitol View Elementary will close. Sylvan Hills Middle will receive a $30 million expansion and renovation. In January 2015, Parks will be converted into a career academy. Long Middle will receive a $10 million expansion.
Eastern Atlanta
Cook, East Lake and D.H. Stanton elementary schools will be closed. Inman Middle will use the old Cook building as a sixth-grade academy. Hope-Hill Elementary will be rezoned to Inman. Mary Lin Elementary will receive a $15 million renovation. Jackson High will be rebuilt at a cost of $30 million to $40 million and will include an International Baccalaureate program. The district will invest in Coan and King middle schools to build strong academic programs.
Northern and western Atlanta
F.L. Stanton, White and Towns elementary schools will close. Students previously zoned to Coretta Scott King and BEST Academy will have to "opt in" to attend those single-gender academies. Grove Park and Woodson elementary schools will split into grades K-2 and 3-5 elementary schools. Young Middle will receive an estimated $10 million expansion in 2013. Adamsville and Miles elementary will split into grades K-2 and 3-5 elementary schools. North Atlanta High will move into its new building in the fall of 2013. Sutton Middle will take over the old high school, and eventually a sixth-grade academy will open at the current Sutton site. E. Rivers Elementary will be rebuilt in 2013.
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