Teachers Protest Redistricting Outside Douglass High
The protest took place Saturday morning.
Aps Redistricting
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Saturday, April 21, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
Lawyer Puts Atlanta School District On Notice
A southwest Atlanta attorney and parent says changes in his area are unconstitutional.
An Atlanta attorney is questioning the legality of the Atlanta school board's recent approval of new school attendance zones. Attorney David H. Glass, who lives in the Summerhill community, sent a letter to the school board asking it to review the district's decision to zone the neighborhood to D.H. Stanton Elementary, arguing that it violates the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause. Glass argues that D.H. Stanton, in the Peoplestown neighborhood, is a low performing school. To be rezoned there is unfair to Summerhill when the neighborhood lobbied for and initially ended up being zoned to higher performing Parkside Elementary in Grant Park. "Parents in the Summerhill neighborhood feel their rights under the Fourteenth Amendment (…
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Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Drama At Tuesday Night's APS Meeting
A YouTube video captures an incident where several people are removed from the meeting because of disruptions.
Tuesday night's APS Board of Education meeting featured several outbursts from the audience, including one scene where a spectator tried to jump onto the stage where officials were sitting. This YouTube video captures some of the chaos.
Towns Alumni: "I Am Part Of Your Solution"
A former student makes the case for her school to the APS Board of Education.
Dr. Shirley Williams, a Towns Elementary alumni, was one of several dozen speakers who urged the APS Board of Education to keep the school open. Here are some of her comments to the board on Wednesday night.
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F.L. Stanton, Towns Elementary To Remain Open, APS Says
The vote came late Tuesday night during a dramatic and often contentious meeting.
The APS Board of Education voted late Tuesday night to keep Frank L. Stanton and Towns elementary schools open as part of the school system's redistricting efforts. Shouts of "Yes! Yes! Yes!" and "God is good!" erupted from school supporters when the unanimous vote was taken around 11:30. "This is the most exciting day I've had in politics since I worked with Gov. Roy Barnes to change the Georgia state flag," said Rev. Kenneth Augustus Walker, pastor of a neighboring church near Towns Elementary. "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, there is always a right time to do the right thing, and tonight the board did the right thing in keeping these schools open." The board also voted to keep D.H. Stanton Elementary open. It accepted the rest of …
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Tuesday, April 10, 2012
UPDATE: Stanton, Towns Remain On Closure List
Stay with Patch throughout the day as the story develops.
Towns and Frank L. Stanton elementary schools remain on Superintendent Dr. Erroll Davis' final recommendations regarding school closings and redistrictings that were released Tuesday morning. The APS board of education is set to vote on the recommendations Tuesday evening at Jackson High School. “The revised proposal allows the district to reduce the number of schools with less than 450 students from 38 elementary and middle schools to 17 schools,” Davis wrote in his revised final plan. “We believe we have achieved a balance between fiscal responsibility and community sustainability, with student academic success remaining the top priority.” Fox5Atlanta is reporting that parents and school supporters packed meetings at both Towns and D.H…
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Monday, April 9, 2012
UPDATE: APS To Release Final Recommendations Monday Night
Patch features an interactive map, showing the various schools in our communities impacted most by APS recommendations.
UPDATE: 1:17 pm The APS superintendent's office announced Monday afternoon that its final redistricting and school closure recommendations will be released late Monday night. These will be the recommendations on which the APS Board of Education will vote on Tuesday. ***** Students and parents at Towns and Frank L. Stanton elementaries may be experiencing their final few weeks at those schools, as the APS Board of Education nears a decision on redistricting. After months of controversy and debate, the board is set to vote on Superintendent Dr. Erroll Davis' latest redistricting and closure recommendations on Tuesday, April 10, a meeting which has been moved to Jackson High School to accommodate a larger audience. Davis' overall plan calls …
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Friday, April 6, 2012
Towns Supporters: "We Are Not A Community Of Losers"
A fireworks-packed meeting was held Thursday night between APS administrators and Towns Elementary School supporters.
A week of pent-up frustration erupted Thursday night at Towns Elementary, as angry parents vented their anger at an APS recommendation to close the facility. "I'm having trouble holding down my lunch after listening to all of the garbage being regurgitated by the APS this past week," said PTA President Felicia Rander. "We are not a community of losers. "You have not heard the last of Towns Elementary. Every phone call you get will be from us. Every e-mail you get will be from us. We are going to be at your doorstep." This past weekend, APS Superintendent Dr. Erroll Davis placed Towns on a list of 10 recommended school closures. In Davis' previous recommendation, Fain Elementary was slated for closure. APS Associate Superintendent Steve …
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Thursday, April 5, 2012
Towns Supporters Get Their Chance Thursday Night
The school is the site of an APS community meeting that begins at 6:30 pm.
After seeing their school placed on a recommended closure list this past weekend, supporters of Towns Elementary will get the chance to make their voices heard Thursday night. The APS is hosting one of two planned community meetings at the school, the other being next Monday, April 9. Both meetings begin at 6:30 pm. Towns Elementary was not on APS Superintendent Dr. Erroll Davis' initial list of recommended school closings. However, this past Saturday, Davis released a new set of redistricting and closure recommendations, and Towns parents, students and supporters suddenly found their school on the list. Supporters of the school have been quoted in local media as saying the school is being recommended for closure for political reasons, …
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Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Towns Supporters Say APS Closure Is Political, Ill Timed
Supporters will get two chances to speak their minds regarding the school's recommended closure.
The APS redistricting recommendations that were released this past weekend has sparked outrage and confusion from parents and supporters of Towns Elementary School. CBS Atlanta is reporting that some Towns supporters say the move to close the school is political and ill-timed, given that the recommendations came during the Atlanta public school spring break. Also, WSB-TV is quoting neighborhood groups as being "blindsided" by APS Superintendent Dr. Erroll Davis' latest recommendations. Davis is recommending the closure of Towns Elementary. Until this past Saturday, Fain Elementary was slated for closure, but was spared in the latest recommendations. Parents and supporters of Towns Elementary will have a chance to meet with APS officials …
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Marcia Wyms
11:22 am on Wednesday, April 11, 2012
I don't think any schools should be closed! The small school concept is better than bigger is better. Even with the cheating scandal with Parks Middle, Parks was a good small middle school. Discipline and control is also important to having a great learning environment so one has more control in a small school setting. The other problem with closing schools is the use of the vacant buildings. … more ›