If you have children in public school in the Dunwoody area, it is my opinion that the Dunwoody School Daze blog is a must follow as it has been a trusted source of quality information and spot on perspective as far as I am concerned, for many years. Below is the current enrollment data and there are various ways to look at it based on your specific circumstances but what jumped out to me are the future enrollments at Peachtree Middle & Dunwoody High. Wow!
The Georgia Department of Education has released the October 2015 FTE Enrollment Data.
A summary of the Dunwoody cluster enrollment data is below. As you will notice there continues to be enrollment growth in the Elementary School lower grades and the 9th Grade Class at Dunwoody appears to be largest class in years or ever.
PK
|
K
|
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
5th
|
Total
|
|
| Austin ES |
21
|
124
|
122
|
118
|
114
|
77
|
80
|
656
|
| Chesnut Charter ES |
22
|
68
|
63
|
72
|
68
|
78
|
92
|
463
|
| Dunwoody ES |
47
|
203
|
199
|
187
|
167
|
136
|
106
|
1,045
|
| Hightower ES |
21
|
137
|
152
|
157
|
141
|
114
|
122
|
844
|
| Kingsley Charter ES |
32
|
85
|
79
|
79
|
86
|
81
|
83
|
525
|
| Vanderlyn ES |
22
|
116
|
123
|
118
|
142
|
85
|
107
|
713
|
Totals by
Grade
|
165
|
733
|
738
|
731
|
718
|
571
|
590
|
4,246
|
6th
|
7th
|
8th
|
Total
| |||||
| Peachtree Charter MS |
497
|
518
|
473
|
1,488
|
||||
9th
|
10th
|
11th
|
12th
|
Total
|
||||
| Dunwoody HS |
531
|
445
|
379
|
342
|
1,697
|
The next chart outlines the DeKalb Schools Region 1 enrollment data categorized by Subgroup. I used the 2014 school capacity data as the 2015 capacity data will not be released until MGT/DCSD complete their "assessments".
As the chart indicates, in the Dunwoody cluster, every school with the exception of Chesnut (and those familiar with Chesnut know the capacity number to be laughable), is over-capacity. According to DCSD Planning Department, 347 of the 844 students at Hightower reside within the city limits of Dunwoody. So, if a City of Dunwoody School District becomes a reality, where will you put these students in ES? Anybody?
| Dunwoody HS Cluster |
Austin
|
Chesnut
|
Dunwoody ES
|
Hightower
|
Kingsley
|
Vanderlyn
|
Peachtree MS
|
Dunwoody HS
|
Subgroup Total
|
Hispanic
|
40
|
89
|
118
|
715
|
248
|
31
|
446
|
416
|
2,103
|
| American Indian |
1
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
8
|
3
|
1
|
10
|
29
|
| Asian |
112
|
33
|
277
|
38
|
26
|
278
|
94
|
116
|
974
|
| Black |
21
|
169
|
181
|
69
|
44
|
23
|
231
|
305
|
1,043
|
| Pacific Islander |
1
|
0
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
8
|
| White |
462
|
155
|
426
|
14
|
175
|
360
|
671
|
810
|
3,073
|
| 2 or more Races |
19
|
15
|
37
|
6
|
24
|
17
|
43
|
40
|
201
|
| Total School Enrollment |
656
|
463
|
1,045
|
844
|
525
|
713
|
1,488
|
1,697
|
|
| 2014 Capacity |
616
|
570
|
973
|
635
|
500
|
576
|
1,212
|
1,403
|
|
| Capacity (+/-) |
-40
|
107
|
-72
|
-209
|
-25
|
-137
|
-276
|
-294
|
|
Total Cluster
Enrollment
|
7,431
|
7 comments:
This just goes to show how badly Austin needs to be rebuilt as a larger school so these numbers can be distributed more evenly amongst all of the schools.
I understand why Austin wants to keep it's current size (and I can't blame them for it) but looking at these numbers it is just not practical.
Also your article brings up a very good point. Even if Dunwoody becomes it's own school system we still have to find a place to put all of these children. Where are they going to put them in already overcrowded buildings?? I have asked this question many times and have yet to get a satisfactory answer??
Has anyone ever thought about rebuilding Kingsley? It looks like they have enough land for a bigger school. This would help with the extra elementary school kids who live in the City of Dunwoody and go to Hightower. Just a thought.
Rose,
To be completely fair, I am the sponsor of HR-4 (Independent School System Resolution) and you have never talked to me once about this. I dropped this legislation 3 years ago and have been working on it with at lot of folks. Point is, you can say what you want on a blog, but you have never said anything about this to me personally or in a public forum that I am aware of.
So my question back to you is, who have you asked and in what forum? Did not see you at any town hall meetings regarding this.
Tom,
I have been to many a town hall meeting regarding this and have asked this question to many people involved both publicly and privately and have seen the question asked and haven't gotten a satisfactory response.
Rose,
To answer the substance of your question...
As you can see from the statistics here, DeKalb has done a terrible job of capacity planning. Austin is being re-built not as part of a capacity plan but because it scored lowest on a facility audit DeKalb performed a number of years ago.
A City of Dunwoody School System would have to face the challenge of improving both existing facilities and expanding capacity. I am not sure how a Dunwoody School Board would decide to do that, but I'd certainly rather have a group of Dunwoody residents, elected by Dunwoody voters, empowered to do this than rely on DeKalb's Board of Ed.
Rosemary, you probably remember that at the time the SPLOST IV projects were being discussed, our then-BOE rep, Nancy Jester, tried to get DCSD to have the language in the SPLOST IV referendum to read a Dunwoody-area school, rather than naming a specific school. The school system denied that request. Who knows why? Did DCSD believe the only way to make sure SPLOST passed was to name a specific school for rebuild or was this “favor” for a local politician?
Mr. Wittenstein you stated that Austin was chosen due to its low assessment score. As was revealed later, the assessments performed by MGT were flawed and the school district had to go back and “fix” much of the data that MGT had provided. There are schools in Dunwoody that are in much worse condition than Austin. Was the data presented in a way to point toward a specific “agenda”?
Let me be clear…I 100% support the Independent School District legislation. I believe smaller school districts can/do serve students at a much higher level than large, bloated systems such as DeKalb.
However, at this point in time, would I vote for a City of Dunwoody School District? I would say No, I would not. My reasons are below.
Mr. Wittenstein you also stated: “…but I'd certainly rather have a group of Dunwoody residents, elected by Dunwoody voters, empowered to do this than rely on DeKalb's Board of Ed”.
I have to say reading this caused a sarcastic chuckle on my part.
I clearly recall the redistricting that took place in Dunwoody in 2011 when Dunwoody ES was converted from a 4/5 school to a K-5 school. The vitriol, insults, and at times, bigoted, language thrown around was very troublesome and embarrassing to our community. The thought that some of these very people could actually serve on a Dunwoody Board of Education sends shivers. The behavior of some in our community rivaled any behavior seen from the DeKalb Board of Education.
When the redistricting “dust” settled and the Austin and Vanderlyn communities got their way, nobody seemed to notice or care, that one of the elementary schools in Dunwoody was left with less than the minimum required FTE of 450 needed for full state funding. I do not recall any “outcry” from the remainder of the Dunwoody community or “leaders” (either elected or otherwise). No, the parents of this school had to take it upon themselves to beg the school district to redistrict an apartment complex back into their attendance zone so they could meet that minimum FTE.
Let’s look at the current situation with the Austin ES rebuild. I do empathize with the Austin community and its wish to keep the school at its current location. However, it is no secret the Dunwoody cluster requires more seats now, and especially if Dunwoody is to absorb more elementary students if a City of Dunwoody school system comes a reality. This seems to have gotten lost in the drive to make one attendance zone happy and to protect “property values”. If we are to the point where property values >>>> children’s education, we’ve already lost the education battle.
Mr. Wittenstein, how is the behavior and attitudes described above different than what we see with the DCSD?
Until I feel comfortable that a City of Dunwoody school system and subsequent Board of Education would give attention, support and recognition to ALL schools in Dunwoody just not those named Austin or Vanderlyn, I would vote No. At this point, it’s better to deal with devil we know – DCSD.
I remember the series of events just as Dunwoody Mom reports above. Nancy tried to get the language in the SPLOST adjusted so that it stated "A" school in the Dunwoody cluster would be rebuilt, not a specific school. To allow for the possibility that needs and priorities and situations would change and the plan could be adjusted accordingly. That didn't happen. Only Austin was specified. Not that Austin doesn't have major infrastructure needs, but it is not the center of the universe.
I have heard rumors for years about how Vanderlyn and Austin parents warned newcomers to avoid Chesnut and Kingsley. I also heard about the vitriol to prevent any intrusion from THOSE people into THEIR schools. I even remember a local real estate agency that used to advertise on the AhA Connection about the homes they were representing for sale, and they ONLY mentioned Austin, Vanderlyn, and DES in their display ad - Kingsley and Chesnut were omitted.
Whether the vitriol is real, urban legend, exaggerated, or somewhere in between, until the parents of all of the public schools trust each other not to endorse a caste system within city limits, any attempt at an ISD will be disastrous.
(This doesn't even consider the daycare foes....)
http://sdocpublishing.blogspot.com/2012/11/can-dunwoody-schools-be-independent.html
(Speaking as a GLASS member, former Chesnut ES parent, current Coralwood ES parent, future ??? parent)
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