Help Needed for Paralyzed Vanderlyn Custodian Victor Shumate

A friend forwarded me the heartbreaking Facebook post about Mr. Vic Shumate, the Custodian at Vanderlyn Elementary School who is now in a very bad condition due to his battle with COVID which has left him paralyzed.  Below was the post that was shared on Facebood and after donating to the cause via the links in the middle of the post I reached out to the family discuss Vic's condition and receive a photo.  If you are able to give a donation, please do and please share to those who may assist.  John
___________________________

Many of you know Victor (Vic) Shumate as a dedicated, hardworking and caring person. He always made himself available to anyone who needed his help and he never met a stranger. Today, Victor needs us. 2020 was an overwhelming year for everyone! The “new normal” meant we lived our lives by missing family gatherings, altered work schedules and finding new ways to entertain our families. In November, the Shumates were hit with the one fear they had been protecting themselves against, COVID. Thanksgiving Day last year was spent waiting for their COVID results. Victor, his wife and daughter all tested positive for COVID the following day. Eventually, after four days in the hospital for Victoria who had breathing issues from COVID, everyone recovered and life returned to their new normal. However, in late January 2021, Victor began to feel coldness and numbness in his feet that began to travel up his legs. Preliminary doctor visits, led to appointments with a podiatrist and urologist. Meanwhile, his ability to walk was fading fast and he had to begin using a cane to walk.

 

On February 3, 2021, and after his 11th fall at home, Victor was hospitalized due to the numbing with minimal use of his legs. Many tests were run, biopsies conducted, blood drawn, and clinical trials evaluated to determine what was causing Victor to lose the ability to walk and the paralysis that began traveling up his body. He also lost the ability to use his hands and arms. Tests determined that Victor had inflammation around a part of his spine and he was diagnosed with COVID induced myelopathy, a nervous system disorder that attacked his spine. To address the inflammation, his doctors ordered several treatments. The treatments included high doses of steroids, that caused his blood sugar to spike so he had to begin taking insulin. Another treatment included seven rounds of plasmapheresis that entailed Victor having to lay in one spot for three hours at a time while his plasma was run through a cleaning process. The last treatment involved several rounds of a mild form of chemotherapy. None of these treatments were successful and three months later it’s still unknown why this sudden change has occurred in Victor’s health. The doctors called him a mystery and even sent his test results to the Mayo Clinic for answers. ALL TESTS CAME BACK NORMAL, yet he continues to be paralyzed in a quadriplegic state.

 

This traumatic event has impacted Victor and his family resulting in long term hospitalization (three months and counting) and time away from his family, friends and co-workers at Vanderlyn Elementary. He now depends on a team of medical professionals to provide medical care and basic everyday care like drinking a glass of water. Through it all, Victor has remained in good spirits with prayers and calls from his extended family, friends and co-workers. Our goal now is to do more by combining our work and faith in God on behalf of Victor.

 

In support of Vic, we are hitting the pavement by organizing a virtual VICtory Walk fundraiser. Family, friends and supporters are asked to get active by logging the steps/miles you walk, jog or run beginning May 16th through May 23rd. There are no set rules to determine what you give as every amount is deeply appreciated. We just ask that you track your steps/miles through your smart phone or pedometer. Donations can be sent through the following platforms:

 

PayPal: https://paypal.me/VICtoryWalk?locale.x=en_US
Zelle: 404-550-5198
Cashapp: $Famisit
Venmo: @Rita-Jones-50 (if needed - last four of phone is 5198)

 

Your support will be used to help make the home modifications needed for Victor to be able to safely return home, as well his continued medical care.

 

At the end of the week, we will announce the person that walked the furthest and the total amount raised. Please be sure to post pictures and include the hashtag #VICtoryWalk #Philippians4:13 during the week of May 16th through May 23rd.

 

Please accept our humblest thanks for your partnership, friendship & love. Every step taken is a VICtory step for Victor, Renee and Victoria. 

 

If you have any questions, please feel free to email itsafamilyaffair2021@gmail.com or contact one of the admins of the group  (Shanay or Tamika).

DeKalb School System provides enrollment forcasting and redistricting information for Dunwoody Cluster.

I attended the meeting last night at Kingsley with about 100 neighbors, parents, school charter representatives, teachers and various DeKalb school administrators in attendance.  Meeting started about 6 and the first half discussed the process of enrollment forecasting and the second half started to get to the discussion on overcrowding but was cut short as the meeting was scheduled to end at 7 pm.

Long story short, little short term relief may happen at the elementary level because of Austin redistricting but capacity issues still abound. DHS enrollment continues upward with little improvement in sight.  Financial issues and build schedules were touched upon but no definitive information or answers were given. 

Here is the full Powerpoint presentation from last night.

Should the City of Dunwoody lower the School Zone speed limit from 25 to 15 mph? Is there enough enforcement of current driving standards? Are Speed Cameras the answer?

State law may allow a Speed Limit change but preclude radar enforcement below 25?
Is radar speed cameras enforcing at 25 mph a better solution?

A couple of weeks ago I received an email / social media post from a concerned Dunwoody school mom regarding school zone traffic, crosswalk enforcement issues that threatened the safety of her and her child while walking to school.  The DeKalb School System was copied on the crossing guard issue being raised as they handle that function, therefore I hope that specific issue is rectified as requested.

The resident had two more requests for the City, one was an increased police presence in school zones ensuring that all traffic rules are followed and I reached out to Dunwoody Police Chief Billy Grogan who stated that the officers would give some additional attention to the problem identified.

Based on the heavy workload of our small dedicated police force, I am guessing that this task was given to our Crime Reduction Team of three officers and a Sargent who were formed to handle many different targeted problem areas, including this specific one.

Our FY 2012 Dunwoody Budget included a proposal to add a Crime Response Team comprised of one sergeant and three patrol officers but because of budgetary constraints, these additional resources were not added until the next year.

"Proposed FY 2012 Dunwoody Budget - The Crime Response Team will utilize both traditional and non-traditional patrol techniques to deter criminal activity, reduce accidents and injuries from accidents, and improve the quality of life for our community. In particular, the Crime Response Team will implement the Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS) program which integrates location-based crime and traffic data to establish effective and efficient methods for deploying the team. The Crime Response Team will be a key asset in addressing traffic and safety concerns around our schools; targeting hot spots and locations with high incidents of crime; conducting DUI enforcement and highway interdiction, and handling special investigations as needed. For example, one common complaint our Police Department receives regards traffic safety. Currently, complaints are funneled to the shift and assigned to officers who are working in the particular area of the complaint. In most cases, our officers are not able to address traffic complaints in a timely manner or as adequately as is necessary because their primary responsibility is to answer calls for service and a secondary responsibility is to improve visibility through active directed patrol."

In 2013, the CRT was finally budgeted but the justification language crept away from traffic/speed enforcement in order to focus more on hard crime.  With the level of turnover and vacancies in all police agencies including the City of Dunwoody, speed and traffic enforcement was probably put to the back burner from time to time in order to cover the general beat responsibilities.  The Dunwoody Police Department and the Crime Reduction Team has always been responsive to the needs of the community regarding traffic control and I am very appreciative for all they do.  As the Department gets back to full strength, my hope is that traffic/speed enforcement becomes more of a priority because I have heard of issues all over town (Peeler, Tilly Mill, Dunwoody Club, Happy Hollow, Kingsley, various subdivision cut through streets) and guessing there are issues in your neighborhood too.

The second request by the resident to the city was a reduction of the School Zone Speed Limit from 25 MPH to 15 MPH and based on my research of Georgia Law, the City of Dunwoody can do this if we wanted to but I was informed by staff that the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) would need to allow/certify speed enforcement at the new lower speed and that would not happen without a change in Georgia law.   The City of Doraville recently lowered a few speed limits but now can't enforce the issue and are appealing the process.

I believe the proposal of lowering the school zone speed limit would raise several items into play, namely limited traffic flow on main arterial roads during rush hour and then the question comes down to how to effectively enforce the lower speeds.  Traffic congestion is something we all live with and I am guessing that we all take this into our scheduling and decisions on when and where to drive every day.  To me, ensuring a safe environment for our children to walk our neighborhoods by instituting a common-sense set of rules, would take a higher priority over traffic throughput for most people and it certainly does for me.

With many believing that they can't get a speeding ticket until they exceed the posted limit by 10 mph, it makes the 25 posted limit a defacto 35 mph zone.  Unfortunately, this is false, based on Georgia code the City of Dunwoody could be handing out speeding tickets in school zones at 1 mph over the posted limit.  The question then comes down to, do we need stricter enforcement of the current law or a lower limit?   Seeing the findings below of the pedestrian fatality rate jump from 5 percent to 40 percent for a speed increase from 20 to 30 mph.  It makes me question allowing a defacto speed higher than the posted 25 in school zones and therefore we need either a lower speed or better compliance of what we have.

 A 1999 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study found that 5 percent of pedestrians are fatally injured when struck by a vehicle traveling at 20 mph or less. This compares with fatality rates of 40, 80, and nearly 100 percent when the pedestrian is struck at 30, 40, and 50 mph or more, respectively.  It also shows the school zone speed limits in various states as shown below.

The issue of speed enforcement in school zones vs the many other priorities of our police department also needs to be discussed because there is no way that there will always be able to have all of our school zones monitored by a police officer at all times.  Last year the Georgia General Assembly and Governor Deal approved HB 978 to provide for automated traffic enforcement safety devices in school zones.  Yep "zero tolerance" speed cameras are now allowed to enforce in school zones,  so if desired the City could contract with American Traffic Solutions to install either fixed, mobile or transferable speed cameras.   Is strict enforcement of the current 25 mph school speed limit the answer or if a lower speed is desired we could put up the signs but it appears that we would need to change to state law.  These proposed speed changes still won't stop those who want to ignore all other driving regulations and common courtesies but it could slow the traffic in school zones that are not already bottlenecked to a crawl.

As a father who had his son almost hit by a car while crossing to school with the help of a crossing guard, I take the pleas of a concerned Dunwoody school mom very seriously and am therefore placing this information out there for public discussion.

With every email I receive (and social media posts I read) regarding public safety, I always ask myself if we are we doing enough?  Are the laws and speed limits correct, are the sidewalks and crosswalks in the proper places and is our police department staffed appropriately so that they can ensure all of our safety?   Traffic calming and speed humps are not appropriate on arterial roads where some of our schools sit and then in residential areas these devices would need to be requested and approved by the residents of that street. The Dunwoody Police speed trailer is in constant use and is available to be requested for your neighborhood.  Our Crime Reduction Team can't focus on only traffic so we need a balanced approach whatever option we want to implement.

If you want changes, please speak up, be vocal as to your desires, email all seven members of the Dunwoody City Council as there will need to be a community discussion before these types of proposed changes are initiated.

Dunwoody wants to be a walkable and bikeable community but we are attempting to do so on streets that were designed for speed is problematic. Atlanta Magazine published an article this month that states that pedestrian and bicyclist deaths are increasing in the metro area and if we are not careful it is just a matter of time before a tragedy strikes our community.

To everyone else reading this, please slow down in school zones and residential streets, obey traffic signs and if you are driving children to school please obey the individual school drop off and carpool procedures.  If you are walking your children to school, thank your crossing guards and those watching out for the children.  Remember that everyone driving near the schools or dropping children off are stressed with the circumstances of their surroundings therefore extra care is always needed.

Finally, if you can reduce your own frustrations by avoiding the congestion near schools during the peak times by leaving a little earlier or modifying your route, please do so.   Thanks

John

School zone is max 25 mph - Slow Down

Vanderdash 5K is this Saturday

Dunwoody High & Peachtree Middle School boards agree that Option B with an addition at PCMS would be best to keep community together.

Dunwoody Friends and Neighbors,

There has been a lot of discussion in recent weeks about three options that have been presented by DeKalb County School System to deal with the growing student population in our middle and high schools. A recommendation has been requested from the school councils at Dunwoody High and Peachtree Middle. If you are busy and don't want to read the full justification, please click the link below to an online survey and select Option B.

https://goo.gl/forms/kSFTQLhRzoTUObSr2

(Note there are links within the survey with lots of specific information about each option.)

Why Option B?

1. When representatives from Peachtree Charter Middle School, Dunwoody High School, and elementary schools throughout our cluster met to discuss these options, we were all still learning about the options, but there was a unifying ideal of keeping our Dunwoody kids at Dunwoody High School. Options A & C send roughly 30% of the kids currently zoned to DHS to either a new Sequoyah High School in Doraville or to Chamblee HS. No decisions have been made at this time as to where those kids will come from, but the process would surely not be a fun one for our community. Option B keeps our attendance zone intact.

2. Option B comes with a $23,000,000 investment in Dunwoody High School. Options A & C come with $0 for schools in the Dunwoody cluster. (Note that there are other pockets of eSPLOST money that could go to our schools, but this is the only category being discussed by the school system at this time.) DHS is full of amazing teachers, kids, and parents who make the DHS community great, but aspects of the facility are limiting. As a Council last year we realized the toil involved in getting even small investments in our school. Throughout the year we pushed to get an adequate supply of functioning lockers for the kids, signage on the front of the school with our name on it, and more than one functioning copier in the school for teachers. Progress was made, but the journey shed light on the difficulty involved in getting things done. This option presents a unique opportunity for a significant portion of eSPLOST money to be dedicated to our cluster. This investment will be a long term improvement to DHS, helping our growing student population for years to come.

3. Does this mean 600 more kids at DHS? NO, it does not. The projection is that in 2022, with the increasing student population in our attendance zone, DHS population will be 2,093 students. Today there are 1,826 students. The problem is that our capacity is only about 1,500 students. The improvements will increase the school capacity to 2,100 students, eliminating the need for trailers, floating teachers, and addressing long-standing facility limitations.

4. What about parking? The open retention pond in the parking area can be buried and paved over, substantially improving the parking situation, even with more kids. We are pushing for this to be a priority.

5. What is the proposed variation that impacts PCMS? The problem with all of the options presented is that they send a significant number of middle school kids out of Dunwoody. The variation proposes that PCMS also receive an addition to handle the extra capacity there, taking the same approach as the high school.

6. What about the budget? Option B is $7,000,000 under budget. Option A is $77,000,000 over budget. Option C is $54,000,000 over budget. The school system seems confident that they can find more money for other options but ultimately that is going to take from other things in the school system.

A summarized list of pros/cons from a Dunwoody perspective (along with room for comment) has been posted here:

http://dunwoodyschooldaze.blogspot.com/2016/09/pros-and-cons-of-dekalb-school.html

Stepping back from the details of this issue for a moment, all of these options have some good aspects for Dunwoody and the impact for Dunwoody is less with any of them than what much DeKalb County Schools will see. We are also ultimately at the hands of the final superintendent recommendation and School Board approval. Our community will continue to make our schools great regardless of the option selected, but it is the opinion of the DHS and PCMS School Councils that the benefits of this modified Option B far outweigh those of the other options.

Please don't forget to click here or go back to the link at the top and complete the survey.

Chad Griffith, DHS Council Chair
On behalf of DHS Council

Allegra Johnson, PCMS Foundation Chair
On behalf of PCMS Foundation

Dunwoody conducts Pedestrian Safety Action Plan - Council to look at funding strategy to match recommendations.

Full Report

List with Recommendations

The priority list, which identified locations for further mitigation and priority, is shown in
Table 3 above. The prioritized order and treatments were developed based on data collected from visits to the field, laneage/geometry, and cost in addition to the FHWA guidelines score. The highest priority “N” on N Peachtree Rd near Chesnut Elementary warrants a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) because it provides a pedestrian refuge island and additional warning for vehicular traffic. In most other cases, the roadway widths and geometry provide enough space for pedestrian refuge islands for high vehicular and pedestrian volume areas. In addition to the RRFB and pedestrian refuge island treatments, other recommendations have been made in Table 3 for improvements to existing crosswalks for crosswalks that warrant pedestrian facility enhancements and others that warrant a marked crosswalk only.

These additional enhancements and maintenance include striping stop bars, widening pedestrian  sidewalk pads, removing and replacing existing crosswalk striping, installing new sidewalks, complying with ADA guidelines, adding pedestrian and advanced motorist warning signs, and using
police enforcement to slow traffic and enforce parking codes. Table 3 shows the priority rankings and the treatment recommendations for each intersection.

Dunwoody School meetings Sunday 2 pm at St. Luke's and Dunwoody Mom knows best.

On Friday, December 6th, Chesnut Charter Elementary joined the Atlanta Falcons' "RISE UP-idemic," as the school celebrated having been chosen as the Atlanta Falcon's "Rise up Friday" School of the Week. The title was earned after Ms. Julie Borenstein’s 5th grade Discovery students submitted to the Falcons their "rise up" themed bulletin board demonstrating their spirit and pride in Atlanta's hometown NFL team. Chesnut’s entire student body, faculty and staff welcomed Freddie the Falcon and two cheerleaders as they presented a banner for display in the school.

Smart Dunwoody kids win DeKalb County Academic Bowl - Congrats to both Dunwoody & Vanderlyn.

Dunwoody Parents Concerned about Quality Education will host a community meeting to review the Dunwoody Independent School District Feasibility Study on Sunday, December 15 at 2:00 pm in the Great Hall of St. Luke's Presbyterian Church, 1978 Mt. Vernon Road in Dunwoody.

Georgians for Local Area School Systems is an advocacy group promoting the passage of HR 486 in the Georgia General Assembly and then by a state wide referendum. GLASS will meet following the 2 pm Dunwoody Parents Concerned About Quality Education Community Meeting.

Dunwoody Mom, the blogger who writes Dunwoody School Daze always has the best inside information on what is happening in and around our schools.  Well worth a follow and a special shout out as every story above was lifted from her!

Final Report - Proposed Dunwoody Independent School District Financial Feasibility

Full Report

Introduction and Summary of Conclusions

This report on the financial feasibility of forming a Dunwoody Independent School District was commissioned by the City of Dunwoody, through the Dunwoody Parents Concerned about Quality Education, a community group formed in 2013 to explore opportunities to improve public education in Dunwoody.

Dunwoody’s public school students (6,082 students in 2012) attend one of the seven public schools located within the city limits. All of these schools are currently under the management and supervision of the DeKalb County Public School District (97,297 students in 2012). Together, the seven Dunwoody schools comprise a relatively self-contained cluster that could conceivably be operated as an independent public school district.

The report is specifically designed to assess whether educational services provided to the recently founded City of Dunwoody by the DeKalb County School District could be provided more efficiently with a leaner organizational form. The question is whether a Dunwoody Independent School District (DISD) can potentially manage a single ‘cluster’ of Dunwoody schools (one high school, and ‘feeder’ middle school and elementary schools) and deliver the same or better district educational and management services at lower cost.

 Such organizational reform may be not only financially prudent but would facilitate the classroom-centered and child-centered operations without the organizational encumbrances of a district organized to serve 98,000 children. Significant changes in information technology have substantially altered the economies of scale arguments that previously argued for larger school districts. Smaller districts are consistent with educational reform that emphasizes child-centered education.

This report assesses the financial feasibility of a smaller Dunwoody Independent School District with analysis of the most detailed and accurate available data. We reallocate the sources of revenue and allocations of cost from the current consolidated DeKalb County School District (which now supervises Dunwoody schools) to project revenue and cost allocations as if a separate and independently controlled Dunwoody School District (DSD) had existed in 2012. We also reallocate resources based on the number of students who would transfer into schools within the new boundaries as well as students who are expected to move from private schools into the new DISD.

The Dunwoody schools are currently managed and controlled under the operational and financial umbrella of the DeKalb County School. If the Dunwoody cluster of schools were managed under a separate and independent school district, some current sources of revenue would follow students and schools to the new Dunwoody Independent School District (DISD). Other revenues would remain allocated to what we term the deconsolidated DeKalb County School District (DDCSD). The allocation of 2012 revenue to either the independent Dunwoody district or the deconsolidated DeKalb district depends on detailed and specific characteristics of the two student populations, supporting communities, and the experience and educational profile of the assigned teachers.

Likewise, the analysis reallocates the consolidated DeKalb County School District 2012 costs between an independent Dunwoody district and a deconsolidated DeKalb district. Using line-item cost detail, we calculated those operating costs of the DISD that are required for each new school, classroom, and student. These estimates of various fixed and variables costs allowed us to project cost shifts for students who would transfer to new schools across new boundaries and student currently in private schools who are projected to transfer to DISD.

This reallocation of revenues and costs (including projected costs of a new Dunwoody Independent School District central office) allows the conclusion that deconsolidation and formation of an independent school district is financially feasible for the City of Dunwoody. In fact, projected revenues for a separate Dunwoody Independent School District from local property tax allocations, state funding, and federal funding would have been $78.7 million in 2012 (based on student and community characteristics, teachers’ profiles and current laws and regulation). Costs of $37.8 million in 2012 would no longer have accrued to a deconsolidated DeKalb County School District, but would have fallen to a new Dunwoody district. Costs for operation of a Dunwoody central office and services are projected to be $10.3 million. On net, revenues for operations of an independent Dunwoody school district would exceed school and district operating costs by $30.7 million annually.

Reallocation also has consequences for a deconsolidated DeKalb School District. After significant wealth-reallocation transfer by state and federal authorities, a deconsolidated DeKalb would lose $77.3 million in revenue (out of a consolidated total of $863.6 million) and $50.5 million in costs. A loss in local revenues of $57.2 million is mitigated as state and federal funding grow as a share of total funding. The net reduction in resources available to DeKalb after deconsolidation is $26.8 million. This is the equivalent of $293 per student per year.

The detailed 25 page report can be found here.

Kelly McCutchen and Prof. Christine P. Ries1
November 18, 2013

City of Dunwoody to look closely at additional sidewalks and school safety improvements.

Video

At the State of the City Address, Mayor Mike Davis announced that safety improvements will be made around Dunwoody schools.  At this evenings City Council Meeting the Mayor announced that at the March work session, the City Council will be discussing adding missing sidewalks like the one on Hensley Drive shown above as well as contemplate other safety improvements that are needed around our schools.

Watch the youtube video published back in November and then read the comments by this Father regarding almost being forced to drive his kids to school when they live just a half mile to school.  It is this exact reason why our streets

The City Council pulled $700,000 of funding off the Womack / Vermack roundabout and those funds are are sitting in reserves until needed.  It appears that the final roundabout design will not be brought back to Council until late in the year therefore a portion of those funds could be used for the Mayor's announced safety improvements.

Besides looking at crosswalks, school signage and lighting systems should be reviewed and upgraded as needed to the 2013 standards from the 1960 standards when they were first installed.   I believe HAWK beacons may be needed at several specific crosswalks located on heavily traveled streets and we will be looking for location recommendations from the Public Works Department, the School PTA's and the general public.

Video

Watch the video.  Where would you like to see these devices installed?   Near Schools like Mt Vernon at Stratham near Vanderlyn, Chesnut Crosswalk on North Peachtree, Chamblee Dunwoody at Redfield near Austin, or maybe on other high traffic areas away from standard traffic lights like Mt Vernon near the Branches, Chamblee Dunwoody at Kings Down or Tilly Mill at Stonington or Andover Rd's.

Where are the highest needs and where would you like to see improvements?

Vanderdash 5K on March 23rd - registration open and sponsorships available

Vanderdash 5K and 1 mile Fun Run Info

Dunwoody School Redistricting - long term discussion starts again.

Click here for the draft version of Dr. Atkinson's presentation to the Board on 11/27.  You can also find the presentation on the DCSD Website under Community/SPLOST IV or on Nancy Jester's site.

Notes of interest from report:

1.  House Kittredge at Midway ES during Austin Construction
2.  House Austin ES at Kittredge during Austin Construction
3.  Possibly move up Austin construction by 2 years to open 2016-2017 school year if bonds are issued to accelerate the project.
4.  New Austin Elem to house 900 children
5.  Recommended Dunwoody Cluster Attendance Lines after new Austin ES.

Dunwoody Cluster FTE Counts of October 2012

 Dunwoody Elementary School Zones

FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) reporting refers to the state funding mechanism based on the student enrollment and the educational services local school systems provide for the students. For further information click here for the GABOE’s FTE General Information Guide.

Click here for an Excel Spreadsheet that outlines the FTE Counts for all DCSD Charter Schools (stand-alone), High Schools, Middle Schools and Elementary Schools

Click here to view the entire FTE database from the GABOE site.

	October, 2012	March, 2012	Diff	Capacity	Over/Under Capacity
Austin	647	649	-2	588	+59
Chesnut	471	445	+26	487	-16
Dunwoody ES	952	960	-8	1,136	-184
Hightower	776	705	+71	595	+181
Kingsley	587	566	+21	546	+41
Vanderlyn	778	711	+67	538	+240
Peachtree MS	1,339	1,315	+24	1,113	+226
Dunwoody HS	1,511	1,491	+20	1,242	+269

H/T to Dunwoody Mom at the Dunwoody School Daze blog who has the inside scoop of everything DeKalb County School System does in Dunwoody. Please follow her if you are interested in the schools.

Mr. Noel Maloof named Principal of Dunwoody High School.

Noel Maloof

Mr. Noel Maloof the Principal of Vanderlyn Elementary is moving over to Dunwoody High School where he served as an Assistant Principal earlier in his career.

Maloof's replacement at Vanderlyn is Assistant Principal Tracey Crenshaw.

Jennifer Pittman Sanders (current Dunwoody Elementary Assistant Principal and former Vanderlyn Assistant Principal) is the new Dunwoody Elementary Principal.

I don't know Mr. Maloof very well though we have met professionally several times and seemed very capable and cared immensely for the students under his care therefore I am sure he will do well at Dunwoody High School.  Other community reactions can be found at Bob Fiscella's Dunwoody USA Blog as well the Dunwoody School Daze Blog.

Congrats to the new leaders in the community, I look forward to working with you.

Chesnut Charter School will host Kindergarten Round Up on Tuesday, March 27; DES April 12 & Vanderlyn April 17th.

Chesnut Charter School will host Kindergarten Round Up on Tuesday, March 27 from 8:30 to 10:30 am. Will your child be attending Chesnut next year as a rising kindergarten or first grade student? If so, please bring your child to Chesnut’s Kindergarten Round Up for a chance to tour the classrooms, meet the teachers and experience Chesnut for the first time. The kids will love it, and parents will receive important registration information. New this year…an abbreviated evening program as an option for those parents unable to attend the morning Kindergarten Round Up event - sign in is at 5:45 PM, and the program will begin promptly at 6:00 PM. RSVP for the abbreviated program to Terri Young terri_young1@comcast.net or 770-457-1519.

Dunwoody Elementary Kindergarten Registration
When: Thursday, April 12, 2012 from 8:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Children must be age 5 or older as of September 1, 2012

Vanderlyn will hosting their Kindergarten Round-up on Tuesday April 17, 2012 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.  During the morning session you can bring your rising Kindergartener to visit one of our Kindergarten classrooms.  This is a great opportunity for your child to see what happens in the classroom.
 
Austin & Kingsley information could not be found but please contact the school if you are interested in obtaining registration information.

Dunwoody Walk to School Routes for this Wednesday

Kingsley fun video promoting the event.

Austin:
The walking bus for Austin leaves from Mellow Mushroom at 7:30am. There is always a parade of kids on the Roberts Drive sidewalk.

Chesnut:
1. The rear gate of the First Baptist Church on Peachford Rd at 7:15 Students may walk directly down the sidewalk on Peachford all the way to North Peachtree, cross Peachford at the corner crossing, and go to the front entrance.
2. The entrance of the Broadstone Apts on North Peachtree Rd at 7:20 Students from this complex can meet and then proceed directly on North Peachtree to Chesnut using the sidewalk and then crossing at the crosswalk with the crossing guard to the front entrance of the school
3. The intersection of Sharon Valley at Flintshire at 7:15 Students can walk a short distance to Kings Point Dr and turn left. They will reach a T-Intersection at Brookhurst Dr and turn right. They can follow Brookhurst Dr (mostly sidewalk) directly to North Peachtree Rd and turn right. Students are encourage to proceed to the marked crosswalk with the crossing guard and go to the front entrance of the school
4. The intersection of Ellisbury Dr at Riverglen Circle at 7:20 Students can walk to Kings Point Drive and turn right a short distance to North Peachtree Rd. This is a busy intersection with traffic to Peachtree Middle School. Students are encouraged to turn left and stay on the left side of the road, utilize the sidewalk all the way up to the marked crosswalk with the crossing guard at the front entrance of the school.

Dunwoody Elementary:
We will have walking school buses leaving at 7:20 from Village Mill Swim and Tennis, Vermack Swim and Tennis and Kingswood UMC. We also have a Walk with the Principal option leaving from Georgia Perimeter College at 7:20. The Kingswood UMC will have a Dunwoody Police Officer accompanying them. Walk to school with the Police!!!!

Kingsley:
Kingsley will have three walking school bus routes – meeting at Old Ace hardware, Kingswood (N. Peachtree parking lot), and Heatherdale cul-de-sac. All groups will meet at 7 AM, and start walking to school at 7:10 sharp. The Ace route will also be escorted by a Dunwoody Police Officer. Captain Kingsley's new partner - Princess Comet - will be making her first public appearance at this event, and will be joining Captain Kingsley on our Ace Hardware route.

Vanderlyn:
Vanderlyn walkers will depart from the eastern parking lot of St. Luke's Presbyterian Church on Mt. Vernon. Walkers will depart continuously from about 7:10 - 7:25 am.

Dunwoody schools to participate in Georgia Walk to School Day on Wed March 7th

Wednesday, March 7th, will be our "Georgia Walk to School Day".  Each of Dunwoody's elementary schools - Austin, Chesnut, Dunwoody Elementary, Kingsley and Vanderlyn - will be hosting a walk/bike to school event on this day as part of its walk to school program.  We have raised the stakes this year, as the schools will be competing for "The Golden Sneaker of Dunwoody" - awarded to the school with the highest percentage of walkers.

We would like to invite you to join our students and parents for this great event.  Each school has individual walking routes and schedules, so if you are interested in joining us for "Walking Wednesday" please contact the school you will be joining for additional information.  

School contacts are as follows:
Austin:  Stacey Harris, staceyharris70@hotmail.com
Chesnut:  Chris Newberry, newby211@gmail.com
Dunwoody Elementary:  Rosemary Gorham, rosemary_gorham@hotmail.com 
Kingsley:  Tom Lambert, tldlshop@comcast.net  (see below for Kingsley information)
Vanderlyn:  Kate Sweeney, kate1sweeney@gmail.com 

As an FYI - Kingsley will be meeting at the old ACE Hardware parking lot on Mt. Vernon Drive at 7:00 AM, and will start the walk to school down North Peachtree Rd at 7:10 AM sharp. Captain Kingsley's new partner - Princess Comet - will be making her first public appearance at this event.

Three year video retrospective on the City of Dunwoody and other various tidbits of interest.

Video Retrospective by Councilman Danny Ross

Police

Three Teens Arrested for Alleged Home Burglary in Dunwoody North

Part 1 Crime in Dunwoody is down 3.6% through November 2011.

Dunwoody police blotter — reports through Dec. 2

Dunwoody murder suspect faces wife in court

Congrats to another successful Christmas for Kids event. Thank you to all involved.

DeKalb Politics

DeKalb budget calls for departments to maintain 2011 levels   

For Some Reason We Don't Believe Him, Or Any Of The Commissioners

DeKalb agrees to small business funding program

Burrell Ellis gives someone yet another reason to support a City of Brookhaven

Residents debating the boundaries of a possible city of Brookhaven

Group forms to oppose Brookhaven city

Residents to lawmakers: No more cities
 

Education

Congrats to Vanderlyn Elementary School, 2011 School of Excellence

SPOLST Construction - Dunwoody Chamblee Parent Council Meeting

Chesnut Changing Children’s Culture, Choices

PCMS Academic Quiz Bowl Takes 1st Place!!

Dunwoody High School Quiz Bowl Team Advances with Victory Over Lovett 

Dunwoody High Math Team Continues to Shine in Competition

Dunwoody Politics

Council Swearing in Ceremony - Jan 3rd, 7 pm City Hall

A Dunwoody Christmas Wish List
 
Davis sweeps into office, promises city hall presence 

MEET MIKE - Davis readies to take helm after election
 
New council gives city new direction

City Welcoming New Community Development Director

Dunwoody welcomes new guru of Financial Reports and Check Register

Options on Tilly Mill, N Peachtree & Peeler look to be going public in early Jan.

I am really enjoying the reflectors embedded in the newly paved roads and will be looking for more of these in next years paving budget.    Did anyone else notice the lights being on in the 285 underpasses?

Shade will be coming to the Brook Run Playground in the very near future and was told that the water feature was fixed and then winterized until the Spring.

Enjoy your holidays,

John

Final AYP Results are Available for Dunwoody Public Schools

Peachtree Charter Middle School

text clorox8514 to 44144

h/t to Dunwoody Mom of the Dunwoody School Daze Blog

The Georgia Dept of Education has released the final AYP results.  After the summer re-test period:

Dunwoody High School made AYP (and is now out of "Needs Improvement" status), as well as Hightower Elementary.

Peachtree Charter Middle School and Kingsley Charter Elementary School did not make AYP.  Click on the school name for the individual school reports.  Please take the time to actually "drill down" into the data and not just AYP "status".

Austin Elementary final AYP results
Chesnut Charter Elementary final AYP results
Dunwoody Elementary final AYP results
Vanderlyn Elementary final AYP results

Keep your fingers crossed that the ESEA Waiver submitted by the State of Georgia DOE is approved by the Federal DOE.   If so, the way AYP is determined will be a thing of the past.  I believe the waiver review is mid-November. I'm not sure how much time will pass before a decision is made to approve or disapprove Georgia's waiver.   From what I am reading, the reauthorization of ESEA is making a slow, slow move through Congress.

Dunwoody Races are a community builder - Dunwoody High 5K coming up.

I try to attend as many Dunwoody events as possible and though I am not the worlds best runner; I ran in the Austin Elementary, Dunwoody Dash as well as participated in the Vanderlyn, Vanderdash. I was really impressed with both events and I would like to thank everyone involved as it is these types of events that truly make this community great.

My brother in law happened to be visiting last week and attended the Vanderdash with me.  He was totally blown away at the number of participants (especially the children).  His exact words were that "Dunwoody is a very special place and I can truly see that this is a great community to raise the boys."  Looking around as he said that, I nodded my head and said that I couldn't agree more.

Having fun at the Dunwoody Dash

Mark your calendars for the Dunwoody High 5k at 8 am on Saturday, April 30th!  The inaugural Dunwoody High 5k is sponsored by the DHS Class of 2013 and the DHS Cross Country Team. This fundraiser will benefit the DHS Class of 2013, Autism Speaks and the Pulmonary Hypertension Association in memory of Eve Greenstein.  Information and registration at Dunwoody High School 5k Race.

Dunwoody Vanderdash this Saturday morning with race day registration available.

Vanderlyn VanderDash

5K @ 7:30 a.m. 1 Mile Fun Run @ 8:30 a.m. Tot Trot @ 9:00 a.m.

Bring the whole family, enjoy the fun and stay for the festivities after the race!

Race begins and ends at Vanderlyn Elementary, 1877 Vanderlyn Drive, Dunwoody

For more information including race maps go to www.vanderlynpta.com