DeKalb County Household Hazardous Waste Event on Saturday, April 6, 8:00 a.m. and other upcoming related events

DeKalb County welcomes county residents to participate in the 2013 Spring Household Hazardous Waste Event on Saturday, April 6, 8:00 a.m. to noon at the DeKalb County Central Transfer Station, 3720 Leroy Scott Drive, Decatur, GA 30032.

The event, sponsored by Keep DeKalb Beautiful (KDB) and the DeKalb County Sanitation Division, in partnership with Clean Harbors Environmental Services, Inc., gives county residents an opportunity to dispose of their household hazardous wastes properly and free of charge. Household hazardous waste is classifies as products that contain potentially dangerous chemicals and are no longer used. These products should not be mixed with regular trash and can be potentially harmful to the environment if not disposed of properly. DeKalb County encourages residents to take advantage of this opportunity to clear their homes of unneeded or unused household hazardous waste and to help keep county landfills and the environment safe for everyone.

April 20^th—Green Expo in partnership with the DeKalb County Green Commission and Decatur Environmental Sustainability Board from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Conference Center at Georgia Piedmont Technical College (495 North Indian Creek Road, Clarkston, GA 30021)

April 22^nd—paint recycling event for corporate employees and Dunwoody citizens from 8a.m.-1 p.m. (in partnership with Dunwoody Nature Center)

April 27^th— stream clean-up of Nancy Creek tributary adjacent to project Renaissance from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

DeKalb Schools Revert Back to Traditional Calendar for 2013-2014 School Year

Updated Calendar

At Monday Night's Board of Education, a return to the "traditional" calendar for the 2013-2014 school year was approved by the BOE.

The proposed Traditional Calendar developed by the Calendar Committee contains the following features:

- 180 student-contact days;

- 189 teacher-contract days with the final day (Day 190) being comprised of four (2 hrs.
each/2 per semester) conference nights during the year as scheduled by each local school;

- Takes into account state-designated testing windows and dates;

- Concludes the first semester before the Winter Break in December - which prevents students    from returning from the break with final exams and End of Course Tests (EOCT)

- August 12th is first day of school. 

- Week of Thanksgiving is off

- Two weeks between Christmas and New Years is off.

- Schedules Spring Break April 7-11, 2014.

- May 23rd is last day of school.

Click here for the link to the 2013-2014 school calendar as approved by the DCSS BOE.

Dunwoody Council Recap for April 1, 2013

The Dunwoody City Council held a few meetings on Monday evening, a 6 pm work session to discuss the Georgia Emergency Management Grant followed by Exec Session, followed by the 7 pm voting meeting.  I shot video but the site was not when I got home so not sure if they took.  The links are below.

6 p.m. - http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/30755975

7 p.m. - http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/30757877

Basically everything passed as presented and the Ethics Ordinance was finalized with minor tweaks.

Proclamation - World Autism Awareness Day.

SECOND READ - Ordinance to Amend the 2012 Operating Budgets. Passed

Amendment of City Position Allocation and Compensation Chart Related to the Public Works Director Position.  Passed

Sidewalk Improvement Plan Update. Budget Amendment coming soon for Hensley & Mt. Vernon Way.

Award of Design Contract for Mount Vernon/Vermack Intersection Improvement. Passed

Approval of Georgia Emergency Management Agency Grant. Passed

SECOND READ: Ordinance to Amend Chapter 2, Administration, Article VIII, Ethics. Passed with few edits including Ethics Board being only the Jury and not directly questioning witnesses.  Ethics Board will be retrained prior to Moratorium being lifted.

Resolution to Extend the Ethics Ordinance Moratorium - 90 days.  Pulled - not needed.

Update on Project Renaissance- Construction starting very soon.

Just Four Years Ago - the Birth of the Dunwoody Police Department

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir8Cl2AzdgI

Dunwoody Charter Cluster proposal put forward - meeting tomorrow at Kingsley 5 pm

A group led by Pam Tallmadge and Jim Redovian is exploring the Charter Cluster model as a possible local control option for Dunwoody area public schools.  The first step of the exploration is a non-binding Letter of Intent to be filed with the State and County Boards of Education.

Jim Redovian and Pam Tallmadge will be guests at the next Kingsley Charter Council meeting on April 2 at 5:00 p.m. in the media center to discuss the letter of intent that is being circulated for signature among Dunwoody Cluster school councils which opens the door to start the conversation.

The Letter of Intent proclaims that the community will consider, research, and petition for Charter School Cluster status during the next year. To that end, working committees will form to address all the considerations of a locally controlled cluster. The Letter of Intent is not specific to the structure and goals of a charter cluster, merely a proclamation that the community wishes to consider this avenue.

What is a Charter Cluster? The following links provide details about legislation, guidelines, and other information:

• Georgia Department of Education: Click here.
• Code Section Code Section 20-2-2064 of the Official Code of Georgia: Click here.
• Guidelines for Charter School Petitions, DeKalb County: Click here.

If you have any questions, please contact Pam Tallmadge (pamtallmadge@comcast.net) or Jim Redovian (jim@redovian.com). Click here to leave your comments.

Here’s the Letter of Intent:

Dunwoody High School

5035 Vermack Road

Dunwoody, Georgia 30338

—and its feeder schools—

Peachtree Charter Middle School▪Austin Elementary▪ Chesnut Charter Elementary ▪Dunwoody Elementary ▪ Hightower Elementary▪Kingsley Charter Elementary ▪VanderlynElementary

Georgia Department of Education                          DeKalb County Board of Education
Charter Schools Division                                             Office of Charter Schools
2053 Twin Towers East                                                Administrative and Instructional Complex
205 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive SE                                           1701 Mountain Industrial Boulevard
Atlanta, Georgia  30334                                                Stone Mountain, Georgia 30083

Re:       Letter of Intent to Submit Petition for High School Cluster Charter

Dear Colleagues:
In accordance with Georgia State Board of Education Rule 160-4-9-.04, please accept this letter of intent to submit a Petition for the Dunwoody High School Charter Cluster, within the DeKalb County School District.
It will be the mission of the proposed Dunwoody High School Charter Cluster to work with all stakeholders to provide a variety of educational opportunities and challenges in a safe learning environment that will allow all students to acquire the critical thinking skills, knowledge, and values found at their highest potential, and to become self-assured, responsible citizens of our ever-changing global society.

The schools within the DHSCC would serve students in pre-K through the twelfth (12^th) grades.  Each of the constituent elementary schools — Austin Elementary,Chesnut Charter Elementary, Dunwoody Elementary,Hightower Elementary, Kingsley Charter Elementary and Vanderlyn Elementary — would serve pre-K through fifth (5^th) grades; Peachtree Charter Middle School would serve the cluster’s sixth (6^th) through eighth (8^th) grades; and Dunwoody High School would serve the cluster’s ninth (9^th) through twelfth (12^th) grades.

The proposed opening date for the Dunwoody High School Charter Cluster would be on or about August 1, 2014.  The opening date would coincide with the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year.
We look forward to working with you as we explore the benefits that a conversion charter cluster would bring to the students and stakeholders in the Dunwoody High School Cluster.  We will be working diligently to develop and complete our Petition in the time prescribed by DCSD.  In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
(List of School Council and Charter Council chairs as signers)

Dunwoody Chamblee Parents' Council Meeting Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at Chesnut Charter Elem

Time:                              Meeting @ 9:15-10:30 AM (Refreshments @ 8:45 AM)
Meeting Location:        Chesnut Charter Elementary School;
                                          4576 N. Peachtree Road, Dunwoody, GA 30338
Topic:                            “Legislative Updates”
Speakers:                       State Senator Fran Millar, State Representative Tom Taylor,
                                        State Representative Scott Holcomb, & State Representative Mike                                         Jacobs

DCPC meets monthly on the first Wednesday of the month (unless noted otherwise), starting with refreshments at 8:45 am. The meeting starts at 9:15 am. and ends by 10:30 A.M. Meetings are held at various public venues within the Dunwoody Chamblee area. Meetings are open, and topics are geared toward the interests of parents and guardians with children in Dunwoody and Chamblee schools in the DeKalb County School District. There is no charge for attendance. All Parents are encouraged to attend.

For more information, go to http://www.dcpc-dekalb.org.
 

Note:  There is little to no parking available at Chesnut Charter ES.  The suggestion is to park next door at Peachtree Charter Middle School and walk over to Chesnut.