Champion Home

Champion: Memories and Milestones

Click to view

20 year proof book-1.png

Education

Dekalb County Education Coverage

Former chorus teacher cleared of student indecency charges

Nathan Grigsby, left, listens in court.
A former Southwest DeKalb High School chorus teacher was cleared of charges related to a 2008 incident where students in his class stripped and pantomimed sex acts with other students to music, a jury ruled last month. Nathan Grigsby was found not gu...

After weeks of debate, committee decides not to close any schools in DeKalb

They met for nearly two months, every week, debating school closures. They looked at enrollments, they looked at outside recommendations, they asked questions and listened to hoards of furious parents who dragged along their begging children. Please ...

Hot competition tests culinary skills of young chefs

The concentration of these Warren Tech High School chefs paid off in the Fifth Annual Iron Chef Culinary Competition. They came out first-place winners. Photos by Gale Horton Gay
Burgers and fries might be on the minds of many teens these days, but not all. Some have discerning palates and a more sophisticated notion of what makes a great meal, and a select few don’t mind battling it out to see who’s the best in the kitch...

Lewis in separation talks with school board

The DeKalb County Board of Education is in talks with Superintendent Crawford Lewis about a separation agreement, board member Jay Cunningham said. Lewis stepped down temporarily last month amid police searches of his home and office, and a looming $...

Three students charged with teacher in Southwest DeKalb High indecency case

Three Southwest DeKalb High School students have been charged with performing a lewd act in class in connection with a trial involving their teacher this week in Decatur. The three former students, Jerramy Bartlett, Joe’l Shumate and Kiyon Benton, ...

School district budget deficit balloons to $115 million

Two months ago, the DeKalb County School System feared it would need to balance a budget deficit next year of more than $50 million. Then things got worse. Much worse. That deficit shot to $88 million last month after district officials learned proje...

Decatur school employees face three furlough days

Teachers and administrators throughout Decatur public schools will be required to take three furlough days next year as the school system works to plug a budget deficit. Employees who work more than 190 days per year, including teachers, will take th...

Proposal to shrink school board intensifies racial divisions among members

The DeKalb County Board of Education could vote to reduce the number of members from nine to seven this month – an issue that intensified racial divisions among board members at a recent meeting. The board voted unanimously March 8 to hold a meetin...

Superintendent steps down for now as construction investigation widens

David Schutten, president of the Organization of DeKalb Educators, said he agreed with Superintendent Crawford Lewis’ decision to temporarily step down from his job. Photo by J. Cribbs
DeKalb County schools chief Crawford Lewis temporarily stepped down from his job last month after local law enforcement officials raided his home and district offices – the most recent development in a months-long investigation into the district...

Catholic school receives anonymous $1M donation

The contract found its way to Tricia DeWitt’s hands shortly before Christmas. It was an astonishing contract – a legal formality to seal DeWitt’s acceptance of a $1 million check on behalf of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School in Atlanta....

Superintendent steps down from job for now as construction investigation widens

DeKalb County schools chief Crawford Lewis temporarily stepped down from his job Feb. 25 after local law enforcement officials raided his home and district offices – the most recent development in a months-long investigation into the district’s c...

Police raid superintendent’s home, offices in construction investigation

Superintendent Crawford Lewis
DeKalb County law enforcement officials raided the home of school district Superintendent Crawford Lewis and several district offices Feb. 25 in search of documents related to a months-long investigation in alleged construction contract tampering. It...

School district to lay off 148 district employees following $88M deficit

School district to lay off 148 district employees following $88M deficit Teachers spared from cuts   The DeKalb County School System will lay off 148 employees to manage a ballooning $88 million budget deficit for next year, Superintendent Crawford ...

Up to 20 DeKalb county schools suspected of cheating

The Georgia Department of Education has widened its investigation of standardized test cheating, and as many as 20 DeKalb County public schools are likely to be investigated for changing students’ answers, according to state data released this mont...

GPC opens center designed to benefit students, staff and community

GPC President Anthony S.Tricoli, left, joins former President Jimmy Carter at the ribbon cutting for the Atlanta Center for Civic Engagement and Service-Learning.
Georgia Perimeter College (GPC) stands by the notion that serving and learning go hand in hand—so much so that they’ve opened a center dedicated to it. The Atlanta Center for Civic Engagement and Service-Learning opened on Feb. 15 on the Clarksto...

Committee to recommend school closures in April

A citizen committee will recommend the closure of possibly four schools this summer as the DeKalb County School System works to cut costs by closing severely under-enrolled schools across the county, a district official said this month. The committee...

Intense budget cutting leads to green solutions

There might be a silver lining in the heavy budget cutting at the DeKalb County School System. Now, it seems, students might get a greener school district because it saves money. Amid several plans to cut more than $56 million from the school distric...

Lewis chooses high school reporters for first interview about $15K raise

If you want to get DeKalb County schools chief Crawford Lewis’ defense of a recent $15,000 raise, looking in the local newspaper wouldn’t necessarily get you anywhere. Not unless you’re talking about Chamblee High School’s student newspaper. ...

Principal brainstorming leads to ‘FATHER-nonymous’ at Rock Chapel Elementary

Program designed to lure more father figures to students’ educational lives
Patrick S. Muhammad brainstormed the phrase “FATHER-nonymous.” It got about 50 men – fathers, grandfathers and neighbors among them – to come to Rock Chapel Elementary School last month for FATHER-nonymous: Known Fathers Dedicated to Taking T...

Lewis: Serious budget trauma headed for the district

DeKalb County School System Superintendent Crawford Lewis predicts the school district will face a budget deficit next year of more than $50 million. Photos by Jonathan Cribbs
The DeKalb County School System is headed for serious budget trauma, Superintendent Crawford Lewis said this month. Over the last four years, the school district has slashed the budget by more than $10 million each year, and this year is no different...

All Pages

Categories