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Dekalb County Education Coverage

Cross Keys solar car heads to Texas Motor Speedway

The top of the Cross Keys High School solar car “Endeavor” awaits placement. The team, made up of members of the DeKalb County School District’s Engineering and VEX Robotics teams, was the first team of Georgia high-schoolers to participate in the 2012 Solar Car Challenge, held at the Texas Motor Speedway.
Patrick Gunter, director of the Cross Keys High School Manufacturing Center, stood amid a group of students busily putting the last finishing touches on a solar car they had been building for the last several months. During the past year Gunter has b...

East Atlanta Kids Club offers academic enrichment and fun

Jill Sieder, executive director and founder of the East Atlanta Kids Club, said when it first opened in 1998 the center was about sheer recreation—a fun and games environment—but that has changed over the years. The club, located in the Brownwood...

Large donation to spur diversity at Emory Law School

Law school administrators tend to agree that diversity in the classroom is an asset. Students of different backgrounds contribute unique perspectives that enrich classroom discussions. Yet, achieving meaningful diversity, in terms of race and socioec...

DeKalb students come face-to-face with CNN executives, journalists

DeKalb County students attended CNN’s annual Leadership Unplugged conference held at Georgia Tech June 25-29. Students, from left, Lydia Briggs from Arabia Mountain High School; Kobi Warner from Chamblee Charter High School; and Xan-Rhea Bilal from Redan High School, said having the chance to get up-close and personal with CNN executives was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Photo by David Holloway, CNN
Redan High School student Xan-Rhea Bilal, 16, said she found out about CNN’s seventh annual Leadership Unplugged conference by walking into the right place at the right time. “I happened to walk into a teacher’s classroom and she had the detail...

Educators stress importance of quality early care

As more research emerges about how rapidly a child’s brain develops at an early age, some educators say a shift is taking place that is causing parents to look at early care centers as more than just a “baby-sitting” service. Paige Kubik, vice ...

DeKalb School Board raises taxes, cuts hundreds of jobs

The DeKalb County School Board voted June 21 on a budget that will raise taxes and cut more than 400 jobs to close an anticipated budget shortfall of $85 million. The school board approved approximately $93 million in cuts that include central office...

Decatur schools budget remains stable

Unlike other school systems in the metro area that have been hit hard by falling county tax digests, officials said City Schools of Decatur (CSD) is projected to have a surplus and a well-balanced budget in 2013. Officials in the DeKalb County School...

Residents, students rally behind Fernbank Science Center

Residents, students and community members came out to show their support for the Fernbank Science Center at a rally June 18. The DeKalb County School District has recently proposed drastic cuts to the center’s $4.7 million budget. Photo by Daniel Beauregard
Thomas Dolby’s 1982 hit She Blinded Me with Science, played over a sound system as people concerned about the fate of the Fernbank Science Center congregated on an adjacent sidewalk June 18. In what has been a long and contentious budgeting process...

Budget deficit grows, school board tables vote

DeKalb County School District Chief Financial Officer Michael Perrone speaks with Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson and Chief Communications Officer Walter Woods at a business meeting June 11. Photo by Daniel Beauregard
The DeKalb County Board of Education tabled a final vote on its proposed budget June 11 after school officials revealed it needs to make an additional $12 million in cuts due to dropping property tax values. Hundreds of students, community members an...

Teacher lawsuit could lead to costly trial for school board

The DeKalb County School Board is facing another lawsuit that could cost it millions of dollars if it goes to trial. The suit, filed by DeKalb County School District (DCSD) teachers Elaine Gold and Amy Shaye last year, alleges the board owes them, an...

School district deficit grows to $85 million

The DeKalb County Board of Education tabled a vote on its proposed budget June 11 after school officials revealed it needed to make an additional $12 million in cuts because of dropping property tax values. Originally, officials predicted a 6 pe...

School board proposes more than $75 million in budget cuts

The DeKalb County School Board has agreed on a list of tentative budget cuts to make up for a nearly $73 million deficit expected next year. The deficit is due to declining property values resulting in lower taxes collected and increased health care,...

DCSD salary restructuring to save $2 million

The DeKalb County School District (DCSD) announced May 24 that its new aligned salary structure will save the district more than $2 million over the next three years. The district announced in April it would consolidate more than 380 job titles into ...

Students building solar car for summer competition

Members of the DeKalb County School District Engineering and VEX Robotics teams have begun building a solar car to compete in the Solar Car Challenge at the Texas Motor Speedway in July. Photo by Daniel Beauregard
Cross Keys High School engineering teacher Patrick Gunter told students May 22 they need to be prepared to work 50 hours a week, from Tuesday through Saturday, if they want to finish building their car in time for the Solar Car Challenge. Gunter, who...

Schools receive $100,000 in band instruments

Earlier this month Clarkston High School and Sequoyah Middle School received $50,000 each in instruments donated by the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, which awards grants to Title-I school music programs throughout the county. Tricia Steel, program...

Graduation 2012: Ceremonies celebrate cultural diversity

Clarkston High School graduation. Photo by Daniel Beauregard
Hundreds of students, parents, family and community members filled the stands of Hallford Stadium on May 24 for the Clarkston High School class of 2012 graduation. Some brought balloons, others air horns, to congratulate the 161 seniors who will be g...

Gates scholarship awarded to 14 DeKalb students

Thuy Hang Tran, who graduated from Cross Keys High School, is originally from a small Vietnamese village and moved to metro Atlanta when she was in third grade. Tran said when she enrolled in school she barely spoke English. “I came from the countr...

Cases involving former superintendent, school board, moving forward

A date has been set for the criminal trial of former DeKalb County Schools Superintendent Crawford Lewis, who is charged with violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, theft by taking by a government employee and bribery. In 2...

Superintendent proposes changes to combat deficit

Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson and DeKalb County School District staff have proposed several measures to close a projected $73 million budget gap. In addition to declining property values, the deficit is due to an increase in health care costs and in...

Holocaust survivor among honorees at Oglethorpe commencement

Zhanna Arshanskaya Dawson had a message of faith and perseverance for attendees at Oglethorpe University’s commencement ceremony on May 12. Dawson, an 85-year-old accomplished pianist, Holocaust survivor and former faculty member at Indiana Univers...

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