A big thank you to everyone who came to the demographer community input meeting last night. Mary Lin was out in force and made great points during the question / comment period.

What's next?

Now we enter the feedback phase for the round 2 maps. We have until February 24 to submit our input to the demographers, school board members and APS leadership.

In last month's special meeting, Candler Park voted overwhelming to keep Mary Lin elementary K-5, and to stay in the Inman - Grady cluster. For those reasons, Candler Park supports option A. By comparison, Option B has us merging with Kirkwood's Toomer Elementary in a "split model," and not getting the long-promised expansion from Mary Lin. (Note: our support for option A pertains only to our neighborhood; we are NOT purporting to tell other neighborhoods what is best for them).

How you can help

1) FILL OUT THE SURVEY -- By February 24, go here: http://www.survey2go.net/aps/?sidx=203 and let the demographers know which option you prefer and why. It is critical that you explain your answers. The demographers will tally numbers for the options, but they will also look for key themes.

2) CONTACT DECISION MAKERS -- Let the demographers, school board members and APS leadership hear from you so they will take our concerns into account.

General feedback email address: apsdemographicstudy@atlantapublicschools.us

Erroll B. Davis, Jr., Superintendent of Schools: ebdavis@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Steve Smith, Deputy Superintendent/Chief of Staff: swsmith@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Larry Hoskins, Deputy Superintendent of Operations: lhoskins@atlantapublicschools.us
Dr. Betsy Bockman, SRT-3 Executive Director: bbockman@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Dr. Brian Mitchell, Mary Lin principal: bdmitchell@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Ken Bleakley of the Bleakley consulting group (demographers): ken@blagroup.com
Councilman Alex Wan: awan@atlantaga.gov

School board members:
Cecily Harsch-Kinnane (District 3), chkinnane@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Reuben McDaniel, At-Large (3&4), rrmcdaniel@atlantapublicschools.us
Brenda Muhammad, bjmuhammad@atlantapublicschools.us
Nancy Meister, nmeister@atlanta.k12.ga.us
LacChandra Butler Burks, lbburks@atlantapublicschools.us
Yolanda Johnson, yjohnson@atlantapublicschools.us

3) ATTEND TWO IMPORTANT MEETINGS
Monday, February 6, 6pm
What: APS Board Community Meeting
Where: APS - The Center for Learning and Leadership Auditorium, 130 Trinity Avenue SW, Atlanta, 30303
Notes: Please arrive no later than 5 pm to sign up to speak! They will stop taking sign-ups at 5:30 and last time this filled up fast.

Thursday, February 9, 7-9pm
What: Atlanta Board of Education Listening Session with the SRT3 Community - Hosted by CINS
Where: Grady High School Auditorium, 929 Charles Allen Drive, Atlanta, 30309
Notes: The ABOE members from District 1 Ms. Brenda Muhammad, District 2 Ms. Cecily Harsch-Kinnane, Seat 7 At Large Mr. Courtney English, Seat 8 At Large & Board Chair Mr. Reuben McDaniel, and Seat 9 At Large Mr. Emmett Johnson will join the SRT3 Comunity for a listening session on redistricting in SRT3. The board members representing Districts 3, 4, 5 and 6 will also be invited to participate.

Remember: It's important to get to these meetings very early. Last night's meeting was full long before it started. Also, we'd like to sit together as much as possible.

Tomorrow night (Monday, January 30, 6:30 pm) is the demographic community meeting for our cluster of schools. This is our opportunity to provide feedback on the new maps (found here). Of the two options, one has Mary Lin staying K-5 and getting its long-promised expansion. The other has no expansion, and has Mary Lin merging with Toomer Elementary in Kirkwood.

We need to have a large presence at this meeting to convey to demographers and school board members how important our schools are to us. APS will be paying attention to who shows up, and we can count on other neighborhoods being out in force.

We do not yet know the format of this meeting, and whether questions will be taken during the meeting, or only in small groups at the end like last time.

What: Demographic Capacity Study Community Meeting for SRT-3 Cluster (Schools zoned to Grady and Jackson High Schools)
When: Monday, January 30, 2012 at 6:30 pm -- arrive early, last meeting was standing room only.
Where: Maynard Jackson High School, 801 Glenwood Avenue, SE, Atlanta, 30316
Notes:

• Look for Mary Lin-Inman-Grady signs so we can sit together.
• The Mary Lin-Inman-Grady community is encouraged to wear black shirts, or a Mary Lin, Inman, or Grady shirt.
• We will have bright yellow stickers for our community members to wear.
• Parking will be limited, carpooling is encouraged.  If you can't park at the school, try parking along Waldo St, Cameron St, Hansell St, or Rosalia St, to the west of the HS, and in the Grant Park neighborhood.

See you there!

See here for the specifics.

Still analyzing the docs, but at first glance:

Option A has everything staying the same for Candler Park, and Mary Lin gets expanded.

Option B has Candler Park combining with Toomer at the elementary level in a grade center split, and no Mary Lin expansion. But still going to Inman and Grady.

Reminder: School rezoning options / maps are expected on Friday, Jan 27. They will be posted to the APS web site. The Candler Park education committee is meeting this weekend to craft a response, and this will be vetted by the CPNO board and shared with the neighborhood.

If you care about Candler Park's schools and the future growth of our neighborhood, please attend the APS community meeting THIS MONDAY 1/30 at Jackson High School (801 Glenwood Avenue SE, Atlanta, 30316) at 6:30 pm. This is a very important time for our neighborhood and it's critical that we make our voice heard. 

Reposting! Please find a time this week to grab a bite or a pint (or both!) at the Wrecking Bar. It's a great thing they are doing to give money back to the neighborhoods. You'll support a local business AND Candler Park at the same time!

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From Bob Sandage of the Wrecking Bar:

The second week in January launches the Wrecking Bar Brewpub's first official series of neighborhood noshes, as each week is dedicated to raising funds and awareness for a local organization. And what better way to boost both camaraderie and generosity than with a pint of beer? To receive a special thank you from the Wrecking Bar, let your server know that you are feasting to support the hood these three weeks when a portion of the sales will benefit the following groups that provide steadfast service to our nearby communities:

Week of Jan. 9: L5P Police Mini Precinct
Week of Jan. 16: Candler Park Neighborhood Association
Week of Jan. 23: Inman Park Security Patrol
 
About the Wrecking Bar Brewpub:

Originally built as an elegant yet eclectic Victorian-style, single-family home in the early 20th century, the Wrecking Bar Brewpub resides in the former basement of the historic Victor H. Kriegshaber House. Under the ownership of Inman Park residents and homebrewers Bob and Kristine Sandage, the National Historic Register property was artfully restored to its original glory while maintaining the fundamental integrity of the structure. From the specialty brews and craft pub food to the hand-drawn logo and intricate hand-made fixtures throughout, the Wrecking Bar Brewpub is an artisanal gathering spot for the community that took the support of a community to build.  The brewpub is the cornerstone of Inman Park and Little Five Points, located at 292 Moreland Avenue NE, Atlanta, Ga., 30307, and serves dinner seven nights a week, lunch on Saturday and brunch on Sunday (Monday through Thursday: 4 pm to 11 pm; Friday: 2 pm to 12 am; Saturday: 12 pm to 12 am; Sunday: 12 pm to 11 pm). For more information, visit www.wreckingbarbrewpub.com or call 404.221.2600.

It's here!

As drafted by a Lake Claire resident and circulated on the Candler Park Parents email list:

Jan 9 Meeting Summary (Key Points Relevant for SRT -3)

·       Meeting started with a review of the redistricting project – what has been accomplished to date and next steps.  Refer to the timeline later in this note for details on next steps and timing.

·       The final 2 – 3 options will be presented at the end of January followed by more community meetings (refer to the get involved section for more detail).

·       Morningside voiced their perspectives and presented a 1000+ signature petition.  They want to keep Morningside Elementary in the Inman Middle/Grady feeder path (versus going to the proposed new middle and high school to be constructed).

·       SPARK voiced their perspectives and also presented a 1000+ signature petition.  They are very much opposed to the split academy  proposal with Hope-Hill and want $ to continue to expand SPARK.  Key concern of these parents is that their children were recently moved from Morningside to SPARK, and a split academy proposal would be yet another move for their children.

·       Kirkwood residents made the case to expand either Toomer or Coan to be a K-8 school and rezone the neighborhoods to the north (i.e. 30307) to this school.   Stated it would be fiscally irresponsible for APS to build a new middle school when an under enrolled facility (Toomer/Coan) could be used instead, and brought to capacity by rezoning neighborhoods to the north to it.  (Kirkwood APS rep supports this and recommended the board consider this proposal)

·       Consistent comments from many parents about the lack of transparency in the process, data inaccuracies, opposition to split primary school academies, the positives of having children attend schools that are walkable/bike-able, APS needs to improve the quality of all schools in the system, etc.

Key Takeaways

·       The final 2 (maybe 3) proposals will look very different than the four options presented back in December.  The original options were created to drive community feedback, and the final options take into account the community feedback (as stated by APS).   So while the original proposals kept 30307 in the Inman Middle/Grady cluster, we should not assume we will remain in the final proposals

·       While there were many requests for a more inclusive and transparent process, the timeline (see below) will not change (per APS).   That means we as a community will need to be prepared to act quickly when the final options are presented late January.

·       The final rezoning proposals are meant to last 10 years are longer – it is important that the final option is one that works for our community. 

Redistricting Project Timeline

·       January 2012 Demographers will develop the final 2 – 3 rezoning proposals based on ABOE and community input.

·       January 30 – Feb 2 2012:  Final 2- 3 options are presented, community meetings held.

·       February 2012 - Demographers will collect and evaluate community response to the  options and debrief the ABOE.  Final report delivered.

·       March 2012:  Superintendent Erroll Davis will take ownership of the process through the following phases: Superintendent Evaluation, Superintendent's Public Hearings, and Superintendent's Report and Recommendations

·       April 2012:  Final Superintendent Recommendations to the ABOE

·       Fall of 2012-13 School Year: Implementation

Get Involved

(1)   Reach out to Our Representatives

It was clearly stated at the Jan 9 ABOE meeting that the demographers are still open to public feedback and are also taking into account guidance provided to them by APS Board Reps based on the community feedback they receive.   The Demographers are drafting the final options, the Superintendent will recommend one to the Board, and the Board will make the final decision.  

·       Superintendent Erroll Davis: ebdavis@atlanta.k12.ga.us

·       Brenda Muhammad: bjmuhammad@atlantapublicschools.us

·       Reuben McDaniel: rrmcdaniel@atlanta.k12.ga.us

·       Cecily Harsch-Kinnane: chkinnane@atlantapublicschools.us  (CP/LC rep)

·       Courtney English: cenglish@atlanta.k12.ga.us

·       Nancy Meister: nmeister@atlanta.k12.ga.us

·       LaChandra Butler-Burks: lbburks@atlantapublicschools.us

·       Yolanda Johnson: yjohnson@atlantapublicschools.us

·       Emmett Johnson: edjohnson@atlantapublicschools.us

·       Demographers:  APSdemographicstudy@atlantapublicschools.us

(2) Attend Key Meetings 

Mark your calendars to attend these important meetings - strong attendance from our community is important to ensure our opinions are heard and that we are viewed as a cohesive, active group.

January 30^th - SRT3 Community Meeting  (Final 2 – 3 rezoning options will be presented and discussed)

• 6:30 p.m.
• Location:  Jackson High
• 801 Glenwood Avenue Southeast, Atlanta, GA 30316

February 6th – Next APS Board Meeting

• 2:00 p.m. – Board Committee Meeting (no public comments)
• 6:00 p.m. – Community Meeting (public comments)
• ***It is critical that you arrive by 5:30  to get your name on the list to speak****
• Location:  APS - The Center for Learning and Leadership Auditorium
• At 130 Trinity Avenue SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Where to Get More Information

www.30307schools.org

Informational source organized by parents to support the Grady High School cluster of schools and help improve them where possible. 

www.bigtent.com/groups/apsrezoning

Online discussion forum – very interesting to hear point of views from parents/residents of other neighborhoods (e.g. Morningside, Kirkwood, etc.).

http://eastatlanta.patch.com/search/articles?cat=1998198827

Community news site that regularly publishes articles and points of view of the redistricting, and also has a repository of all the neighborhood positioning statements.

www.cinsatlanta.org

Council of Intown Neighborhoods and Schools, represents a cluster of eleven schools, all located within Atlanta in town neighborhoods. CINS mission is to work with Atlanta Public Schools (APS) to foster the development of safe, quality education, in the Grady cluster of schools. 

http://www.atlanta.k12.ga.us/Page/413

Atlanta Public Schools Redistricting Page

From AJC Photographer Christopher Oquendo, as passed along by a Candler Park resident. If interested, please send Christopher an email.

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Happy New Year!  I am reaching out to you because in the past you have supplied me stories to run in the AJC’s Private Quarters of the Sunday Homefinder.  I am putting together my stories that will run Spring/Summer and wanted to see if you might have any families that would like to be featured along with their homes (features of their home,renovations or things they love about their community) for the paper.

The one restriction that the paper has is that homes cannot be for sale. I am looking for homes inside and outside the perimeter with the first choice going to outside the perimeter.

Here are some sample galleries that have I have had published:

http://projects.ajchomefinder.com/gallery/view/homes/private-quarters/pr...

http://projects.ajchomefinder.com/gallery/view/homes/private-quarters/pq...

http://projects.ajchomefinder.com/gallery/view/homes/private-quarters/hf...

http://projects.ajchomefinder.com/gallery/view/homes/private-quarters/hf...

Every year, a few dozen events take place in and around Candler Park. Some are small road races with a few hundred runners and other are large festivals that bring more than fifteen thousand visitors to our neighborhood. Regardless of their size, these events impact our neighborhood in ways large and small.

Many impacts are positive: we're lucky to live somewhere that we can take part in so many activities right outside our door. Often, event organizers give money and volunteer hours back to the community. And we can take pride in living in a neighborhood others want to visit.

Other impacts are less welcome. Large events bring traffic and parking problems, noise issues, litter, and crime. Our quality of life can be affected. Frequently these negative impacts are unnecessary and occur only because the organizers aren't familiar with our neighborhood, and don't know how to plan for them. 

This happens because the City of Atlanta gives us a limited voice in the planning and approval process for these events. And they give no guidance at all to event organizers about how they should engage with the neighborhood. Consequently, many event organizers don't know who to work with in Candler Park and we miss opportunities to make events better for both visitors and our neighbors.

We'd like to change that. We have proposed a set of guidelines for how event organizers should engage with the neighborhood, and we'll discuss them at our upcoming membership meeting. The guidelines can be found here. Please review them and come prepared to share your ideas on January 16th.

These are a work in progress, so we welcome feedback and suggestions. However, we'd like to start socializing these guidelines outside the neighborhood, so we will take a vote of support for using them. If you have questions before the meeting, please address them to president@candlerpark.org.

The Candler Park Neighborhood Organization monthly meeting is this Monday, January 16th. We'll start with socializing (wine, beer, and snacks) at 6:30 pm and move on to general business at 7 pm.

Reminder, we have child care available!

On the agenda this month:

• Votes on grants to fund the L5P Mini-Precinct and a ramp replacement at First Existentialist Church
• A discussion and vote on our proposed event process to help manage the impact of festivals on our neighborhood
• An update on the proposed Candler Park visioning exercise

Where: First Existentialist Congregation (470 Candler Park Drive) -- Across from the golf course

When: January 16th at 6:30 pm (this Monday)

Significant Votes

• We will vote on a zoning variance at 620 Oakdale.
• We will vote on a Liquor License application for Cameli's Pizza at 337 Moreland Avenue.
• We will vote on a $4,000 grant to the First Existentialist Church for a ramp replacement.
• We will vote on a $5,000 grant to the Little Five Points Business Association for operating the Mini-Precinct.