Schools

When does the school year end?

Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Monday, May 14th, 2012, 1:09pm

DECATUR, Ga. -- The last day of school is right around the corner for DeKalb County students.

Public schools, as well as Decatur City Schools, will dismiss for the summer on Thursday, May 24.

The last days of school in other metro Atlanta districts are staggered throughout the second half of May. They include:

Wednesday, May 16
Clarke County

Thursday, May 17
Hall County

Friday, May 18
Bartow County
Clayton County
Fulton County

Tuesday, May 22
Atlanta Public Schools
Barrow County

Wednesday, May 23
Carroll County
Gwinnett County
Newton County

Thursday, May 24
Cobb County
Rockdale County

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DeKalb County decides against slashing teacher salaries

Submitted by Jeff Hullinger, 11Alive Reporter

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012, 7:36am

DeKalb County decides against slashing teacher salaries

ATLANTA -- The DeKalb County School District has decided not to cut teacher salaries for the 2012-2013 school year despite facing a shortfall of about $70 million.

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DeKalb votes to cut 133 school jobs

Submitted by Doug Richards, 11Alive Reporter

Friday, April 27th, 2012, 6:17pm

STONE MOUNTAIN, GA -- DeKalb County's school board voted to cut 133 jobs, saving about $9.3 million.

The board voted 6-1 to make the cuts after the new superintendent, Cheryl Atkinson, commissioned an analysis of how many jobs were needed within the county's 135 schools and centers, compared to student enrollment.

The lost jobs will be school-based positions -- meaning they don't include administration jobs. The school system says another analysis is in the works that will cut jobs in the superintendent's office.

"That's still being worked out," said school system spokesman Walter Woods. "This is another reform that we're making district wide, looking at every position throughout the district."

The current round of job cuts will include each of 37 employees categorized as "graduation coaches and graduation specialists."

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DeKalb schools discover employee overpayments

Submitted by Jennifer Leslie, 11Alive Reporter

Monday, April 23rd, 2012, 8:45am

DeKalb schools discover employee overpayments

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. -- Seven employees of the DeKalb County School District might have to pay back a total of about $47,500 in overpayments discovered during an employee verification process.

School officials issued an alert on Saturday with results of the report, which started in February.

Two of the employees have left the district, five others were on leave.

The district's legal affairs office will now work to recover any unearned payments.

The survey of 15,000 employees also identified 148 non-verified employees, mostly substitute teachers or part-time coaches. The district stopped payments to them beginning with the April 13 pay period.

Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Atkinson ordered the process in February, along with an independent audit of Central Office and school-based personnel.

Dr. Atkinson said it's part of a move to shrink the Central Office and drive more resources to schools and classrooms.

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Gladys Cook Scholarship winners announced

Submitted by Beth Sawicki, Where U Live Producer

Friday, April 20th, 2012, 9:10am

Gladys Cook Scholarship winners announced

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. -- The DeKalb County Council of PTAs has announced this year's winners of the Gladys Cook Scholarship.

The prize, named for a former DeKalb PTA president, is awarded annually to one student from each county high school. It comes with $1,000 for them to use toward their college educations.

"I want to congratulate each of the wonderful students recognized by the Council of PTAs and the Gladys Cook Scholarship," DeKalb Schools Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Atkinson said in a statement. "One of our slogans is, 'Miracles Happen in DeKalb Schools Every Day.' These students and their inspiring stories are outstanding examples of those miracles."

This year's scholarship recipients include:

Arabia Mountain High School
Kyle Jackson Woumn
Will attend Georgia Tech
Major: Computer engineering and Spanish

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Ga. high school students take longer to earn diplomas

Submitted by Associated Press

Tuesday, April 17th, 2012, 3:26pm

ATLANTA -- A new method of calculating graduation rates reveals that more high school students are dropping out than had been previously counted and some of them are taking five or even six years to earn a diploma.

According to reports the new formula was released last week. It shows that Georgia's 2011 graduation rate dropped 13 percentage points using the calculation, to 67.4 percent.

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Last chance to vote on new DeKalb school calendar

Submitted by Jennifer Leslie, 11Alive Reporter

Thursday, April 12th, 2012, 9:28am

Last chance to vote on new DeKalb school calendar

DECATUR, Ga. -- The DeKalb County School District is considering a new school calendar that would include early dismissals every Wednesday.

Parents are being encouraged to vote online for one of three proposed calendars for the 2012-2013 school year.

All three calendars call for classes to end one hour earlier on Wednesdays.

One of the options is a modified school calendar that would start on August 1st. It would include four one-week breaks during the school year, with a two-week break at Christmas.

The proposals were developed by a calendar committee, formed at the request of DeKalb Schools Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Atkinson.

The committee included parents, teachers, principals, district office staff, and community partners.

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