What is the quality of the schools in the gentrified areas ITP like?

[Dkeating]

Originally Posted by bu2

Sounds like wishful thinking.

I don't see anything that indicates the administration is moving in the right direction. APS may be better. It may be worse. Gentrification doesn't mean the people necessarily send their kids to the local public school. Sometimes they just move when they get to elementary or middle school.

I think that's true in some cases, but there's a significant percentage of the people who live in these SE Atlanta neighborhoods who will resist moving to the suburbs for better schools because they like living intown and don't see themselves as suburb residents. Also there are a lot of people who just can't afford private school in addition to a mortgage payment. And once the school reaches a critical mass of kids from affluent and educated families, more and more such people will want to send their kids there. Oakhurst Elementary is an example of a school that underwent a dramatic demographic change in a very short period of time. In 2003 the FRL population was like 75%; last year it was like 14%. I know the situation in COD is different than in Atlanta, but the change has been dramatic nonetheless. I just think the increased preference for city living among a certain segment of the population bodes well for APS, the faults of its administration notwithstanding.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Dkeating

I think that's true in some cases, but there's a significant percentage of the people who live in these SE Atlanta neighborhoods who will resist moving to the suburbs for better schools because they like living intown and don't see themselves as suburb residents. Also there are a lot of people who just can't afford private school in addition to a mortgage payment. And once the school reaches a critical mass of kids from affluent and educated families, more and more such people will want to send their kids there. Oakhurst Elementary is an example of a school that underwent a dramatic demographic change in a very short period of time. In 2003 the FRL population was like 75%; last year it was like 14%. I know the situation in COD is different than in Atlanta, but the change has been dramatic nonetheless. I just think the increased preference for city living among a certain segment of the population bodes well for APS, the faults of its administration notwithstanding.

Most of the shifting in Oakhurst's demographics was due to a major rezoning that took place in the City Schools of Decatur in 2004.

Westchester was closed--converted to admin offices.

Glennwood was converted to a Grade 4/5 Academy...city-wide.

College Heights was converted to an early childhood learning center.

Fifth Avenue was already technically closed and had merged with Oakhurst a few years prior to 2004.

Clairemont, Oakhurst, and Winnona Park became K-3 schools.

Westchester's former district was divided between Oakhurst and Clairemont.

Glennwood's former district was divided between Clairemont and Winnona Park.

Some of Winnona Park's former district was shifted to Oakhurst.

College Heights's former district was divided between Winnona Park and Oakhurst.


^^^^
This is what happened in 2004. It caused major school population change. It really opened the door for the Oakhurst neighborhood to gentrify extremely rapidly. Oakhurst went from less than 10% white to nearly 50% white in one school year.

Since this time, Glennwood was repurposed as a K-3 school, Westchester will re-open as a K-3 school in August 2014, and the 4/5 Academy has been moved to a refurbished Fifth Avenue School. The district boundaries have all changed a few times.

[Dkeating]

Originally Posted by aries4118

Most of the shifting in Oakhurst's demographics was due to a major rezoning that took place in the City Schools of Decatur in 2004.

Westchester was closed--converted to admin offices.

Glennwood was converted to a Grade 4/5 Academy...city-wide.

College Heights was converted to an early childhood learning center.

Fifth Avenue was already technically closed and had merged with Oakhurst a few years prior to 2004.

Clairemont, Oakhurst, and Winnona Park became K-3 schools.

Westchester's former district was divided between Oakhurst and Clairemont.

Glennwood's former district was divided between Clairemont and Winnona Park.

Some of Winnona Park's former district was shifted to Oakhurst.

College Heights's former district was divided between Winnona Park and Oakhurst.


^^^^
This is what happened in 2004. It caused major school population change. It really opened the door for the Oakhurst neighborhood to gentrify extremely rapidly. Oakhurst went from less than 10% white to nearly 50% white in one school year.

Since this time, Glennwood was repurposed as a K-3 school, Westchester will re-open as a K-3 school in August 2014, and the 4/5 Academy has been moved to a refurbished Fifth Avenue School. The district boundaries have all changed a few times.

Definitely. So Oakhurst probably isn't a great analogy, but I think it's possible that the Drew waitlist being full will serve as a catalyst for people to send their kids to Toomer who weren't going to before.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by Dkeating

Definitely. So Oakhurst probably isn't a great analogy, but I think it's possible that the Drew waitlist being full will serve as a catalyst for people to send their kids to Toomer who weren't going to before.

People send their kids to Toomer, waiting to be accepted to Drew. There is a huge drop in students at 4 & 5. But Drew is full so parents are starting to band together and working to improve the middle schools. Something similar happened at Inman.

[jeoff]

Originally Posted by aries4118

Most of the shifting in Oakhurst's demographics was due to a major rezoning that took place in the City Schools of Decatur in 2004.

Westchester was closed--converted to admin offices.

Glennwood was converted to a Grade 4/5 Academy...city-wide.

College Heights was converted to an early childhood learning center.

Fifth Avenue was already technically closed and had merged with Oakhurst a few years prior to 2004.

Clairemont, Oakhurst, and Winnona Park became K-3 schools.

Westchester's former district was divided between Oakhurst and Clairemont.

Glennwood's former district was divided between Clairemont and Winnona Park.

Some of Winnona Park's former district was shifted to Oakhurst.

College Heights's former district was divided between Winnona Park and Oakhurst.


^^^^
This is what happened in 2004. It caused major school population change. It really opened the door for the Oakhurst neighborhood to gentrify extremely rapidly. Oakhurst went from less than 10% white to nearly 50% white in one school year.

Since this time, Glennwood was repurposed as a K-3 school, Westchester will re-open as a K-3 school in August 2014, and the 4/5 Academy has been moved to a refurbished Fifth Avenue School. The district boundaries have all changed a few times.

Could similar "creative zoning" be having an effect in O4W?--Are there significant numbers of folks considering the area because it is now zoned for Inman Middle and Grady HS? I am sure that the areas no longer zoned for Grady and Inman lost value, but parts of O4W are approaching values similar to areas that are considered good K-12.--that has to be a net gain for the city. I know the area was trending up before the rezone--but is the rezone part of the meteoric rise? Just asking...

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by jeoff

Could similar "creative zoning" be having an effect in O4W?--Are there significant numbers of folks considering the area because it is now zoned for Inman Middle and Grady HS? I am sure that the areas no longer zoned for Grady and Inman lost value, but parts of O4W are approaching values similar to areas that are considered good K-12.--that has to be a net gain for the city. I know the area was trending up before the rezone--but is the rezone part of the meteoric rise? Just asking...

Perhaps. But the I think the effect is more pronounced when it happens at the elementary level.

You would see a major change in O4W if Hope-Hill and Mary Lin, or Hope-Hill and Springdale Park combined zones where one school became K-2 and the other 3-5. This has been bandied about a few times in the not-too-distant past.

[GeorgiaLakeSearch]

Originally Posted by gtcorndog

Toomer Elementary School - Atlanta, Georgia - GA - School overview

Toomer Elementary School in Atlanta GA - SchoolDigger.com

Press Release - 2012 CRCT Results: More Students Exceeding Standards (UPDATED 7.12.12)

All of these indicate the school sucks.

I have to agree I wouldn't send my own child to a school with those ratings. Maybe it is improving, but I don't experiment with my children.