CSD District Dispatch
News from around CSD: January 17, 2020 edition
The City Schools of Decatur District Dispatch provides parents, students, staff, and community members with the latest news from around the district each month.
Table of Contents:
- Board Spotlight: College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center
- Equity Spotlight: Oakhurst Elementary
- School Board Members James Herndon and Tasha White sworn in
- Board Meeting Information
- From the Superintendent's desk
- District News from the Wilson School Support Center
- School News You Can Use
- Student Athlete Spotlight
- Scenes from our Schools... Photos from around the District!
- Important Dates Around the District
Board Spotlight: College Heights' School to Heart to Home Conscious Discipline Workshops
College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center, which serves children from birth to 5 years old, uses Conscious Discipline as their behavior and classroom management tool. It is an evidence-based discipline approach which they have used for eight years to support social and emotional development of the students.
All the teachers are trained in Conscious Discipline, and over the last two years they have hosted parent workshops to connect school and home.
The focus is teaching adults the skills first, then the adult models the behaviors for the child. This prioritizes connections and relationships and is based on three core brain states:
- Survival state: feeling safe at home and school
- Emotional state: connected to that adult
- Executive state: problem solving skills
College Heights began offering this Conscious Discipline training to parents through a series of workshops called the School to Heart to Home program. The goal of these workshops is to teach adults about conscious discipline, its foundations, and the research surrounding it. It also teaches social and emotional intelligence and treats parents as partners in their child’s education. This is the second year of these workshops, which have been well attended.
Conscious Discipline is a shift from how many of us were raised. Adults demonstrate the behaviors they want to see and it moves away from fear-based discipline, focuses on relationships, and uses conflict as a teaching moment.
Equity Spotlight: Oakhurst Elementary's Family Reading Campout
During Family Literacy Month in November, Oakhurst put on a Family Reading Campout with the goal to expose our students and families to multicultural books and resources to begin a dialogue about race topics such as inclusion, diversity, and assumptions. Mari Ann Banks, CSD’s District Equity Coordinator, kicked off the event by reading aloud to the entire group, then students and families were encouraged to find a book and a cozy spot to read. Digital resources, such as reading prompts, apps, and websites, were given to aid in the discussions around equity, diversity, and inclusion. Brave and Kind Bookstore, a local minority-owned bookstore, attended and brought their diverse selection of books for the students and families to browse.
To continue these conversations, the media center has used their Instagram account and their weekly newsletters to highlight diverse books. Next, the Equity Team is planning a three-night EL expedition for parents in the spring. The goal of this expedition is to encourage new relationships and connections among families different from them, and to explore biases, share their perspectives, and hearing the perspectives of others.
Welcome to the School Board James Herndon and Congratulations to Tasha White on Her Second Term
Recently elected School Board Member James Herndon was sworn in at the beginning of the January 14 Board Meeting. Robert Wilson, an attorney for City Schools of Decatur, introduced the Honorable Rhathelia Stroud, Magistrate Court Judge, DeKalb County and Chief Judge for the City of Decatur, who administered the Oath of Office. Mr. Herndon immediately took his seat on the City Schools of Decatur Board of Education.
In November, Mr. Herndon was elected to his first term to represent District 1 and Incumbent School Board Member Tasha White was re-elected to represent District 2. Both Mr. Herndon and Ms. White were sworn in at the January 14 board meeting and will serve four-year terms ending in 2023.
Board Meeting Information
These monthly Board Meetings, often on the second Tuesday of the month, are held at 6:30 p.m. in the boardroom at the Elizabeth Wilson School Support Center, 125 Electric Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030. Also, the Board agenda can be found on at www.csdecatur.net/Board prior to each meeting. For more about what was discussed at previous Board Meetings, please view our Board of Education Meeting Video Library here https://www.csdecatur.net/Page/3765.
From the Superintendent's Desk
Upcoming Survey: Partial Days for Teacher Planning and Professional Learning
In the coming weeks, CSD will be releasing a survey regarding scheduling dedicated time for our employees’ professional activities. This time would be set aside for activities such as professional learning, collaborative planning, parent conferences, grading, and other such professional activities. We first received feedback last year that many stakeholders would be amenable to a regularly scheduled late start or early dismissal for our students so that we can provide this important time for our teachers and other staff, assuming the district could determine ways to support families in areas such as afterschool childcare during these times. We hope to hear more from you when we release this survey so we can determine next steps for this initiative.
District News from the Elizabeth Wilson School Support Center
School-Wide Information System (SWIS) Implementation
SWIS is a student data management system introduced this school year at the K-12 school levels in coordination with the implementation of Positive Behavior Intervention System (PBIS). Teachers and administrators document behavior incidents in SWIS to aid in monitoring trends and challenges the school faces in maintaining a culture and climate of safety and learning. School teams will participate in ongoing training on how to examine the data from SWIS.
SWIS provides administrators and PBIS teams with several ways to examine school-wide data. This supports the implementation of the PBIS Framework by allowing school-based teams to make informed decisions about behaviors and plan for supportive actions to promote a positive school culture and climate. SWIS will help each school evaluate the effectiveness of the proactive and preventative steps they are implementing to support positive behaviors.
Please note that information entered into the SWIS database is not included in a student’s permanent record. The main purpose of SWIS is to provide data to administrators and teachers to better support our students. The principals monitor the data regularly to evaluate the effectiveness of their behavior management system.
Each elementary school has created their own school motto, which helps their students remember and focus on these behavior goals. Most center around kindness, responsibility, and respect. Please see below for examples from Glennwood, F.AVE, and Winnona Park.
Restorative Practices
Restorative Practices are a framework for building community and responding to challenging behavior through authentic dialogue leading to understanding and action to set things right, and repair and restore damaged relationships. The process supports initiators in acknowledging and repairing the harm done, helps victims and witnesses process what happened, and helps the class or school community rebuild trust. A restorative approach to discipline changes the fundamental questions that are asked when a behavioral incident occurs so as not to assign blame but to heal the relationships that have been damaged.
A restorative approach to building community is integral to growing a supportive and inclusive school culture. All members of a school community bring with them diverse abilities, interests, viewpoints, and family and cultural backgrounds. These differences can be a source of great energy and strength when members of the community value and respect one another.
You can learn more about how CSD is using Restorative Practices here: CSD Code of Conduct and Restorative Practices Handbook. You will also learn more about Restorative Circles at Clairemont later in this newsletter.
Join the Committee to Review the Code of Conduct and Restorative Practices Handbook (CCRPH)
Did you know that CSD made major revisions to the Code of Conduct this year? The first phase of updating the CCRPH was to clarify expectation, add clear processes for administrators to follow when managing student discipline issues and incorporate Restorative Practices. Going forward, each year we will gather input from parents, students, and staff to review the CCRPH and make recommendations for edits, changes, and additions for the subsequent school year.
If you are interested in serving on this review committee, please complete this form to submit your information to Dr. Fehrman. The committee will be finalized soon and our first meeting will be held at the end of February. If you have feedback on the current CCRPH, please complete this form.
Sign up for Beyond Diversity Now Open to Community Members
Thursday, February 6, and Friday, February 7, 8:30am-3:30pm
Beyond Diversity™ is a powerful, personally transforming, two-day seminar designed to help leaders, educators, students, parents, administrators, and community participants understand the impact of race on student learning and investigate the role that racism plays in institutionalizing academic achievement disparities. Participants will engage in a thoughtful, compassionate exploration of race and racism during the seminar which will allow our community to move forward to dismantle the racism that exists in our schools and community. The seminar is limited to 80 participants – register today at the link here: https://forms.gle/ntGqtML4oyYuVcYd9.
Has your Contact Information Changed?
We encourage all families to update their information in the Parent Portal (Infinite Campus). The contact information in the Parent Portal is used by the district and by your child’s school to contact you in case of an emergency, inclement weather, or to relay any other urgent news.
In addition, this year CSD rolled out a new messaging system which utilizes the contact information in the Parent Portal. In the Parent Portal, you can update your phone numbers and email address, and choose your contact preferences. Please note: address changes must be made at the Elizabeth Wilson School Support Center, 125 Electric Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030, or in person at your child’s school.
For detailed information on how to log into Infinite Campus and update your contact information, visit csdecatur.net/parentportal and scroll to the link near the bottom of that page. If you are having any Infinite Campus log in issues, please contact your school’s administrative assistant.
CSD Selected to be a Part of the GADOE’s Dyslexia Pilot
The City Schools of Decatur has been selected to be part of Georgia’s pilot study about how to serve students with characteristics of dyslexia. As part of the pilot study, our system will be an important leader for all schools as our state works to better serve students.
School systems were chosen if they currently engage in some best practices to serve students with characteristics of dyslexia. The three-year pilot study will demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness of early reading assistance programs for students with risk factors for dyslexia. The Georgia Department of Education will act as a convener and organizer for the pilot programs and will consult with recognized organizations that specialize in dyslexia to operate the study.
CSD Teacher Career Fair on February 15
Are you a GREAT teacher and looking for a position at CSD? We want to meet you! Do you know a GREAT teacher? Send them our way!
We are looking for educators who are creative, are passionate, inspire their students, and embody the meaning of being a great teacher.
If this describes you and you would like to join our growing and innovative district, join us at our Teacher Career Fair on Saturday, February, 15, 2020, from 9 am to 1pm. This a great opportunity to meet and be interviewed directly by principals from each grade level as well as the Special Education department.
To register for the career fair visit http://bit.ly/TeachCSD. We can't wait to meet you!
Interested in Being a Substitute Teacher?
Facilities Planning Community Meeting
Thank you to all our community members who attended our Facilities Planning Community Meeting on January 15 at Talley Street Upper Elementary.
At the meeting, the community took the first steps to look forward to the future of City Schools of Decatur and how we can best meet the needs for our students and staff. Participants were able to brainstorm, discuss, and submit their ideas for what future CSD students and schools will look like and how we can meet their needs. More specifically, we examined future solutions to address our enrollment growth and we discussed what priorities matter to us as a community regarding our athletics, performing arts, and extra-curricular facilities. All of the options, ideas, and solutions that were generated at the meeting will be categorized and reviewed over the next month. The meeting was facilitated by Cooperative Strategies, who previously helped CSD with our grade configuration and redistricting work.
There will be more opportunities for community input, including a public survey that you can find below, and another community meeting on March 26. We hope you will all share your views as we make these important steps forward.
TO TAKE THE SURVEY, PLEASE CLICK HERE.
To see the January 15 presentation or for more information, visit http://www.dejongrichter.com/csdecatur/.
Other important dates in our Facilities Master Planning timeline:
Committee Meeting: February 6
• Community meeting results
• Data update
Committee Meeting: March 12
• Facility options
Community Meeting: March 26
• Presentation of data
• Present options
• Paper and online questionnaires
Committee Meeting: April 16
• Community meeting review
• Development of preferred options
Committee Meeting- May 14
• Development of preferred options
Board Meeting- June 9
• Final options presented to BOE
You are invited to the Talley Open House!
SAVE THE DATE: January 30, 2020, 6-7pm
Talley Street Upper Elementary School
2617 Talley Street, Decatur
*Please note parking is limited so consider walking, biking, or other alternative forms of transportation.
Decatur Fiber Optic Network Milestone
The joint city-schools fiber optic network is nearing a major milestone, with the fiber in zone one -- the northwest quadrant of the city -- expected to be fully installed within the next several weeks. This versatile fiber optic network will provide city and school facilities with performance improvements and cost savings over its expected 20-year lifespan. All 12 miles of the network are expected to be installed within the year (with three miles already done) and CSD will fully transfer its traffic to the network in time for the 2021-2022 school year.
Georgia Parent Survey is Now Open
The Georgia School Climate Survey is open and will remain open through February 28. This is your opportunity to share with the state what you think about our schools. The data from this survey is part of the calculation for our school climate rating for CCRPI, the state's College and Career Ready Performance Index.
Parents may complete this short survey using their personal computer, or smartphone, or tablet, or you can ask your principal for a paper copy. Survey responses are anonymous and will be submitted directly to the Georgia Department of Education for analysis. Please click here to take the Georgia Parent Survey.
Your students will also be given the opportunity to complete a student survey during the school day. Student survey results, copies of the student survey questions, and parent opt-out forms are available from the Georgia Department of Education.
Thank you again for sharing your views about our schools!
Game Night with CSD's Department of Special Education!
Occupational therapists Lisa Nye and Yael Cohen and physical therapist Laurie Sperry are hosting a fun and interactive indoor winter games night. Pre-K to 5th grade students and their parents are invited to play fun games and enjoy fellowship with other students. The therapists are excited to share these meaningful games where students of different skill levels can participate!
Date: Wednesday, January 22
Time: 6:15 pm to 7:15 pm
Location: Wilson Center, PLC, 125 Electric Ave.
To RSVP, email Cheryl Grant at cgrant@csdecatur.net. Please be sure to RSVP to ensure we will have plenty of supplies for all students in attendance.
Updates from CSD's Equity and Student Support Department
The Decatur Student Center
The Decatur Student Center (DSC) is housed within Decatur High School and offers wrap-around services to students and families in our community.
The DSC serves as an extension of the school counseling program. Some of the supports we offer are:
- partnering with outside agencies to provide individual counseling and small group offerings, including such topics as financial literacy, stress management, executive functioning, and healthy relationships
- housing a small food pantry to address food insecurity and, at the high school, offer snacks to students when needed
- housing a small clothing closet to support students
- housing the DHS’s Lost & Found. We have many lunchboxes, water bottles, car keys, etc… that would like to find their way home!
The DSC serves an average of 50 students per day at the high school, doing “whatever it takes” to remove obstacles to academic success. The school counseling program supports the work of the DSC through classroom lessons, small group offerings, and special programming. At the high school, the work of supporting students is further accomplished through embedding behavioral health lessons into the curriculum across all grade levels and subject areas to support the de-stigmatization of mental health. For more information about the Decatur Student Center, visit https://www.csdecatur.net/DecaturStudentCenter.
Other School's Services for Students and Families
Individual and small group programming has begun at Clairemont and Glennwood Elementary, Talley Street Upper and Renfroe Middle School. Additional expansion of services for the other CSD schools is in the planning stages.
Equity and Student Support Advisory Council Meeting
The Equity and Student Support Advisory Council will convene virtually February 6, from 6:30 - 7:30pm. If you are interested in participating, email Cynthia Brown, Administrative Assistant for Equity & Student Support, at cbrown@csdecatur.net.
School News You Can Use!
F.AVE Receives Bronze Award as a 2019 Highest Performing School
Restorative Circles at Clairemont Elementary
Winnona Park Gets a Visit from Dr. Banks, CSD's Equity Coordinator
During the recent Winnona Park PTA general meeting, Dr. Mari Ann Banks came and spent time sharing about her work in the district. Dr. Banks spoke about our partnership with Pacific Educational Group, our partner for the district’s work with Beyond Diversity and Courageous Conversations about Race. Dr. Banks also shared the district’s website and resources for Equity. She ended her presentation with time for parents to ask questions and share. A big thank you to Dr. Banks for her participation!
DHS Host Atlanta Hawks Lady Ballers Basketball Clinic for Girls
The Atlanta Hawks basketball academy hosted a basketball clinic at DHS on New Year's Eve. The clinic focused on basketball fundamentals and key life skills for girls age seven to 16. To read more about this event, visit https://patch.com/georgia/decatur/atlanta-hawks-host-lady-ballers-basketball-clinic-girls.
Oakhurst's Celebration of Learning
Talley Street Visits the Georgia Capital
Winnona Park Fall Expeditions
This fall, second graders at Winnona Park learned how to be good stewards of resources by exploring how the first Georgian’s were stewards of their land and culture. They attended the annual Pow Wow at Stone Mountain, held a Three Sisters Roast, and visited the Wylde Center as part of their field research. The second graders invited their parents and siblings to a celebration to share what they learned about using natural and renewable resources to make tea with herbs, paint using berries and dyes, play games with found materials, make crafts with sticks and shells, and make bowls with clay. They ended the celebration with a traditional community dance.
To see more photos of their expeditions, see the Scenes from our Schools photos below.
DHS practices the Art of O-soji
Each advisement group cleaned their classroom and were also assigned an area to clean outside of their classrooms. The DHS PTSA provided the supplies. Participation was voluntary but it was well attended. Thank you to all who joined us.
Renfroe Students Named to Georgia's All State Band or Orchestra
Congratulations to the following students who earned a place in the Georgia All State Band or Orchestra. These students have been recognized as some of the most accomplished middle school musicians in the state. Congrats to all of these talented musicians.
All State Band:
Lucy Johnson - Flute
Alice Rope - Oboe
Ava Defilipo - French Horn
Jackson Jeffries - French Horn
Jason Zgonc - Trumpet
Jackson Chapman - Trombone
All State Orchestra:
Emma Xuan - Viola
Zeke Werner- Violin
Hazel Patti - Bass
Cici Clark - Bass
Spotlight on Student Athletes
Student Athlete Spotlight: Fiona McElroy and Hally Laney
Fiona McElroy and Hally Laney
The Athletes' work ethic is...
Juniors Hally Laney and Fiona McElroy are leaders in the pool. They both dedicate hours to swimming, not just during the high school swim season but year-round and over the summer. Hally and Fiona excel in the classroom in addition to in the pool.
When I think of these Decatur Athletes... they are always willing to serve as a leader amongst the swimmers while at practices and swim meets, especially with helping the younger swimmers get acclimated to the high school swim meets.
These Decatur Athletes are leaders in the community in and out of the pool because...
They have had an impact on the Decatur community. They have gathered a few of their friends to participate in "Dressember" to raise awareness about human trafficking.
Thank you to the Decatur Bulldog Booster club for submitting this article.
Sports Calendar
Be sure to root on our amazing teams at their next games. The full calendar of all DHS Athletic games and meets is listed on the right hand column of the Decatur Bulldog Boosters page.
DHS Boys Varsity Basketball Team Hosts an Awesome Basketball Clinic
CSD Students in Decatur Robotics Celebrates Big Wins!
Congratulations to the students in Decatur Robotics and all their recent successes at their Regional, Super Regional, and League Tournaments! Nine of these teams went on to the Super Regional tournaments and four of the 13 teams are advancing to their State Championships next month.
The teams at Decatur Robotics are made up of over 140 CSD students spanning third through 12th grade and all are able to compete thanks to funding and coordination under Decatur Robotics, a fully volunteer run and dues- and donation-funded organization. For more information on how you can support this wonderful organization, visit Decatur Robotics. Thanks to everyone at Decatur Robotics for making this possible.
The list below shows the accolades earned by each team...
First Lego League Jr Team:
Talley and F.AVE Students grade 3
Won a Robot Design Award
This is their first year operating, funded by a grant
from The Community Center of South Decatur/Solarium.
First Lego League Teams:
FLL #5503: Floofadore's Army, Renfroe Students grades 6-8
Won the Champions Award & the Robot Performance Award
Advanced to the Super Regional Tournament this month.
FLL #5505: Insert Name Here, Renfroe Students grades 6-8
Won the Champions Award at Regionals in December and the Champions Award at their Super Regional in January. Advancing to the FLL State Championship at Georgia Tech in February.
FLL #19303: City Architechs, Renfroe Students grades 6-8
Finished with a high score of 180 at Regionals in December - stellar performance!
FLL# 14791: Brick Assassins, Talley and F.AVE Students grades 4-5
Won the Innovation Project & Robot Performance Awards at Regionals
Advanced to the Super Regional Tournament this month.
FLL# 14793: Royal Supernova Robots, Talley and F.AVE Students grades 4-5
Won the Champions Award at Regionals and the Robot Design Award at Super Regionals Advancing to the FLL State Championship at Georgia Tech in February.
FLL# 28365: Talon United, Talley and F.AVE Students grades 4-5
Won the Champions Award at Regionals and won the Champions & Robot Design Awards at Super Regionals. Advancing to the FLL State Championship at Georgia Tech in February.
FLL# 28366: The Gems, Talley and F.AVE Students grades 4-5
Won the Robot Performance Award at Regionals and placed 5th out of 36 teams at Super Regionals earlier this month.
FLL# 28367: CityBots, Talley and F.AVE Students grades 4-5
Had a tournament high score of 163 at Regionals in December.
FLL# 35153: We’re Drowning in Wet Cement, Talley and F.AVE Students grades 4-5
Won the Innovation Project Award at Regionals T
Advanced to the Super Regional Tournament this month.
FLL# 19302: My Favorite Team, Talley and F.AVE Students grades 4-5
Won the Robot Performance & Robot Design Awards at Regionals
Advanced to the Super Regional Tournament this month.
FLL# 4026: Global Dynamics, 9-12 graders at Decatur High School
In 2019, won the Dalton Regional Qualifier, won the Autonomous Award at the Dalton Regional Qualifier, and won the Engineering Inspiration Award at the Columbus Regional Qualifier. Finished 8th in the state out of 87 teams and earned an invitation to the World Championship where they advanced to the division quarterfinals. 2020 season is just starting!
First Tech Challenge Team:
FTC #14821: Cactus Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.)
Won the Motivate Award at the Marist FTC League Championship in December
Advancing to the FTC Georgia State Championship
For more information about Decatur Robotics, please visit Decatur Robotics.
Renfroe & DHS Celebrations and Congratulations!
A Monthly digest of achievements and accomplishments of our students, teachers, and staff.
Congrats to the Renfroe Girls Swim Team who finished the season third in the state. In addition, our Renfroe Boys Swim Team finished seventh in the state. These teams set 11 new school records this year! Thank you to our amazing coaches for their support!
The DHS Science Olympiad Team competed in 21 different science and engineering events at an invitational tournament in Augusta last month. During the tournament build events, students test devices of their own design and creation, including an airplane, a temperature detector, a boomilever, and a gravity vehicle. Congrats on a job well done!
Congrats to DHS student Caleb Scott for earning 2nd chair in the 2020 All-State Jazz Ensemble! This ensemble will be performing next weekend, January 25 at 11:15am at the Classic Center Theater in Athens, Georgia. Way to go Caleb!
Scenes from our Schools... Photos from around the District!
Important Dates Around the District
Upcoming School Breaks:
- No school on January 20, in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- No school February 17-21, 2020 for Winter Break
- No school on March 16, 2020
- No school on April 6-10, for Spring Break
Upcoming PTA/PTO/PTSA Events:
DHS PTSA's Annual Fund Winter Mixer - Save the Date: Saturday, January 25, 2020, 6-9 pm
For tickets or more information about this event visit PTSA's website.
Glennwood's Casino Night Silent Auction - Save the Date: February 29, 2020
For tickets or more information, visit www.glennwoodpta.org.
College Heights Bid for Chick's Little Luau Auction - Save The Date : March 6, 2020
For tickets or more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/BidforChicksLittleLuau.
The Oakhurst Annual Give-a-Hoot Auction - Save the Date: March 20, 2020
For tickets or more information, visit https://oakhurstelementarypta.org/.
Winnona Park Spring Auction - Save the Date: March 21, 2020
For more information, visit winnonaparkpta.org/events/spring-auction/.
Westchester's Battle of the Band's Call for Bands - Save the Date: March 27, 2020
For more information, visit https://www.westchesterrocks.org.
The F.AVE RAVE! - Save the Date: April 18, 2020
For more information, visit favepto.org
Mix, Mingle, and Mocktail for Joe’s Fund, the behavioral health fund of the Decatur Education Foundation, January 31, 2020, from 7-10 pm at Color Wheel. For more information, visit https://decatureducationfoundation.org/joesbenefit/.
Mead Road Mardi Gras Parade and Party
Save the date for the annual Mead Road Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday, February 8, at 1pm! The parade marches through Oakhurst from F.AVE down Mead to The Imperial where live music will continue until sundown. There are many ways you can participate in this family-friendly event: you can march with your school krewe, you can create your own community krewe, or you can bring the family to watch the parade and post-parade performances where there will be food and beverages for purchase. For more information, please visit www.meadrdmardigras.org. Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Upcoming Appreciation Date:
January: National Mentoring Month
Have a date you'd like us to add to the next newsletter? Email Sarah Jones at sjones1@csdecatur.net. Thanks!
About the CSD District Dispatch
Email: sjones1@csdecatur.net
Website: csdecatur.net
Location: 125 Electric Avenue, Decatur, GA, USA
Phone: 404-371-3601
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cityschoolsofdecatur