Minutes from 3/16/10 Meeting

http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/public/CPTF/

Brief Recap of Task Force Meeting #4:

After looking at the enrollment numbers for all 83 DeKalb County elementary schools the task force removed 63 schools from the list of possible closures. Brockett and Smoke Rise were eliminated. Midvale is still on the list of the 20 remaining schools to be further considered. Only 2 sets of objective data have been considered so far, the enrollment/capacity percentage and the total number of students in the school. The cluster into which the elementary schools feed has yet to be considered. The TF section of the DCSS website should be updated sometime today and will include new maps. They will be posted when available.

Next Task Force Meeting

Tuesday March 16th at 6pm at the William Bradley Bryant Center 2652 Lawrenceville Hwy Decatur GA 30033 mapquest link

Here are a few notes from last weeks meeting...Ramona Tyson kicked off the meeting. The Task Force elected Thad Mayfield as Chairperson and Lynn Deutsch as Vice Chairperson. The meeting more or less followed the presentation that is on the DeKalb County Schools website. Some members of the task force wanted more information on the 23 schools as well as additional information about all the elementary schools in DeKalb before they felt they could make a reccomendation on which schools to close. There was concern about the time line and are planning on meeting this week to further their progress. Daniel Drake agreed to provide the TF with more data.

Please join us at the next meeting to see the task force in action and find out what progress they are making. Since the Task Force is expanding their scope we need to continue to be vigilant.

It's not too late to keep writing letters and sending emails. Please continue to talk to your friends and neighbors and let them know what is happening with our school.

Task Force Information from 3/9 Meeting

In addition to writing letters to the BOE members, there is a link to send comments or suggestions regarding school closings and redistricting. The email is: redistricting@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
I am not sure when the minutes of the 3/9 meeting will be posted.

Power Point Presentation from the CPTF 3/9/10 meeting

Citizen Planning Task Force at DeKalb County Schools
www.dekalb.k12.ga.us

DeKalb could close up to 12 schools

DeKalb could close up to 12 schools. This just in from the ajc.com. This info came from the budget meeting the BOE had this morning, not from the meeting last night. The article doesn't say if it is only elementary schools being considered.

ajc article link

Wsbtv Coverage on DeKalb School Closing

Parents Fight To Keep Schools Open
www.wsbtv.com

Proposed School Closures divided DeKalb

Breaking News from AJC

http://www.ajc.com/news/proposed-school-closures-divide-359026.html

DeKalb County Chooses Four Schools Chosen in South DeKalb for Possible Closure (click link below)

Four south DeKalb schools under closure consideration ajc.com

Please come out to the meeting TONIGHT to find out more information.
Task Force Meeting
March 9, 2010 at 6:00 PM
William Bradley Bryant Center (cafeteria)
2652 Lawrenceville Highway, Decatur, Georgia 30033

Mapquest Link

Check out these SIGNS

3 More Letter Samples

Letter to Dr. Pam Speaks

Letter to Paul Womack

Letter to Mr. Daniel Drake


Here are a few more ideas for some letters. Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far!!

Sadly, it's not just DeKalb facing a budget crisis....

Schools Fear Budget Crash

DeKalb School board unveils new plans to curb $88M deficit

An article from the DeKalb Neighbor

http://mid.nn.marietta.new.adqic.com/detail/157150.html

More Sample Letters and Ideas

An effective letter is short and sticks to the point.
Here's what I mean:

Dear _______:
1. Say what your connection is to Brockett.
2. Say why you think Brockett should remain openor why Brockett is special.
3. Thank the board member for reading your note, and ask him or her to support keeping Brockett open.

Sincerely,
Your Name

Here's a bare-bones example:

Dear Mr. Womack:
My daughter, Alexis, is in the third grade at Brockett.Brockett's excellent reputation is a major reason why we bought a home in this area.Thank you for reading this note, and I hope you will vote to keep our school open.

Sincerely,

Here's another example:

Dear Mr. Womack:
I have two children at Brockett Elementary.The school's diversity is just one of many reasons, in my opinion, why Brockett provides a great educational experience for my children. They are learning important lessons that will help them the rest of their lives.I hope I can count on your support to keep this wonderful school open.Thank you for reading this note.

Sincerely,

Remember to keep it short. And proofread before you send it!! There are different views about the "reasons" part. Some say to stick with hard facts; others say it's OK to be more subjective. I'd say it's up to you, but try to be more specific than just, "I like Brockett because it's a nice school."

Also, stay positive and focused on keeping Brockett open. We don't need to offer budget alternatives, and we don't make Brockett look good by making something else look bad.
Finally, if you want someone to look over your letter before sending it, I'm happy to oblige: gwgwriter@gmail.com.

Sample Letters

Letter writing can be a daunting task. Here is a sample letter one of our Brockett Parent have created for sharing. Thank you Liz.

https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ARhlFPTLUnTPZGhmNzlxbnBfMmc0ZHc1NWQ3&hl=en

Update on Citizen Planning Task Force

From the DCSS website http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/public/CPTF/
The Citizen Planning Task Force members will receive scenarios of proposed school closings on March 8, 2010. These proposed scenarios will be the topic of discussion at the next scheduled Task Force meeting on March 9, 2010 at 6:00 PM at the William Bradley Bryant Center (cafeteria) located at 2652 Lawrenceville Highway, Decatur, Georgia 30033.
______________________________________________________________________


The task force was originally supposed to get the scenarios today. However they will not get them until Monday. This does not give them very much time to prepare for Tuesday's meeting.

Please keep writing emails and letters to the school board stating how important our schools are to our community and to please consider performance and other qualities that make our schools unique when making these tough decisions.

Letter Writing Campaign: Ready, Get Set, WRITE

At the PTA extended meeting board meeting last night it was discussed that one of the ways that our voices may be most effectively heard is via an old fashioned, snail mail letter writing campaign. While email is quick, easy, and efficient, often times a letter in the mail box has a greater impact.

Please keep in mind, that while we are all personally committed to keeping Brockett Elementary open, closing any of the elementary schools in Tucker will be detrimental to our students, teachers and our community at large. This is not a competition between the 3 elementary schools but rather an opportunity for us to join together and let the BOE know that we are committed to our Tucker schools and the unique qualities that each one possesses.

Below are the suggestions the PTA created as "talking points" that you may want to include in the letter. It was also suggested at the Tucker Parent Council that the letters be respectful, factual and to the point.

3/4/10

Dear Brockett Parents,

Thanks to all of the parents who attended the meeting last night in support of Brockett staying open for the 2009-2010 school year (last night’s presentation will be on Brockett’s PTA website by Friday). You can help by:

1. Attending the next Citizen’s Planning Task Force meeting, March 9, 2010 at 6:00 PM at the William Bradley Bryant Center (cafeteria) located at 2652 Lawrenceville Highway, Decatur, Georgia 30033. Wear your Brockett T-shirt or sweatshirt!

2. Write a letter to the school board members who represent our district, Mr. Paul Womack and Dr. Pam Speaks. Parents have generously volunteered to provide the labels, envelopes, and stamps to mail the letters. All you have to do is write the letter and send it to the school. Please write your letter about why Brockett should stay open and submit it to the front office by Monday, March 8, 2010.

Please address the letter to Mr. Womack or Dr. Pam Speaks and use the following talking points to help you write the letter:

· Brockett represents stability and consistency and is committed to student achievement. We are a Title I Distinguished school and should remain open.

· 67% of Brockett’s staff has worked at the school for 3 years or more. This does not include teaching experience and represents the school’s ability to retain good teachers.

· According to the Elementary School Screening Analyses Chart given to the CPTF, our school enrollment/school capacity and student population/home school capacity is at 93%.

· Our students regularly attend school. The percentage of students absent 5 days or less has been 62%-67% over the last three years (see chart below).

· We have a diverse population and our students stay at Brockett. Over the last three years our FTE count shows stability in enrollment and diversity between the October and March FTE counts (see chart below).

· Our teachers are effective and students are learning. According to DeKalb County requirement, students must have at least an 820 on the CRCT to be considered a high achiever in Brockett. For the last 3 years on the CRCT, the mean scale score of ALL students in grades 3-5 in English Language Arts, read AND math has been 818 or higher. The mean scale score for 3^rd grade students in 2008 was 218 (new GPS) prior to that the mean scale score of ALL students in grades 3-5 was 823 or higher on the CRCT.

· Our facility has received several upgrades since 2002 and we are scheduled for more in 2010. Our current requests for repairs are focus on one area, plumbing.

· Discuss your personal commitment and connection to Brockett.

Area	2008 - 2009	2007-2008	2006-2007
ATTENDANCE % OF STUDENTS ABSENT 5 OR FEWER DAYS	67	63	62
Student Enrollment (FTE Count) in MARCH	481	442	428
Student Enrollment (FTE Count) in FTE OCT	463	438	431
Student Enrollment (FTE Count) in FTE OCT 2009	459
DIVERSITY (Other - Hispanic, multicultural, Asian)	AA - 44%, WHITE - 26% OTHER - 30%	AA - 42%, WHITE - 25% OTHER - 33%	AA - 45%, WHITE - 25% OTHER - 30%

You can either mail your letter directly to Paul Womack and/or Dr. Pam Speaks or you can bring it to the school for an envelope and stamp and they will mail it for you.

Below is the contact information for the SB members that represent District 4.

DISTRICT 4
H. PAUL WOMACK, JR.
h_paul_womack@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
2809 Woodland Park Drive Atlanta, GA 30345
Hm# 404.325.5821
Fax# 404.325.9233

SUPER DISTRICT 8
Dr. PAMELA SPEAKS
pam_speaks@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
5700 Bahia Mar Circle Stone Mountain, GA 30087
Hm# 770.493.4805
Fax# 770.939.2667

Thank you very much for all your efforts to KEEP BROCKETT OPEN.

Minutes from the Tucker Parent Council Meeting 2/25/10

Here are the minutes from the Tucker Parent Council Meeting that was held on 2/25/10 at Livsey Elementary. Below is the contact information for Terry Segovis and Daniel Drake. These are the 2 gentlemen who answered the questions.

Planning and Forecasting
Daniel Drake
Daniel_e_drake@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
Phone: 678-676-1332

AREA ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT – REGION II SCHOOLS
TERRY M. SEGOVIS
terry_m_segovis@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
Phone: 678-676-1079
Fax: 678-676-1215

Petition Doc

Many of you have been asking for the Petition. Please see the link below for printing a copy out.

https://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhr92f59_0ckwc3gcs&btr=EmailImport&pli=1

PTA Board Meeting WEDNESDAY March 3rd

Please join us at the PTA board meeting at 6:45pm in the Brockett Cafeteria.
Topic: School Closing in DeKalb County

We also are happy to announce that we sent out an eblast so check those inboxes!!

Just remember it's going to take all of us to make a DIFFERENCE.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

Margaret Mead

Elementary School Screening Analyses

This is the map that DCSS created to show the school's enrollment capacity compared to actual enrollment as well as the student population of the area and the home school capacity.

This is a spreadsheet that takes the data from the map and puts in a format that may be easier to read/interpret.

Brockett Elementary PTA Board Meeting 3/3/10

Date: Wednesday 03/03/2010


5:45 PM - BOARD MEETING TO DISCUSS PTA BUSINESS
6:45 PM - DEKALB SCHOOL CLOSURE DISCUSSION

Location: Brockett Elementary Cafeteria