Bulletin Board

The City Schools of Decatur BOE meeting recap newsletter is shared after each regularly scheduled monthly meeting. The December Board of Education meeting was held on December 10, 2024.

Meeting Agendas:

Pre-Work Session

Work Session

Regular Meeting

The recording, which includes the pre-work session, work session, regular meeting, and public comment, is available here.

College Heights proudly recognizes the dedicated individuals who comprise its Instructional Leadership Team. These dedicated educators, selected by their peers, embody the heart and soul of the school community. They serve as the powerful voice of the staff, actively shaping the vision, setting ambitious goals, and driving transformative improvements in instructional practices.

The Instructional Leadership Team is committed to fostering a positive and equitable learning environment for all students. They collaborate with their colleagues, creating a culture of open dialogue and shared responsibility. By actively seeking feedback and valuing diverse perspectives, they ensure that every voice is heard and acknowledged.

From participating in critical hiring decisions to welcoming visitors into their classrooms, the CHECLC team members exemplify high standards of professionalism and dedication. They facilitate meaningful staff meetings, inspiring and empowering their colleagues and peers to reach new heights.

We thank the outstanding educators for their invaluable contributions: Annie Phillips, Amayrst Broughton, Erynn Mathews-Davis, Ava Devereaux, Sela Soldat, Taylor Tate, and Denys Stapleton.

Thank you for your commitment to excellence and efforts to make College Heights an exceptional place for our students to learn and grow!

The Georgia Department of Education recognized Talley Street Upper Elementary as a 2024 Georgia Literacy Leader School.

Knowing the fundamental importance of literacy and the impact of students' reading ability on their entire educational career, the Georgia Department of Education has recognized schools with exceptional achievement or growth in reading as Literacy Leaders.

Schools were recognized for achievement or growth in the percentage of students reading at or above grade level. The criteria for the Literacy Leader awards recognize the crucial importance of grade-level reading in third and sixth grades and require higher growth from schools with lower achievement levels. Awards were given at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, and 324 schools statewide met the qualifications for recognition as Literacy Leaders.

Thank you, Talley Street staff and leaders, for moving the needle on literacy and changing the lives of the students you serve.

The Georgia Department of Education recognized Beacon Hill Middle School as a 2024 Georgia Math Leader School.

Recognizing the fundamental importance of mathematics in students' education and future careers, the Georgia Department of Education recognized schools with exceptional achievement or growth in mathematics as Math Leaders.

Schools were recognized for achievement or growth in the percentage of students scoring at the Proficient Learner level or above in mathematics. The 2023-2024 Math Leader Awards criteria recognize the significant importance of numeracy skills in fifth and eighth grades and require higher growth from schools with lower achievement levels. Awards were given at the elementary, middle and high school levels, and 624 schools statewide met the qualifications for recognition as Math Leaders.

We applaud the hard work of Beacon Hill, which has resulted in the accomplishments recognized by this prestigious designation.

Graduating high school is a significant milestone in life. Tonight, we have the honor of recognizing two exceptional students who will graduate at the end of December and transition to the next phase of their lives. They have reached this moment through hard work, dedication, and perseverance, and we are thrilled to celebrate their achievements. As they embark on their new journeys, let us take a moment to honor all they have accomplished and wish them continued success in their exciting adventures.

Kaleb Alexander Lanier

Kaleb's teachers shared that working with him over the past year and a half at Decatur Virtual Academy has been a true pleasure. His positive attitude and active contributions to the online community have made a lasting impression. They've also been impressed with how well he has balanced academics and athletics. Today, you stand before the board, having met all the requirements for graduation with honors and ready to pursue your dream of playing college football. Congratulations on joining Duke University in January on an athletic scholarship to play football. May you achieve all your dreams—we know you will be successful at Duke.

Madison Davis

Decatur High School is proud of Madison's dedication to earning her high school diploma through both DHS and Elizabeth Andrews High School. She demonstrated remarkable resilience and the ability to stay focused on goals. During her time at Elizabeth Andrews High School last year, Madison earned 10.5 credits in Work-based Learning, English, math, science, and social studies—a truly outstanding achievement.

We look forward to your continued success in the automotive field and are here to support you as you transition to the next exciting phase of your life.

Congratulations, Kaleb and Madison!

Good evening. On behalf of the City Schools of Decatur Board of Education, I want to thank the community for joining in person and virtually. Your engagement in the success of our students and schools is appreciated.

It's December, which means this will be our last Board of Education meeting until next year. During today's pre-work, we continued our book study on "The Governance Core: School Boards, Superintendents, and Schools Working Together." A revision to the Drug-free Workplace policy was presented for board feedback, along with initial drafts of policies on staff political activities and staff responsibility to report criminal charges to employers.

There were two presentations during the work session. The first was an update on the State of Student Support Services. During the second presentation, the board and public got an update on the planning underway for a new early childhood learning center, including a programming plan, the projected budget, and a first look at a conceptual design. We also accepted a policy on school governance teams for the first read.

The presentations for all board meetings are available on the district's website in Simbli. While you're there, I invite you to listen to the October and November board meetings for discussions on the passing and direct fiscal impact of House Bill 581 on CSD, which creates a statewide floating homestead exemption as an inflation cap (based on the Consumer Price Index) on property tax assessments.

More than 55% of voters in the City of Decatur approved HB 581 as a constitutional amendment in November. However, the bill allows cities, counties, and school districts a one-time option to opt out of the property tax cap. The City Schools of Decatur Board of Education will follow the legal procedures to opt out of the exemption, including holding three virtual public hearings - two on January 14, one in the AM, one in the PM, and one in the evening of January 21.

Recognitions have become a highlight of the monthly meetings. The board looks forward to celebrating our schools and the achievements of our students and staff. This evening, we had the pleasure of hearing about the invaluable contributions of two teachers at College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center, celebrated the recognition of Talley Street and Beacon Hill by the Georgia Department of Education as statewide literacy and math leaders, and the accomplishments of two Decatur High School students who will graduate early at this end of the month. We wish them well in their postsecondary pursuits and congratulate all students and staff for their achievements.

Over the next two weeks, our schools will be ringing with cheer from incredible winter performances and various celebrations. Enjoy the upcoming break, everyone. We look forward to welcoming you back in the new year!

Note: The presentation slides shown during the Superintendent's Comments are available here.

The Georgia Department of Education released the College and Career Readiness Performance Index on Friday. Under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), each U.S. state is required to have a statewide accountability system that complies with federal requirements, providing information on how well schools are performing. The CCRPI meets that requirement in Georgia and satisfies requirements for school accountability in state law.

The Board of Education, in collaboration with the community, has developed the "All in Decatur" strategic plan. Many of the key performance indicators of Student Success in All Areas are measured using the components of CCRPI. Therefore, this presentation is a true reflection of our progress toward fulfilling the strategic plan's objectives.

The CCRPI measures school, district, and state performance on five components:

• The first is Content Mastery, which includes student scores on statewide assessments in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.

• The second component, Progress, measures how much growth students demonstrate in English language arts and mathematics and how well English learners are progressing toward English language proficiency.

• The Closing Gaps component measures how well schools meet annual improvement targets for student subgroups.

• Fourth is Readiness, which includes literacy scores, student attendance, the percentage of students succeeding in "beyond the core" instruction, accelerated enrollment, pathway completion, and college and career readiness measures.

• Then, there is the Graduation Rate, a high school component that includes both the fourth- and fifth-year graduation rates.

The CCRPI no longer includes an overall 0-100 score for schools, districts, or the state, but each CCRPI component still has a 0-100 score. The Department of Education has communicated that this change was made to increase transparency and provide a complete picture of school performance, ensuring that challenges and opportunities are not hidden behind a single score.

State legislation passed in 2024 requires the Governor's Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) to calculate a single score for schools and districts and for GaDOE and local school districts to publish these scores online. CSD will publish GOSA's single score for our district and schools as soon as they are available. So, let us dive into the components.

Content Mastery addresses whether students are achieving at the level necessary to be prepared for the next grade, college, or career. For Content Mastery, CSD is #2 in the state and #1 in the metro area for elementary and middle schools. The high school's content mastery score also increased from last year, moving them to 2nd in the metro and 7th in the state. Our teachers are continuing to focus on teaching the Georgia Standard of Excellence.

Both elementary schools met all targets. A green flag indicates the target was met. The subgroup met the improvement target if there was a yellow star in the flag. If there was no flag, there are too few students in the school to calculate.

Content Mastery in our secondary schools also indicates that we have met our accountability targets for our subgroups. For middle school, the Georgia Milestones Assessment tests and retests and 2024 Georgia Alternative Assessments for special education students, or GAA's, are included in the content mastery score. For the high school content mastery score, 2023 MS Algebra End of Course, 2024 HS EOCs and retests, GAAs, 2023-2024 and 20204 AP/IB U.S. History are included. Moving on to progress.

Progress measures how much growth students demonstrate in English language arts and mathematics and how well English learners are progressing toward English language proficiency. Students obtain growth percentiles, indicating how their current achievement compares with their statewide academic peers with similar score histories. All schools increased in student growth for ELA. Three out of four schools increased student growth in math. Kudos to the staff and students at Beacon Hill for ELA growth at 11.25 percentage points, at Decatur High for Math at 8.53 percentage points, and at Talley Street for English Language Learners at 14 percentage points.

Closing Gaps sets the expectation that all students and all student subgroups make improvements in achievement rates. This component is based on CCRPI improvement targets for academic achievement, which are also represented by improvement flags, and it provides an opportunity for schools to demonstrate the progress made in improving student performance among all student subgroups. Mathematically, the amount of improvement stays constant and is added to the previous year's subgroup score to determine the target score each year. So, we will not rest on these scores and continue to improve. As indicated on the slide, all schools met subgroup targets for closing gaps in ELA. Closing Gaps is the only CCRPI component that is not comparable this year to last because we have new K-12 Math standards and targets that are being established this year, using the 2023-24 as the baseline.

Elementary schools achieved a score of 100%. However, there is an opportunity for growth in the content of science for economically disadvantaged and English language learners. Mathematically, the amount of improvement stays constant and is added to the previous year's subgroup score to determine the target score each year. So, we will not rest on these scores and continue to improve.

Our secondary schools show a bit more variety in their flags. Opportunities at the middle school are with Hispanic students and, once again, economically disadvantaged students in science. I am seeing a pattern.

The red flag in U.S. History is not a surprise. When we presented the Georgia Milestones results earlier this semester, we knew U.S. History needed to be addressed. We have put systems of support in place through PLCs and pacing to address the root causes of the flag. Finally, improvement targets without stars coincide with the need to bolster our MTSS processes as on-track/off-track data assists us with drilling down the student and the need.

Readiness measures whether students are participating in activities that prepare them for and demonstrate readiness for the next level, college, or career. The indicators for elementary and middle schools include at or above grade-level reading, student attendance, and beyond the core.

Of our elementary students, 88.93% are reading at or above grade level. That is an increase from last year of 1.43 percentage points. And yes, the aggregate masks the subgroup performance where Black students are reading at 65.55%. However, this is an increase from 55% from last year. Economically disadvantaged students percentages are up from 43% to 57%. Is this where we want to be? No. But there is improvement, and it is significant. Likewise, for middle school, Black students reading at or above grade level increased from 62% to 68%. Economically disadvantaged students reading at or above grade level increased from 52% to 63%.

High school readiness indicators include at or above grade-level reading, student attendance, accelerated enrollment, pathway completion, and college and career readiness. If Board members remember, I asked what it would mean for us not to have only 38% of our economically disadvantaged students reading at or above grade level last year. In just one year, 54.95% of economically disadvantaged students are reading at or above grade level. Again, this is not where I want to be, especially since these students will graduate in a year and a half. But we are making strides.

As I end this presentation, our graduation rate measures whether students are graduating from high school with a regular diploma in four or five years. Last year's graduation rate was 95.1%, and now it is 95.4%. This indicator is only at the high school level but is also a part of CCRPI.

(Presentation Ends)

In conclusion, I want to remind the board and the public that CSD will publish the GOSA's single score for our district and schools as soon as they are available. Each CCRPI component has a 0-100 score for schools and districts. There is an addendum to the presentation which presents all CCRPI scores in 2023 and 2024. Out of the 13 components, all but two are now over 90.

I must thank our dedicated teachers and staff for their commitment to academic excellence and student success. This year's College and Career readiness measurements reflect the progress CSD is making in narrowing the achievement gaps and preparing students for life beyond high school.

Finally, I am thrilled to close my remarks and the first semester of this school year with an exciting announcement. About four months into my tenure as superintendent, I met with the leadership of the Chick-fil-A Foundation and submitted a proposal that would assist us in taking CSD from a good school district for most students to a great school district for all students.

The proposal emphasized that CSD and Chick-fil-A shared the commitments to:

• Adapting and re-inventing how we do things to achieve the greatest outcomes.

• The necessity and urgency of finding new ways to ensure equity in student achievement for every student and

• The belief that we will achieve the greatest and fastest outcomes by investing in the development of our school and district leaders.

The proposal was to request funding for the professional development of leaders through The University of Virginia Partnership for Leaders in Education Program (UVA-PLE). UVA-PLE combines the most innovative leadership advancement, practical expertise, and proven methodologies from both business and education. Their world-class organization emboldens education leaders to cultivate systematic change to enhance conditions where school communities achieve remarkable results. UVA-PLE also emboldens and equips leadership teams to co-create and implement shifts critical to addressing inequities and fostering remarkable student and school advancements. The ultimate effect is a more equitable, inclusive and excellent school system.

On Friday, I received an email from the Chick-fil-A Foundation notifying me that CSD had been awarded a grant of $200,000 to advance our efforts. The leadership development will be focused on our four UVA-PLE schools:

• Fifth Avenue Upper Elementary

• Talley Street Upper Elementary

• Beacon Hill Middle School

• Decatur High School

We are tremendously grateful to the Chick-fil-A Foundation for their generosity and partnership in developing strong leaders who cater to the unique needs of every student. Together, we will ensure equitable outcomes for all students, providing a beacon of hope for the students who need us most.

I wish everyone an enjoyable and restful winter break.

The board reviewed the mid-year budget adjustments for the FY2024 budget for all funds. The reallocation of funds were determined by analyzing the current financial operations, trends, and future investment in Legacy Park.

The board unanimously approved the 2026-2027 Academic Calendar, which can be found on the CSD website here. The calendar presentation, with the stakeholder feedback summary, can be found in the board meeting agenda on Simbli.

The board unanimously approved the following consent items:

• Financial Reports for October 2024

• School Nutrition Program Financial Reports for October 2024

• Personnel Report for November 2024

• Overnight/Out-of-State Student Travel

• FY26 Budget Priorities and Parameters

• FY26 School Allotment Guidelines

• Intergovernmental Agreement (Legacy Park)

• Ground Lease Agreement (Legacy Park)

The board unanimously approved the following policies:

• Policy JCEB - Student Hearing Procedures

• Policy JQK - Exchange Students

• Policy JGFG - Student Accidents

Before public comment, the board discussed parliamentary procedures for public comment during board meetings. At the last board retreat, the board learned the phrase, "While this is a public meeting, we are holding a meeting of the Board in public." Therefore, the board must consistently implement guidelines for audience members and those who seek to address the body as a whole regarding issues related to the City Schools of Decatur. The board determined the following areas of improvement: time limits, sign-up procedures, maintaining order, rules of decorum, and personnel matters.

1. Time limits - Time limits will be strictly enforced.

2. Sign-up procedures - Sign-up will be open until 1 hour before the start of the regular board meeting.

3. Maintaining order - the chair must ensure order is maintained. The chair must enforce the board's established meeting rules to manage the public.

4. Rules of decorum - all public comment is directed to the chair, not the audience. All participants must adhere to proper meeting etiquette; for example, refrain from jeers, applause, or shouts from the floor.

5. Personnel matters - personnel matters shall not be discussed - the board will use a broad definition of personnel matters (No individual employee shall be named, identified, nor discussed).

• Policy BBFB - Governance Teams

Next Regular Board Meeting: The next regular board meeting will be on January 14, 2025

Other Upcoming Meetings:

• HB 581 Public Hearings:

• Virtual hearing on January 14, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. https://csdecatur.zoom.us/j/95614159391

• In-person hearing on January 14, 2025, at 6:45 p.m. in the Board of Education Room at 125 Electric Avenue

• Virtual hearing on January 21, 2025, at 6:45 p.m. https://csdecatur.zoom.us/j/95614159391

• BOE Community Meeting on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. at Glennwood Elementary

Link to Join Board Meeting Virtually: https://csdecatur.zoom.us/j/95614159391

Board Agenda(s): Go to Simbli to access the CSD Board of Education meeting agenda(s), supporting documents, and meeting minutes.

Public Comments: Click here for information on signing up to speak at a CSD Board meeting.

Contacting Board Members: Email the entire board at board@csdecatur.net. Click here to view board member bios and contact information.

The board values hearing from members of our community. Each Board member reviews and reads all emails sent by our stakeholders.

Georgia law governs school boards, and they cannot intervene in the day-to-day administrative operations of the school district, including direct staff and personnel matters. If you write to us with a concern about district operations, your message will be forwarded to the school or district administrator, who can best address your concern.

The board has also adopted a set of norms that govern our local communication protocols. These include:

1. Emails to individual board members are shared with the entire board.

2. Issues and concerns received by the board and or individual members will be referred to the Superintendent.

3. Board members will follow the chain of command and educate, instruct, and encourage others to do the same.

4. The board chair will reply to emails from constituents sent to all board members. That reply will include the superintendent and other board members on the thread, and the constituent will be informed that the superintendent or their designee will respond to the inquiry/request.

5. Direct all stakeholders' questions, input, or discussion to the Superintendent, who will communicate them as needed to the board.

Email: board@csdecatur.net
Website: csdecatur.net
Location: 125 Electric Avenue, Decatur, GA, USA
Phone: (404) 371-3601