Change on the horizon for Athens schools

Published 9:25 am Thursday, February 8, 2018

Officials with Athens City Schools met with parents and residents Tuesday night to discuss numerous changes that will impact the system in the future. More than 100 people attended the meeting, which was held at Athens Intermediate School.

Dr. Chris Hamilton, system spokeswoman and director of the Athens City Schools Foundation, said every grade level would be impact at some level.

“We try very hard to keep our parents informed through social media and newsletters, but felt that because we have so many things going on in the next few months, we needed to give parents a chance to meet with school leaders face-to-face,” she said.

The changes Hamilton referred to are extensive. For example, every school in the system will see grade realignments in the 2018-2019 school year.

The elementary schools will house grades K-3. Grade four will shift to Athens Intermediate School, which will also house fifth-graders. Sixth-grade students will be housed in a sixth-grade center, a completely new concept for the district.

The seventh-grade and eighth-grade students who comprise Athens Middle School will relocate to the current Athens High School in the fall. The sixth-grade center will also be located in the current AHS building, but will be kept separate from the middle school in its own wing. Sixth-graders will have their own administrator and will enter and exit the school at a separate entrance from seventh-grade and eighth-grade students.

“Years ago we built AIS because there was a feeling in our community that we needed to keep grades five and six away from our seventh and eight-graders,” Hamilton said. “It worked very well and we are still committed to that philosophy.”

The new Athens High School is still expected to be ready by fall, despite weather-related construction delays. The new school includes a wing dedicated to a new ninth-grade center.

As with the sixth-grade center, district leaders believe providing ninth-graders with their own academy fosters education and better protects the students.

“Research has identified ninth-grade as the most critical point to intervene and prevent students from losing motivation, failing and dropping out of school,” Hamilton said. “We believe that establishing a ninth-grade center at AHS will help smooth the transition for students and give them the best opportunity for success.”

Administrators for the sixth and ninth-grade centers will be announced at a later date.

The new academies

The city’s elementary schools are undergoing significant change as each prepares to become a professionally designated academy. Athens Elementary will become a computer science academy, Brookhill will focus on fine arts, Julian Newman will be designated as a health and medical academy and SPARK academy at Cowart will continue to build on their Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) model of learning.

Hamilton said that of all the changes the school system is facing, the academies have caused parents the most concern.

During the community meeting, Holladay addressed those concerns, assuring parents that “the academy model is done through the focus of a certain lens” and does not put a student on a “direct track to a certain career.”

The names of the elementary schools will not change, but additional descriptive verbiage will be added to the school title, much like SPARK was added to Cowart Elementary when it became an academy.

Students who wish to attend an academy outside of their district will be selected by lottery.

Dates and information

• Feb. 26-March 30: Early Kindergarten registration, (includes opportunity to enter out-of-district lottery;

•April 16-May 4: Re-enrollment for current students in grades 1-12 (includes opportunity to enter out-of-district lottery);

•March 1 at 6 p.m.: Academy showcase at Athens City School Board of Education, 455 U.S. 31 North, open to families with children entering kindergarten; and

•May 7: First lottery selection will take place. Notifications will go out the same week.

Registration, new student enrollment and re-enrollment must be done online through SchoolMint. The site can be accessed at https://athenscity.schoolmint.net.

Help with navigating SchoolMint is available at the Athens City School Board of Education from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday.