DeKalb County One of Seven Georgia Districts Recognized by College Board

The DeKalb County School District (DCSD) was recognized as one of seven districts statewide and 539 in the U.S. and Canada by the College Board with placement on the 3rd Annual AP® District Honor Roll for simultaneously increasing access to Advanced Placement® (AP) course work while increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP Exams.

According to the College Board, only about half of African-American, Hispanic and Native American students with a high degree of readiness for AP actually participate, often because the courses aren’t offered. In DCSD, where 88 percent of the student population is non-white and 71.13 percent of students receive free or reduced-price meals, AP classes are offered at 23 schools.

More than 90 percent of colleges and universities across the U.S. offer college credit, advanced placement or both for a score of 3 or higher on an AP Exam, which can potentially save students and their families thousands of dollars in college tuition.

A total of 539 school districts across 44 of 50 states in the U. S. and six Canadian provinces achieved honor roll status. In Georgia, seven districts were recognized.

Inclusion on the 3rd Annual AP District Honor Roll is based on the examination of three years of AP data, from 2010 to 2012 for the following criteria:

Districts must:
1) Increase participation/access to AP by at least 4 percent in large districts, at least 6 percent in medium districts and at least 11 percent in small districts;

2) Ensure that the percentage of African American, Hispanic/Latino and American Indian/Alaska Native students taking AP Exams did not decrease by more than 5 percent for large and medium districts or by more than 10 percent for small districts;

3) Improve performance levels when comparing the percentage of students in 2012 scoring a 3 or higher to those in 2010, unless the district has already attained a performance level in which more than 70 percent of the AP students are scoring a 3 or higher.

To view the entire AP Honor Roll list, click here .

DeKalb County School District Adding 49 New Buses to Fleet

Imagine driving 11 million miles in one year alone. In order to transport 62,000 students to and from school each day, that’s how many miles DCSD buses drive annually.

Thanks to funding from the Georgia Department of Education and the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission, DCSD will add 49 new buses to its fleet this year with no impact on the general budget. The purchase of these 72-passenger Blue Bird buses was approved by the Board of Education at its Oct. 8 meeting. Twenty buses have passed pre-service inspections and have been delivered, with the remainder arriving over the next weeks.

The buses have been purchased from the Yancey Bus Sales at a cost of $76,219.50 each. The total cost of all 49 buses is $3,734,755.50, paid for through the state bus bond funds.

Henderson Mill Elementary Awarded STEM Certification

On October 31, Henderson Mill Elementary was awarded STEM certification by the State Department of Education's Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Mike Buck and STEM Coordinators, Drs. Gilda Lyon and Juan-Carlos Aguilar. Dr. Kathy Howe, Deputy Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction and Mr. Brad Bryant, Executive Director of the Georgia Foundation for Public Education participated in the awards ceremony along with a large group of parents and business partners. Dr. Buck led 575 students in a rousing cheer of "We're Number One," since Henderson Mill Elementary is the first PreK-5 school in Georgia to receive this award.

The STEM program at Henderson Mill focuses on a cross-curricular, critical thinking approach to incorporate STEM into all content areas. They offer the students opportunities to participate in unique programs such as Engineering is Elementary, Small Fry to Go, a school-wide garden, and LEGO Build to Express, along with incorporating STEM concepts with the common core standards. The school was also recognized by the Board of Education at its November 12 meeting.