Inman Middle Crowding Needs to be Solved Quickly, Superintendent Says
Superintendent Erroll Davis suggests moving some students to an unused school building in the Old Fourth Ward.
Maybe we need to build a new middle school to relieve overcrowding at Inman Middle School. Or maybe we should house 6th or 8th-graders in a separate academy, possibly located in the Old Fourth Ward.
This is what Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Erroll B. Davis Jr. told a task force on Tuesday morning at a packed meeting at Inman Middle School.
“I don’t need consensus on anything. I don’t need votes. I need your best thinking,” the superintendent told the task force.
More than 60 parents turned out for the meeting, sitting on the floor when they ran out of chairs. But questions and discussion were limited to the task force members – about 20 in attendance.
Davis suggested that an academy could be housed in an annex close to the school, or if it were farther away, it could eventually be turned into another middle school.
The district has two vacant buildings that could be used – Walden and David T. Howard schools, both on Irwin Street in the Old Fourth Ward. The Howard school is famous for providing an education to Martin Luther King Jr. The superintendent admitted that he wasn’t sure if the cost of refurbishment would equal the cost of building a new middle school.
Other considerations of a separate academy are providing enough staffing for an off-site location and playing sports.
Davis suggested that an academy housing 8th and 9th-graders could kill two birds with one stone – solving overcrowding at both Inman Middle and Grady High School. This idea could work, at least one task force member said, because 6th graders aren’t allowed to play sports.
Several parents said they were opposed to the idea of splitting kids off in a separate academy, although they recognized the problem of overcrowding.
“Up until about two weeks ago, they had five kids sitting on the floor,” said Ann Jones, who has a daughter in 6th grade at Inman and a 4th-grade son who will go to Inman in a couple of years. She said she is concerned that an academy at either Walden or Howard would be too far away.
“They might as well just turn it into a boarding school,” Jones said.
Another parent, Elaine Persons, said she thinks the solution is to create new districts so kids are split more evenly among schools – an idea she admitted is not embraced by all parents. But while some schools are bursting at the seams, others have plenty of space, she said.
“I’d be fine if they even divided my neighborhood and sent all of us south of DeKalb Avenue,” Persons said.
Task force members asked if there is money set aside for building projects.
Davis replied that $30 million is expected to come from sales tax, and another $5 million has been set aside by the school board for capital expenses.
“I’m reasonably confident, if we figure out in a reasonable amount of time, that money will be a barrier we have to deal with – but not insurmountable,” Davis said.
The task force has been meeting since July, and meeting minutes posted on the APS website show that committee members were seeking clarification on their role from the superintendent. Davis apologized on Tuesday for not coming to a meeting sooner. The group also now has a facilitator - James Wilson, who is a former superintendent and worked in Cobb and Fulton schools for 37 years.
Inman is projected to have more than 1,000 students this school year – 118 percent over its capacity. That number is only expected to grow over the next decade.
We need a solution quickly, the superintendent said.
“I don’t like to see all these kids packed in here like sardines, and I’d like to do something about it quickly.”
Chris Murphy
7:47 pm on Tuesday, September 18, 2012
The Howard school couldn't be used in the immediate future: it hasn't held classes in 25 years.
But I really did like the, "They might as well just turn it into a boarding school," remark. Pretty amusing.
Ken Edelstein
12:57 am on Thursday, September 20, 2012
A boarding school because it's 1.7 miles away? She must be a very slow driver.
Ann Jones
10:12 am on Thursday, September 20, 2012
ken - the boarding school comment was in reference to APS inability to efficiently transport our kids (not how fast I drive). We currently live 1.5 miles away, and it's a 1 hour bus ride. We're 4 miles to the new school, so based on APS history, that means a 4 hour bus ride (one-way)--hence the comment. Pure sarcasm - and directed at APS...
Ashland88
9:50 pm on Tuesday, September 18, 2012
If they started today, it would take no more than 3 years to get Howard into shape, and it could possibly be completed faster. Even though classes weren't held in the building, it hasn't been vacant for 25 years. It's a perfect solution that demands actual consideration. ( And please don't use the excuse that the children are suffering in the trailers when Cook was soundly rejected as a temporary location)
The many of the same parents insisting that David T Howard is either too far or too unsafe are the same parents that actively utilize the soccer fields located there for recreation for their children. These are also the same parents who I've seen recently walking and riding the Beltline with their young children while it's still an active and dangerous construction site.
The Grady Cluster should stop wasting valuable time trying to come up with so-called "solutions" that seem to do nothing more than raise skepticism regarding true motives and concerns, and quickly coalesce around the David T Howard campus.
Chris Murphy
6:23 am on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
It hasn't been vacant, but has been used for storage- big difference vs. having kids. "If they started today," is a Big If because the money isn't there, and initial reports said it would take $20-30 million to renovate it (asbestos, lead, window & utility replacement, facade stabilization and on and on). That said, it's a good location for the cluster. Now take that back to Inman and watch the fight over who goes there. Like I noted previously, amusing.
Michael Wakefield
8:58 am on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
The distance from Va-High to the Howard School is not much different from Va-High to Morningside Elem., a trip that many ferociously fought to keep when Springdale Park was split off from Morningside.
H.A. Hurley
11:53 am on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
H.A. Hurley
11:38 am on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
H.A. Hurley
8:13 am on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Did anyone inform APS that schools were going to open in August? Could someone not have notified APS last year, before they started to shuffle the entire school system around, before they spent countless hours meeting with parents to gather input in school-closure decisions, before they spent zillions of dollars on legal defense related to the cheating scandal, that they actually needed to plan for the 'nuts-and-bolts' of the 2012-13 school year?
Students sitting on the floor weeks later, realizing that there may be too many feeder schools for Inman Middle, finally identifying out-of-zone students -- oh, these may have been after-thoughts in, all things caos, in APS. Business as usual!
The above scenario is what APS has done for over 30 years. The continuous closure of schools, renovating schools to be closed a year later, opening old outdated buildings for overflow, endless excuses for inefficiency......enough already!
The Morningside community only sends students to public schools if the education is of quality. Please solve thing quickly and without continuous changes. I remember times where most of our students avoided Inman and Grady. If not handled properly, we will find ourselves in the same situation.
Just a heads-up: 2013-14 will start next August.
H.A. Hurley
12:02 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Please remember the transportation problems at the beginning of the year? Students would have to walk along Boulevard, PDLA, Monroe or Carter Pres. Pkwy. due to the 2 mile limit. The duplication of services, technology and logistics for a system that does not have a good trach record for efficiency and planning -- oh, my!
APS is always surpised when they find themselves in a corner that THEY painted themselves into. Someone forgot to tell them that school started in August. Pass it on: 2013-2014 starts next Aug.
Ashland88
12:53 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Re Students walking along PDL Ave, Monroe, Freedom Pkwy and the two mile limit...That's already the case, especially in the case of Springdale Park. Howard actually has more convenient access to the Beltline and Freedom Parkway trails than Inman ( At Howell Street @ Tribute Lofts and John Wesley Dobbs Ave @ Rathbun Steak) . We should be spending our time looking for additional Beltline and Freedom Pkwy path entry points that are internal to neighborhoods without having to put kids any where near Ponce. We all know very well that the entry points exist and are internal to neighborhoods along streets that are lightly traveled.
FamilyOfFour
2:11 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Brand spankin new here so I don't know that back story on why people are in favor on one thing or the other. Is there somewhere I can look to see a list of the options and what are the "pluses" and "minuses" of each idea? From reading the comments above I see that old Howard High school is one option. Pluses: On the beltline, large building, close to students who live in Inman park, O4W. Negatives: may cost more or take too long to renovate, further for families who bought homes right next to Inman & Grady so their kids can walk, etc... Our family has been on the negative side of redistricting, so I am fully aware that some people will love the final outcome and others will hate it. It is just what will happen. Having been there already I am just trying to find where the true middle ground is and push for that. :)
Being new to the area I am in the dark and dont want to comment on something I obviously know nothing about so please enlighten me. :)
Ken Edelstein
4:49 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Those who didn't attend the meeting may be misled by this article. The most significant error is that it misrepresents what Superintendent Davis said.
Davis explicitly charged task force members with answering just two questions: Whether Inman overcrowding should be addressed with a sixth grade academy or an eighth grade academy, and where the academy should be located. In other words, it appears that APS is only considering those two solutions to Inman overcrowding.
Davis didn't suggest that the task force examine whether "we need to build a new middle school to relieve overcrowding at Inman Middle School." In fact, by excluding mention of a "new middle school" from his questions, he pretty much said the opposite.
A second error is simply about numbers: Inman Middle School is 13 percent overcapacity, not 118 percent. Here's the math: Inman's official capacity (without trailers): 875. Students currently enrolled: 992. Difference: 117, or 13.3 percent.
There are other problems with the article -- some jumbled facts and as anyone who knows the issue good tell right off the bat, unrepresentative quotes. But anyone who's following this issue -- whatever their position -- deserves at least to have a better idea Davis' charge to the task force. Now, the question is whether the task force will finally focus on its task.
H.A. Hurley
5:09 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Have they verified all students' addresses to make sure that all students belong to Inman? Many APS staff apply for transfers for their children to the best schools in the system, and this could account for some of Inman's students. Transfer students should only be allowed to attend if there are vacancies. Once all this has been addresses and there are truly 117 students above capacity, then and only then should we look at such a disruptive move for our neighborhood school. Also, some elem. schools feeding into Inman and are across town may need to be zoned to another middle school - some that are significantly underattended.
B
8:35 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Thanks Ken for providing much needed clarification!!!
APSParentAlum
7:31 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
There is a HUGE wave of young kids in pre-K and elementary school ages in areas immediately surrounding Inman. Additional, adjacent classroom wings are needed for both Inman and Grady - schools right on the beltline. In-town growth and limited, high-cost private school seats make this an issue way beyond examining transfers. Besides, the trailers look awful. Adding volume to these campuses isn't ideal, it's just the most pragmatic solution out there - all things considered.
H.A. Hurley
9:06 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
As a parent of two APS students who attended 25-30 years ago, when hardly anyone attended the neighborhood schools. Families with children moved away or attended private schools. We commited, along with a hand-full of families, and stuck with APS as long as we could, and as long as it was good for the children. It was a long, hard road. APS then, literally, tackled issues often as inefficiently as I have been referring to in my earlier comments. We were part of O'Keefe MS, CW Hill ES, and transferred to Sutton (Inman was not a good place for kids at that time). Today, families move to our communities because we have worked tirelessly to create the schools we now have. This is wonderful! However, families will only follow this pattern if APS maintains the quality, pays attention to parents, and operates a professional, ethical and efficient school system. The responsibility is enourmous!
H.A. Hurley
9:19 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
P.S.
One of our children also attended Morningside ES, and later spent only one year at Grady HS. Another, attended Northside HS, avoiding Grady at that time. We finally withdrew to send them to schools outside of APS. Remembering the struggles experienced by most of the community parents creates PTS in us.