Poncey-Highland Neighbors Plan Fight Against School Redistricting

Concerned Poncey-Highland parents and residents met Sunday night to form plans to fight against Atlanta Public Schools redistricting.

Three of the four proposed options on the table would move Poncey-Highland kids out of to or split Springdale into a shared primary care center with Hope-Hill Elementary in Old Fourth Ward. All four options continue to zone the neighborhood for and Grady High School.

Residents said Sunday night they want their kids to stay at Springdale Park because the options currently on the table limit walkability to school, split families between two campuses and hurt property values in a neighborhood that continues to see renovations and construction.

“It’s going to make a huge impact on our community,” resident and parent Jean D’Amico said.

Parents said Hope-Hill is not walkable from most homes and condos in Poncey-Highland and voiced concerns over transportation options. Most kids in the neighborhood can currently walk to school at Springdale Park, they said.

The group of roughly 25 residents seemed most concerned Sunday night about getting their voices heard because Poncey-Highland represents just over five-percent of the student population at Springdale Park, which also houses kids from Midtown and Virginia-Highland.

The plan of action organized Sunday night by the group includes encouraging neighbors to respond to the survey demographers and sending a letter from Poncey-Highland Neighborhood Association to the Atlanta Public Schools board of education, neighboring civic associations, and other local groups to express concern over the redistricting options.

“If the community doesn’t stand united, totally united, somebody is going to take a fall,” resident and parent Paul Krasner said.

Residents also plan to circulate a petition that urges Atlanta Public School officials to keep Poncey-Highand in the Springdale Park cluster.

The Poncey-Highland neighborhood, which runs from Ponce de Leon Ave. to Freedom Parkway, was zoned for Mary Lin until Springdale Park opened in 2009.

“You can’t kick us out of a school we helped create,” one parent said Sunday night.

A meeting to discuss the proposed redistricting options for Springdale Park is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m. at Springdale Park Elementary, 1274 Ponce de Leon Ave.

Follow city-wide APS Redistricting coverage on Facebook. Read more about redistricting on the VaHi Patch Atlanta Public Schools Redistricting Page and VaHiPatch twitter.