KIRKWOOD — The data room spells everything out. In a scant few minutes, visitors can see how students at Jackson High School are performing in their classes and on standardized tests. They also get a good understanding of which teachers are performing well, which ones aren't and anomalies between students' test scores in the classroom compared with standardized exams. For Stephanie Johnson, the principal Atlanta Public Schools hired last fall to lead Jackson's turn-around, the data culled allows her and her team to focus on the many challenges facing the high school and to address them in a …

OLD FOURTH WARD — There's a saying that Sundays remain the most segregated day of the week in Atlanta. But one house of worship, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, seems to have bucked that trend, boasting a multi-racial and multi-generational congregation that draws parishioners from across metro Atlanta. It's a bit of a shift from the church's original mission since its founding almost 101 years ago. As the first church for black Catholics in Atlanta, it was founded at a time when social customs and norms of the day barred them from attending Mass at white churches. So the Rev. Ignatius …

Monday's marathon Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education meeting and the back and forth discussions among its members on how to extend Superintendent Erroll B. Davis Jr.'s contract seemed reminiscent of the old days when fighting seemed the norm. But two board members, Cecily Harsch-Kinnane, whose district includes East Lake, East Atlanta, Kirkwood and Candler Park among other communities, and Courtney D. English, who is a citywide representative, say that's not the case. What may have seemed like nitpicking was the board trying to reach consensus, and creating the framework for picking …

To combat crime and fears about public safety in East Atlanta, an owner of the Flatiron Bar in East Atlanta Village is spearheading an effort to create a security patrol to hire off-duty Atlanta police officers. David Bishop, the majority owner of the Flatiron, which he opened 15 years ago, said getting a handle on the muggings and making it safer for patrons is critical to keep the business district thriving. "I hear about people getting mugged all the time in the Village," Bishop told East Atlanta Patch, noting the most recent incident occurred in the 1200 block of Glenwood Avenue Tuesday …

Historic preservation. In a city so rich in history and events that served as milestones in the local and national timeline, Atlanta’s success at saving what came before is mixed. But preservationists can take heart in recent victories. In March, they saved Sweet Auburn’s Atlanta Daily World building from the wrecking ball. Last week came a crucial victory with the Urban Design Commission voting against the Georgia Tech Foundation’s application to tear down most of the Crum & Forster Building, the Midtown, a 1928-era Renaissance façade structure. Preservation-minded Atlantans watched that …

Drew Charter School won approval of its long-hoped for desire to create a high school Monday night. Drew Charter, which is in East Lake, became the city's first charter school when the Atlanta Board of Education approved it in 1999. Its core mission upon which that aproval was based: To primarily serve low income children from the Village of East Lake, a mixed-income housing community. Though the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education approved Drew Charter's request to expand to create a high school and increase K-8 enrollment by another 400 students, district Superintendent Erroll B. …

A Candler Park steering committee charged with helping shape future of that neighborhood's namesake park could hire a firm to help it create a visioning plan for the 55.3-acre greenspace. Such a plan could cost between $10,000 and $40,000, Amy Stout, a steering committee member, told residents Monday night at the monthly meeting of the Candler Park Neighborhood Organization. The move follows Park Pride's decision to part ways with the committee, which sought that organization's help with the visioning plan for Candler Park, which is located at 1500 McLendon Ave. NE. Founded in 1989, Park …

He's been described at the proverbial Mr. Smith going to Washington. But R.J. Morris doesn't mind the comparison. The Old Fourth Ward resident has developed a reputation for successfully going head to head with Fulton County property tax officials over flawed assessments. He's won each time. Now, Morris, who on Monday spoke to a group of Inman Park homeowners over their property assessment increases, is running for tax commissioner. He is looking to unseat Arthur E. Ferdinand, a fixture in that post for the last 15 years. He sat down with East Atlanta Patch to discuss why he's running and the…

Graffiti tagging around Atlanta has been a push-'n-pull battle of sorts for residents of the Old Fourth Ward. On Wednesday, the neighborhood, along with other communities suffering the ills of spray painting vandals got a chance to push back against two taggers who pled guilty to series of property destruction charges. While many communities have been wrestling with graffiti, some like Reynoldstown, Cabbagetown and Old Fourth Ward, three communities with major commercial corridors, have been at the front line of the ongoing battle. As Kit Sutherland, president of the Fourth Ward Alliance put …

With roughly 1 million eligible people from which to choose in Fulton County, jury duty shouldn't be a problem. But in Fulton County it is. The reason: Too many people just don't show up. Fulton County isn't alone, of course. A citizen skipping out on jury duty is a problem facing courts nationwide. But in Fulton County, the rate of no-shows is roughly 50 percent. The result, more frequent calls to attend jury duty — now every 18 months from every three years — to make up for the no-shows court officials have to factor into the mix. At that rate, court officials say they will have to decrease…

At first glance, it may seem odd for man who with a degree in finance to open an art gallery, but Charles Berry says his head for numbers and love of art and music is a perfect combination. Combining those two passions, Berry, of Inman Park, opened the Sight+Sound art gallery in Old Fourth Ward's Studioplex. The gallery, which has its grand opening party on Friday, focuses on contemporary art and high-end high-fidelity sound equipment. On the sight side, his focus is on showcasing artists who come from the Southeast. The gallery's first collection is a series of black and white photographs …

Summerhill residents spoke loudly Friday night at a specially called meeting to discuss their concerns at being zoned to D.H. Stanton Elementary School in Peoplestown, when the neighborhood asked and initially got zoning to attend Parkside Elementary in Grant Park. The decision to move Summerhill follows the Atlanta Public Schools' Board of Education April 10 vote to close seven schools instead of 10 as district Superintendent Erroll B. Davis Jr. recommended. D.H. Stanton itself was a last-minute surprise on the tentative closure list but the Peoplestown community, in a 10-day tilt-a-whirl of…

In the nearly two months that Maj. Keith Meadows has been commander of the Atlanta Police Department's Zone 6, he's been to a slew of meetings with community associations and groups to talk about their concerns and trends regarding crime. Zone 6, which includes East Atlanta, Kirkwood, Reynoldstown and Grant Park among others, has a number of different concerns ranging from auto break-ins in Edgewood to graffiti in Little Five Points to drug dealing in Old Fourth Ward. Meadows, a 16-year APD veteran, sat down with East Atlanta Patch and Virginia-Highland Patch this week to discuss concerns in …

Arguably, the toughest job to hold in Atlanta right now is likely being a member of the Atlanta Board of Education. Hours from now, the nine-member board could vote on Superintendent Erroll B. Davis Jr.'s plan for APS which aims to reduce the number of empty seats citywide, ease overcrowding in some schools and slash operating costs. The road to today's possible vote has been anything but easy. For several months, parents, teachers and taxpayers from neighborhoods all across the city have poured over redistricting maps and possible scenarios for where children might go. In the last few weeks…

Trust. Fairness. Passion. For some parents whose children are in Atlanta Public Schools, those three words are key to the ongoing redistricting debate. It's especially so for parents and homeowners who live the neighborhoods affected by proposed closures and rezoning of students. APS is looking to reduce excess capacity in a 60,000-seat district that only has 47,000 students. Admittedly, redistricting is a process that raises concerns and fears about what the final outcome will look like. In recent weeks, parents from some neighborhoods have questioned the process and whether they could trust…

Geographically speaking, East Lake is the easternmost community in the collection of neighborhoods that comprise what is the city of Atlanta. But in the current redistricting debate engulfing Atlanta Public Schools, East Lakers feel their community is a metaphorical golf ball, being whacked here and there much like the ones hit by golfers in the East Lake Golf Club. Seven plans have been presented as possible options to the 47,000-student-district's goal of reducing the number of excess seats. But with a total capacity of 60,000 seats, APS has too much excess. The most recent plan, released …

Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Erroll B. Davis Jr. said he's giving serious consideration to all input from parents regarding the ongoing redistricting process. But Davis, who spoke to Patch editors in a wide-ranging interview about the schools rezoning issue, reiterated that he pays more attention to facts presented in the various arguments than what he considers "noise" in the e-mails and letters he's reviewed. "I'm not sure what purpose is served by sending me 100 copies of a standardized position paper, without adding anything to it," Davis said in the meeting at APS' central …

Candler Park's Mary Lin Elementary School has waited a long time for an expansion to the campus that parents believed they were promised. They believed by voting to approve a specific schools tax — called Special Purpose Local Option Sales Taxes — they'd get the funds needed to pay for a physical expansion to the school, which has been overcrowded for years. But in a wide-ranging interview between Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Erroll B. Davis Jr. and Patch, the superintendent said SPLOST funds are not guaranteed to any project. "Promises were not made in SPLOST," Davis told Patch. "…

"Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.” - Martin Luther King Jr. Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, artist Nabil Mousa has sought to bridge the divide and mistrust it created. But it wasn't until the death and capture of Osama bin Laden, last year that Mousa, a Syrian-American, found the "thurnderbolt" moment that kickstarted an idea to use his skills as a muralist to create that bridge. And so Judgment Day 911 was born. When complete, the project, comprised of nine interlocking wooden panels, will create a 10-foot-by-50-foot length wall, religious symbols …

Boulevard has received a lot of attention these last few days with the announcement of a comprehensive plan designed to reduce crime, improve quality of life and give it the renaissance many intowners say it's due. While the proposals, announced in detail Thursday night, affect the portion of Boulevard that runs through the Old Fourth Ward, it's drawn lots of interest neighboring Inman Park, Midtown and Virginia-Highland. Boulevard has been a mess for decades and Matthew W. Garbett, president of the Fourth Ward Neighbors in the Old Fourth Ward, says he's cautiously optimistic about the …