Atlanta Public Schools Told it is 'Failing' D.H. Stanton Elementary

PEOPLESTOWN — A community organization has sent a letter to Atlanta Public Schools Supt. Erroll B. Davis Jr. and the school board outlining what it sees as the district's "failing" with respect to funding two key initiatives at D.H. Stanton Elementary School.

Emmaus House, which is social service ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta with ties in Peoplestown going back to 1968, was a key component to keeping D.H. Stanton off the APS closure list during the redistricting of schools last year.

In the three-page letter, dated Oct. 10, Emmaus House's executive director and vicar, the Rev. E. Claiborne Jones and Lisa Daily, board chairwoman, write that APS has failed to maintain its promises to the school regarding its dual-immersion program, faulty roof and HVAC system. (A PDF of the full letter is attached to this report.)

Further, they say APS' decision to limit D.H. Stanton's attendance zone just to the Peoplestown community — the only elementary school in Southeast Atlanta in that situation — runs counter to recent initiatives designed not only to retain current students, but to increase enrollment.

"This failure to stand by your commitments leads us to infer that APS has implicitly — if not explicitly — written off an entire community of approximately 260 students and the teachers, parents and the community that love and support them," the letter reads.

A district spokeswoman told East Atlanta Patch on Friday APS would not have an immediate response because the superintendent had not yet received the letter, which the authors sent to his suptoffice@atlanta.k12.ga.us e-mail account and via U.S. mail.

D.H. Stanton launched its dual-immersion program in August and kindergarteners are taught their subjects in English and Spanish.

But the letter says APS, which committed to funding the program, has not done so.

More alarming is the condition of the roof and HVAC system, which has been a concern since 2008 and "contributes to wet conditions that could cause adverse health conditions," Claiborne and Daily wrote.

"Recently an APS facility evaluator stated that the roof is in the worst shape that he has ever seen in his 20 years, yet the work is not scheduled for planning until 2015 with construction in 2016."

They note that funding for roof replacement and the HVAC system has already been set aside in the 2011 ESPLOST.

"Despite the availability of funding, APS has chosen to ignore or patch a failing roof system and leave in place an obsolete HVAC system," they wrote.

Claiborne told Patch Friday D.H. Stanton has embarked on a number of initiatives aimed at improving its academic standing.

APS, she said, needs to do its part.

"We want APS to pay attention to the funding, which is the priority to get the school in shape," she said.

Funding for various programs is an issue at several schools districtwide, particularly as parents across Atlanta watched APS spend nearly $148 million on the newly opened North Atlanta High School, which was noted in the letter.

"The failure to fulfill these commitments is especially disappointing against the backdrop of APS’ approved expenditure of $147,893,989 for the approximate 1,650 students who are attending North Atlanta High School," the letter reads, adding if APS were spend a comparable amount on D.H. Stanton, it would be abut $23 million.

"We are deeply disappointed by the failed promises of APS but our disappointment is insignificant compared to the discouragement of the parents and families of Stanton," Emmaus House leaders wrote.

"Your failure to fulfill essential commitments to our neighborhood children and families is reprehensible. It encourages the distrust and despair which only good education with trusted partners can begin to heal and overcome."