The APS Redistricting Debate: Fourth Ward Alliance Neighborhood Association's Official Position

Editor's Note: The Old Fourth Ward is a collection of smaller neighborhoods.The Fourth Ward Alliance Neighborhood Association represents the section of O4W bounded by Ponce de Leon to the north, the Atlanta BeltLine to the east, Freedomn Parkway to the South and Boulevard to the west.

by Kit Sutherland

Dear Superintendant Erroll B. Davis, Jr. and APS Board Chairwoman Brenda J. Muhammad:

This is the official response of the Fourth Ward Alliance Neighborhood Association, Inc. to the four redistricting Options presented by Atlanta Public Schools (APS). This response was formed after holding numerous neighborhood meetings and represents the view of the Fourth Ward Alliance.

As an initial matter, our support of any redistricting boundaries require that the geographic area between Edgewood Avenue and Decatur Street remain within the boundaries of the Old Fourth Ward.

WHY WE SUPPORT OPTIONS 2, 3 AND 4

The Fourth Ward Alliance is pleased to offer our enthusiastic support for Options 2, 3 and 4. These three Options appropriately zone the Old Fourth Ward for Hope-Hill at the elementary level, Inman for middle school, and Grady for high school and ensure that the students from the Old Fourth Ward attend the schools most closely connected, geographically and socially, to their neighborhood.

In addition, Options 2, 3 and 4 merge the under-enrolled Hope-Hill with one of our over-enrolled neighboring elementary schools, Mary Lin and Springdale Park. In conjunction
with the Local School Council for Hope-Hill, we support a partnership with Lin and SPARK. Such a merger will ease overcrowding at Lin and SPARK in a fiscally responsible manner by eliminating the need to acquire and develop new real estate and facilities to expand Lin and SPARK.

WHY WE OPPOSE OPTION 1

The Fourth Ward Alliance opposes Option 1, which proposes to bus middle and high school students from the Old Fourth Ward south to Coan Middle School and Jackson High School, two schools that are separated from the Old Fourth Ward by congested intown roads, Interstate 20, and the CSX railroad tracks. Clearly, the Old Fourth Ward has no geographic connection to the neighborhoods south of Interstate 20. Research has shown that parents and students are not active in their school when traveling to their school is difficult and expensive, as would be the case for Old Fourth Ward families under Option 1.

Most importantly, Option 1 perpetuates APS segregation by race and economic class. Many of the lower-income and African-American students in the Grady cluster live in the Old Fourth Ward. Removing these students from the diverse Grady cluster and busing them south across railroad tracks and an interstate highway to distant schools with a higher concentration of low income and African-American students constitutes actual and institutional segregation on the basis of race and economic class.

As illustrated below, busing students from the Old Fourth Ward to the Jackson cluster will serve to increase racial and economic segregation in those schools:

As illustrated below, busing students from the Old Fourth Ward to the Jackson cluster will serve to increase racial and economic segregation in those schools:

Source: Georgia Department of Education

CONTRIBUTION OF EXISTING FACILITIES

The Old Fourth Ward is home to two APS campuses that have the ability to allow for Grady cluster expansion for years to come: David T. Howard and Walden. We respectfully request that APS consider the use of the David T. Howard and Walden campuses in conjunction with the "academy" approach (K-2, 3-4; 5-6; 7-8; High School). We support the utilization of these sites as the most realistic and reasonable economic approach to facilitating Grady expansion while developing excellent schools for the surrounding community.

Both David T. Howard and Walden are easily accessible to multiple neighborhoods via Freedom Parkway and the PATH and are located within blocks of the upcoming streetcar and Atlanta BeltLine rail developments. In addition, the David T. Howard building holds a powerful connection to Atlanta's history. Martin Luther King, Jr. attended high school there, along with Maynard Jackson and many of Atlanta’s other leaders.

Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds allocated for the Grady cluster are available to renovate David T. Howard and Walden. Renovation of David T. Howard and Walden would transform these sites from being reminders of missed opportunities into new roles as living examples of civil rights and social progress embodied in a thriving, diverse, and exciting intown school system.

In conclusion, we are thrilled to support the objectives accomplished for the Grady cluster through Options 2, 3 and 4, and we eagerly await the restoration of the David T. Howard and Walden campuses.

Thank you for your consideration of our ideas, and we look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Kit Sutherland

Ms. Sutherland is president of the Fourth Ward Alliance Neighborhood Association.