Video: Grady Cluster Parents Tackle Redistricting

Parents in the Grady cluster met Sunday afternoon at the East Lake YMCA to discuss their concerns regarding the ongoing redistricting study that could result in the closure of some schools and mergers of others.

The meeting, hosted by the Council Intown Neighborhoods and Schools, was designed to let those affected to come together to discuss what they saw as some issues and put together some key points they felt the Atlanta Public Schools board should consider in its review of four preliminary proposals.

The Grady cluster includes: Centennial Place, Hill-Hope, , , Morningside, Springdale Park and elementary schools, , Inman and King middle schools and Grady High School.

While they had differing viewpoints on some things, they saw these action items as key to APS' review and in formulating the final action plan the district will adopt:

• Population imbalance: Grady High School, among other Atlanta schools is overcrowded, but by how many students and why?
• Audits: APS should conduct audits of the different schools to assess their needs, particularly those deemded underperforming.
• Look at the number of students being potentially shifted to lower-performing schools.
• Slow down — but don't stop — the overall process to give time to:
  • build community concensus
  • build/shore up underperforming schools
  • verify the data being used to ensure everyone is working off accurate information and making decisions based on true facts

• Small numbers/populations should not be the basis for wholesale change.