How Much Will You Spend on School Supplies?

The average American parent is expected to spend nearly $689 on back-to-school items. Will you spend that much?

  Students in Decatur and Atlanta are back in class, and kids in DeKalb and Fulton public schools will be in their seats Monday. For many parents, these are days that include high-stakes trips to the store to help their children find the perfect backpack and school supplies. And let's not even talk about clothes. The National Retail Federation projects that parents of children in grades K-12 will spend nearly $689 on their children's back-to-school needs, almost $85 more than last year. All of this got us wondering about the school supply lists that parents are asked to fulfill. Most of the lists look pretty straight forward. But then there's the DeKalb County teacher, who will remain nameless, who went beyond listing No. 2 pencils and …

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Patch Pic of the Day

First Day of School Jitters: Mom, it's Going to be Okay

Sometimes, the first day of school can be more stressful for mom than student.

The first day of school after five years of being with mom can be a daunting prospect for any child. Mom and Dad are usually there to console, comfort and allay first-day fears. But for one East Atlanta youngster, she was the one the one doing the consoling. Sophie Antell, a kindergartner at Burgess-Peterson, was excited to go to school Monday, along with her East Atlanta pal, Lucy Hollomon. Sophie's mom, Susie Boggs Antell, was a bit nervous. Little Sophie told her mom it would be OK and that the school would let her stay a little while. But not too long, Sophie said, because "I'm ready to have fun."

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The First Day of School at D.H. Stanton Elementary

'Failure is not an option.'

The sights, sounds and signs of the first day of school were all too familiar. From the squeak-squeak pitter-patter of brand new shoes on shiny floors to the backpacks, notebooks and pencils sharpened just so, at D.H. Stanton Elementary in Peoplestown. There were the happy reunions of classmates ready to tackle another school year and hands waving high and feverishly in the air by pupils eager to answer teacher's question. For some of the littlest ones, there was the shedding of some tears on this, their first day of many being spent away from Mom. But the start of this school year at Stanton is marked by a promise that principal Clara Taylor received from each and every teacher and staff member about their commitment to the school, …

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Target Corp. Giving $2.5 Million To Schools

Your vote needed in program that will give up to $10,000 in gift cards to a school for books and supplies needed.

Want to help your neighborhood school? Target Corp. is giving away $2.5 million in gift cards to schools that they can use to purchase supplies. The online voting contest, which ends Sept. 9, is simple: For every 25 votes a school receives, Target will send that school a $25 gift card. It's part of the discount retailer's goal of giving away $1 billion toward various education-related intiatives by the end of 2015. In Atlanta, six of the top vote-getters Friday afternoon were schools in East Atlanta Patch according to Target's tally on Facebook:

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Communities Come Out For Coan Middle School

Volunteers spend the day fixing up the former East Lake Elementary School for incoming Coan Middle students.

If there was one positive thing that came of the angst and drama that was the redistricting of the Atlanta Public Schools, it was the how the various communities rallied around the schools threatened with closure. That level of interest and involvement was something that APS Superintendent Erroll B. Davis took note of in a recent meeting with parents in Southeast Atlanta. Indeed, parents, non-parents and retirees in a number of communities including Edgewood, Peoplestown, Kirkwood and East Atlanta, among others, rallied around their neighborhood schools to keep them open. The big question: Post-redistricting, would that momentum last? A lot of parents, parents-to-be and non-parents in East Atlanta Patch communities promised that interest …

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Back To School? Already? Where Did Summer Go?

Patch's Question of the Week asks, are metro Atlanta kids heading back to school too soon?

Used to be, kids in most Atlanta schools went back into the classrooms after Labor Day. Man, those were the days. For the 2012-13 school year, Decatur schools open Aug. 1, and city of Atlanta students hit the books Aug. 6. DeKalb and Fulton county schools open on Aug. 13. To some, it seems as if summer vacation gets shorter and shorter each year. To others (harried parents running out of kid-friendly entertainment options, perhaps?), it can't come soon enough. So our Patch Question of the Week is, do you feel that summer vacation is too short? Do kids head back to school too early? Or do they need that classroom time in order to prepare themselves for a successful future? Take our Patch poll and share your opinion in the comments.

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Daily 10

Daily PatchCast: Back to School, New Police Simulator, APS Rally

The day's top headlines for Friday, August 5, 2011

Welcome Back to School, Kids. DeKalb Police Demonstrate New Law Enforcement Simulator. Atlanta Firefighters Rescue Man From Burning Home in Historic Neighborhood. Hundreds Rally in Support of Atlanta Public Schools.

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Daily 10

Daily PatchCast: Schools Get Ready for New Year, Midtown Victim Paralyzed, Vince Dooley in Buckhead

The day's top headlines for Thursday, July 21, 2011

Back to School Bash in Stone Mountain. Greenbriar Back to School Jam Set. Fulton Testing Procedures Under Review. Convicted Sex Offender Arrested in Decatur. Midtown Shooting Victim is Paralyzed. Emory Named Top Hospital in Atlanta. Officers Honored in Buckhead.

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