Brian Vanderhoff's North Fulton Real Estate Blog

Fulton County


Schedule at a glance:

● Fall break — Oct. 9

● Thanksgiving break — Nov. 25-27

● Winter break — Dec. 21 - Jan. 4, students start back on Tuesday, Jan. 5.

● Presidents Day weekend break — Feb. 12-15

● Spring break — April 5-9

● Last day — May 21




Bus transportation hotline: 770-969-6091


Meal prices:

● Breakfast — Elementary, 80 cents; middle/high, 95 cents; reduced, 30 cents.

● Lunch — Elementary, $1.35; middle/high, $1.60; reduced, 40 cents.


What’s new: Five new schools and a new start-up charter school open. An expected increase of almost 2,000 students puts Georgia’s fourth largest system at about 90,000. The system also launches the Fulton Institute of Technology, a technical high school. For the first time, schools evaluate teachers on a “value-added” performance system, which measures student progress throughout the year rather than only on standardized tests given once a year.

Labels: Alpharetta, Fulton County, fulton county board of education, fulton county school board, fulton county school system, fulton county schools

Several hundred part-time teachers will not be rehired for next year, but even that reduction is a drop in the bucket when compared with the Fulton County School System's budget shortfall.

One month before a proposed budget for FY2010 is finalized by Fulton schools, the picture of cuts and reductions is becoming clearer as the system tries to close a $40 million gap in revenue and spending.

And for the first time, the "f-word," as in "furloughs" for teachers and staff, was brought up for consideration.

School Superintendent Cindy Loe provided the Fulton School Board with an overview of current reductions during the February board meeting, warning these initial actions are just the start of more cuts planned over the next several weeks.

The report began with the news that 466 part-time teachers would not be issued contracts for the next school year.

The decision will not make a significant dent in the budget shortfall, since the part-time employees make up less than 1 percent of the total work force of 12,800 employees. But the decision means the system may be able to hang on to its current full-time staff, who must receive contracts by April 15 for next year. FY2010 begins July 1, but the school system will likely have a draft budget finalized by the end of March.

A spokesperson for Fulton Schools said part-time employees begin each year with the understanding their job may not be guaranteed beyond the current school year, so the decision should not be completely unexpected by those affected.

"Part-time contracts are not automatically renewed [and] the contract contains verbiage that there is no guarantee of continued employment beyond the current contract period," said Susan Hale, communications manager for Fulton Schools.

She added some openings may be available for part-time staff next year, but that will not be known until all positions are first filled with full-time staff.

With larger class sizes in place for next year, and fewer than 2,000 new students expected to enroll, the number of teachers needed at schools will likely go down. These "surplussed" teachers will then be moved to fill teaching needs throughout the school system, primarily at one of the six new schools scheduled to open in August.

Loe said the decision to announce part-time layoffs early in the budget process was made in February so that staff members could make decisions about their future with as much time as possible.

The superintendent said the school system is making the assumption that local revenues will be the same as last year ($536.7 million.) Generally, revenues rise each year as property values increase and new construction brings in cash. So no rise in revenue actually translates to a decrease as schools require more funding each year to accommodate new students.

In addition, the state is facing a 2.2 billion dollar deficit – with rumors it will rise to $3 billion – meaning a cut in state funding is inevitable. Last year Fulton Schools received $303 million from the state, and Loe anticipates at least a 3 percent cut for FY2010.

Labels: 466, budget shortfall, fulton county school system, fulton schools, part-time teachers

Summer is coming to an end for thousands of Fulton County students and their families. The new school year begins Monday, Aug. 11.

At a Glance

The Fulton County School System continues to be the fourth largest school district in Georgia with a projected 2008-09 enrollment of nearly 88,500 students – an expected increase of approximately 2,500 students from the previous school year. The system includes 94 schools – 55 elementary schools, 19 middle schools, 15 high schools and five start-up charter schools.

New Programs and School Improvement Initiatives

Riverwood International Charter School. Riverwood High School – now called Riverwood International Charter School – begins the new year as an approved conversion charter school. As part of its charter, Riverwood will implement the Middle Years Programme of the International Baccalaureate Organization. This curriculum will enhance the school’s existing International Studies magnet, which features an International Baccalaureate diploma program.

Virtual Campus. Previously operated as a collection of online course offerings, Fulton’s Virtual Campus is expanding to have a centralized physical location. Susan Caster, formerly principal of Connected Academy, becomes its first principal.

Plans call for Virtual Campus offices and support labs to be housed at the system’s new Instructional Technology Center. The center is located in the old campus of Westlake High School, which will be vacated as its replacement building opens. Courses will still be offered online but students without home internet or computer access can take courses through Virtual Campus’s computer labs.

The school’s first semester registration continues until Aug. 18, with Aug. 23 as the first day of class. Courses are offered during the school day at no cost if taken during a regularly scheduled class period. If taken outside of the school day, students are charged a $250 per-course fee. Course offerings and requirements are posted at www.fultonk12virtualcampus.net.

Early Release Days. The 2008-09 school calendar includes five early release days that dismiss students approximately three hours earlier from their regular dismissal time. Teachers and school staff will use the remainder of the day to participate in schoolwide trainings and professional development workshops, such as math curriculum implementation.

Early release dates are:
· Sept. 17, 2008
· Oct.15, 2008
· Nov. 19, 2008
· Feb. 25, 2009
· March 25, 2009

Parents were notified of this calendar change last school year so they could be prepared to find additional childcare or use the extra time to schedule routine medical appointments for their children (rather than having to check out the student during a regular school day). Schools will still offer their after-school programs on these days.

Balanced Math Curriculum. This school year, Fulton begins using a blended approach to teaching the new Georgia Performance Standards mathematics curriculum. Last spring, a team of leading educational consultants conducted a formal audit of the curriculum and spoke with teachers, parents and school leaders. Some favored the new GPS math model; others expressed a desire to return to more traditional methods for teaching math.

As a result, the Fulton County Board of Education approved a plan that blends the two philosophies harmoniously. This balanced approach weaves the new math curriculum into a more traditionally taught standards curriculum. Additional textbooks have been purchased to supplement the texts already in place in grades K-8 and in high school. In addition, the names of some high school math courses are being changed to provide more description of the content rather than being labeled, for example, Math I. Over the summer, teachers received additional training in the math curriculum, which will be continued throughout the school year.

No-Charge Breakfast to Selected Schools. For a fourth year, the Fulton County School System is providing breakfast free-of-charge to all students attending schools not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) targets or those in Needs Improvement status. The program provides each student access to a nutritional meal so they can remain focused on learning.

Elementary Schools - Conley Hills, Heritage, High Point, Hamilton E. Holmes, Oak Knoll, Oakley, Parklane

Middle Schools - Bear Creek, Camp Creek, Elkins Pointe, Holcomb Bridge, McNair, Renaissance, Ridgeview,Paul D. West

High Schools - Banneker, Creekside, Independence, McClarin, Tri-Cities, Westlake

Other Centers - Crossroads/Second Chance North, Crossroads/Second Chance South

FY2009 Budget. Last spring, the FY 2009 operating budget was approved at $1,229,185,533 and the total millage rate was set at 17.502 mills, among the lowest in metro Atlanta. The budget allows Fulton to continue funding programs and school staffing at levels above what the state provides. In addition, the budget includes a 2.5 percent pay raise for all employees and grants full experience credit to teachers coming from outside Fulton County.

Other highlights of the budget include:

Step pay increase for eligible employees
A half undistributed position per school to support continuous achievement and/or specific local school needs (for example, student support team, additional instructional paraprofessional, etc.)
One districtwide technology support coordinator to support new K-12 media software
Additional support position for the social studies curriculum department
New performing arts facility at Tri-Cities High School
Acceleration of the Ison Road elementary school project from a 2010 opening to a 2009 opening
Purchase of land for future schools
K-12 media software replacements
PSAT for all ninth-graders
Crossroads/Second Chance program enhancements
New School Openings/Additions and Construction

Lake Forest Elementary School (5920 Sandy Springs Circle, Sandy Springs). Lake Forest Elementary School is the first new public school to open in Sandy Springs since the area became its own city. The 130,250-square-foot facility was designed by the architectural firm of Collins Cooper Carusi. The three-story school has 54 classrooms and is built to hold 850 students. It serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.

Westlake High School (2400 Union Road, Atlanta). The replacement Westlake High School opens beside its former campus on Union Road in Southwest Atlanta. The 326,000-square-foot school was designed by the architectural firm of Gardner, Spencer, Smith, Tench & Hensley, P.C. The school has 99 classrooms to house up to 1,900 students in grades nine through 12. The building is organized in five, campus-like academic and administrative wings so that similar departments are housed closer together.

Other Construction Projects. Several major school construction projects were completed over the summer, including a new band building at Alpharetta High School, a new cafeteria at Conley Hills Elementary School and a classoom addition at Mimosa Elementary School. The Crossroads/Second Chance South program also was relocated to the school system’s Flat Shoals Center in College Park. McClarin High School and Alpharetta Elementary School received new roofs.

Personnel Changes
New Principals. As new schools are built and veteran principals retire, it’s inevitable that school leaders will shift in Fulton County. The following schools have new principals this year.

Dunwoody Springs Charter Elementary School......................... Ivy Gainey
Hillside Elementary School....................................... Lori Fanning
Hamilton E. Holmes Elementary School...............................LaRoyce Sublett
Lake Forest Elementary School.................................. Dara Jones-Wilson
Ocee Elementary School......................................... Deborah Pernice
Woodland Middle School.......................................... André Wright
Alpharetta High School........................................... Mary Anne Charron
Banneker High School...............................................William Bradley
Creekside High School.............................................. Kevin Robinson
North Springs Charter High School of Arts and Sciences...........Lisa Stueve
Westlake High School........................................ Bryon White
Connected Academy................................................ Cynthia Burgess
Virtual High School............................................... Susan Caster
Crossroads/Second Chance South..................................... Scott O’Prey

Affidavit of Residence
Affidavit of Residence. In August, parents are again required to submit a notarized Affidavit of Residence form for each child. However, the school board has made the process more streamlined from its previous requirement of all students to submit a notarized affidavit and proof of residence. The purpose of the Affidavit of Residence is to make sure that only students who reside in Fulton County attend Fulton schools. This means that Fulton taxpayers’ money stays in Fulton County to pay for the education of those who live there – instead of students from other counties who attend under false pretenses.

Returning students, except those entering sixth grade or ninth grade, do not need to provide proof of residence but will still complete and submit an Affidavit of Residence form. Proof of residence is required only of students who are (1) new enrollees in a Fulton County school or (2) entering sixth grade or ninth grade. Students in their senior year of high school do not have to provide a form or proof of residence. Each school will have a notary available to notarize the form at no charge.

Labels: 2009, affidavit oif residence, fulton county school system, fulton schools, new school year 2008, riverwood international charter school

The Fulton County School System reports a higher percentage of students meet or exceed standards on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) when compared to the state in all areas except fourth-grade science where the results are the same.

The recently released results are by school for all grades and subjects, showing the percentage of students in levels 2 and 3 with the change from 2007 and the percentage of students in level 3 with the change from last year as appropriate.

These results were calculated from a student-level data file, and the numbers have not been validated. The state’s official school-level results are expected no later than July 9.

Fulton County 2008 CRCT highlights
· Ninety-two percent of the students in grade one meet or exceed the standard on the reading section, with 47 percent exceeding the standard. Five schools had 100 percent of first graders meet or exceed the standard in reading. The first-grade students also scored exceptionally well in math, with 16 schools having more than 60 percent of first graders exceeding standards.
· Second-grade students continue to score well, with 94 percent meeting or exceeding standards in reading and 88 percent meeting or exceeding in both English/language arts and math.
· Forty-four percent of Fulton’s third-grade students scored in the exceeding category on the third-grade math CRCT as compared to 31 percent at the state level. Twenty-three of the 55 elementary schools had more than 50 percent of students exceeding standards in math.
. Fulton’s third graders continue to show growth in reading with 10 schools making more than 10 percent gains in the percent of students exceeding standards (Abbotts Hill, Alpharetta, Bethune, Heards Ferry, Hembree Springs, High Point, Esther Jackson, Seaborn Lee, Mount Olive and Spalding Drive).
· Five elementary schools showed more than 10 percent gains in the percent of fourth- grade students exceeding the standard in reading (Conley Hills, Mount Olive, Renaissance, River Eves and Summit Hill).
. Fourth-grade students also scored well in science, with 15 schools making more than a 15 percent gain in the percent of students exceeding the standard.
· Fulton’s fifth-grade students scored much higher than the state on the English/language arts test, with 41 percent of the students exceeding standards (29 percent at the state level).
. Fifty percent of the elementary schools had 80 percent or more of fifth-grade students meeting or exceeding the standard in math. Seven schools (Alpharetta, Dolvin, Findley Oaks, Mountain Park, Northwood, Shakerag and Wilson Creek) had 60 percent or more of students exceeding standards in fifth-grade math.
· Sixth-grade Fulton students continue to perform well especially in reading where all schools have at least 84 percent of students scoring in the meets or exceeds category.
· Students in seventh grade showed gains in all subject areas especially in English/ language arts where the percent of students exceeding standards increased by 10 percent. Nine schools had more than a 12 percent gain in the percent of students exceeding standards (Amana Academy, Fulton Science Academy, Hopewell, KIPP South Fulton Academy, Northwestern, River Trail, Sandtown, Sandy Springs and Webb Bridge).
· Five middle schools had 100 percent of eighth-grade students meeting or exceeding the standard in reading (Fulton Science Academy, Haynes Bridge, KIPP South Fulton Academy, River Trail and Webb Bridge).
. Overall, eighth-grade Fulton County students scored higher than the state on the math section of the CRCT, with 66 percent meeting or exceeding standards and 24 percent exceeding. Four schools showed exceptional achievement on this test as measured by the percent of students exceeding standards (Autrey Mill (47 percent), Northwestern (49 percent), River Trail (52 percent) and Webb Bridge (51 percent).

Labels: CRCT, fulton county school system, preliminary CRCT