Decatur, GA — The City Schools of Decatur School Board will meet on Tuesday, Oct. 12, at 6:30 p.m. for a regular meeting. The meeting will be held in person at the Wilson School Support Center, 125 Electric Ave. in Decatur.

The meeting will also be available virtually through Zoom. To attend the meeting via Zoom, click here. To join by phone, dial +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 and enter webinar ID 956 1415 9391

To view the meeting agenda, click here.

During the meeting, the School Board will discuss a policy for naming and renaming schools that would establish guidelines for the naming and renaming of school buildings or facilities. Naming or renaming schools provides an opportunity to further develop an identity for the school, community, staff and students, according to the agenda packet.

“The City Schools of Decatur Board of Education recognizes that the selection of a name for a school building is a vital component of its public image,” the draft policy states. “The Board will proceed with care and will ensure that the name selected will reflect honorably on the City Schools of Decatur Public Schools and the community.”

When a name change is proposed or a facility needs to be named, the superintendent will appoint a special committee to consider the nominations and make a recommendation to the School Board.

The committee will be made up of five to seven members and must include a School Board member and city commissioner representing the district where the facility is located. Other members could be school or district administrators, school parent group representatives and others.

Nominations will be accepted by the committee from individuals, organizations or School Board members. Each nomination must include the sponsor’s name and noteworthy reasons to justify the nomination.

Consideration will be given to names of local communities, neighborhoods, streets and landmarks. A recommended name cannot duplicate, cause confusion, or otherwise cause conflict with the names of existing facilities in the district.

Any restrictions may be waived by a unanimous vote of the board in the event there is a compelling reason to do so, the policy states.

The School Board will additionally discuss the accelerating student learning pillar of the district improvement plan. The goals under the pillar are:

– CSD will eliminate disproportionate academic outcomes based on race.

– All students will meet or exceed predicted growth scores

– Students will exemplify CSD’s graduate profile

In order to achieve those goals, the district will make sure all students have access to a guaranteed and viable curriculum by:

– Utilizing core materials in all classrooms that are consistent and aligned with the district’s standards.

– Embedding culturally relevant resources and practices into the classrooms.

– Continuously evaluating equitable programs, policies and practices.

Actions the district will take also include creating a tiered and coherent curriculum map, and creating a comprehensive and consistent approach to assessment that would be used to make data-based decisions, according to the agenda packet.

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