Evansdale Magnet School

Focus Group Report
A summary of the discussions and findings from the focus groups held in October and November of 2012 to discuss the Evansdale Magnet Program is available on the Evansdale PTA website though the following link.

Letter to Evansdale Families from Dr. McGuire regarding the transition to a Magnet School

Friday, February 8, 2013

Dear Evansdale Parents and Guardians,

As you may remember from last fall, Evansdale was faced with an important decision regarding our Magnet program. In the summer of 2012, the DeKalb County School District’s (DCSD) final budget eliminated all funding for the Evansdale Magnet program, with the exception of transportation for out-of-district students. For this reason, the School Council was tasked with developing a proposal for how our Magnet program could be revised in light of it receiving no funds. 

After drafting a Magnet proposal (see below for condensed proposal), we conducted focus groups, solicited opinions via email, and gave careful consideration of the input collected from the Evansdale community.  In December, we petitioned DeKalb County School District for a conversion of our Magnet program to a Magnet school.  The goal of this revision is to maximize student achievement for all students at Evansdale Elementary.

I am excited to report that we received word this week that beginning in the 2013-2014 school year, Evansdale will be a Magnet school, appropriately named “Evansdale Magnet School.” 

I am looking forward to Evansdale’s next chapter as one of DeKalb County’s premier Magnet schools.  I recognize that this is an extremely important issue that affects all of you in different ways.  I ask you to please keep in mind that we are one school and can accomplish more together than divided. I hope the Q and A found here will help  answer your questions regarding what this means for your child. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have additional questions. 

Best Regards,

Daniel J. McGuire, Ed.D.

Principal

(678) 874-2702

COPY OF APPROVED DOCUMENT SUBMITTED TO THE COUNTY

Current Magnet Program	Approved Magnet School for 2013-2014
One magnet homeroom per grade level (except PreK).	Dissolve the magnet homerooms and distribute resident and non-resident Magnet students among all homerooms.
Every K-5 homeroom has science lab once a week for 45 minutes.	No Change
All Magnet homerooms receive French once a day for 30 minutes. Non-Magnet homerooms receive French once a week starting in second grade for 30 minutes.	Offer French or other world language instruction as funding allows.
Magnet homerooms (one per grade) are comprised of 50% resident and 50% non-resident students. (For example, Kindergarten currently contains 13 resident and 13 non-resident students.)	Each grade will contain non-resident students determined by the Magnet Program and the Planning Department based solely on enrollment, class size, and grade size. Students will be selected via the existing DCSD Choice Lottery. All current students will remain enrolled.
Students must maintain a “B” average to stay in the Magnet program.	Out of district students selected to enroll at Evansdale Elementary may continue enrollment through the highest grade level. Enrollment will not be based on academic performance.