Atlanta school board moves ahead with plan to close Thomasville Heights Elementary
The Atlanta school board is moving forward with the closure of Thomasville Heights Elementary School in Southeast Atlanta over the objections of some parents. The board voted 6-to-2 (with one member absent) in favor of the plan at a meeting Monday.
Thomasville is closing because the Forest Cove Apartments across the street, where several families lived, will possibly be demolished. Those students will now be zoned to attend nearby Slater Elementary.
Some parents complained they were left out of the decision-making process. Both Thomasville and Slater are part of a district turnaround plan, which includes a contract with Purpose Built Communities. APS chose the organization to essentially reshape some of its lowest-performing schools. Purpose Built, not APS, hires teachers and decides on the curriculum for the schools it manages.
Both APS and Purpose Built have held hearings about the closure, but some parents said their concerns were ignored. Monique Nunnally said the district responded quickly to the concerns of Midtown parents over a proposed redistricting plan for schools there.
“Our community has asked for more dialogue about the closure of our Thomasville Heights,” she said. “I asked last month, the month before. Emails, emails. And you all have not come to our neighborhood. I walk it every week. I have not seen you.”
APS says 62 students from Thomasville would be rezoned to Slater. Officials made it clear they plan to reopen the school.
“We have been intentional about referring to this closure … as temporary,” said Superintendent Lisa Herring.
She pledged to engage with Thomasville parents while their students are at Slater.
“So many moving parts have happened quickly,” Herring said. “And oftentimes even in the sharing of frustration from stakeholders, which is appropriate and fair, we …want to be able to identify how the building can continue to thrive and live while we anticipate it reopening.”
Thomasville parents have until June 17 to apply for a transfer if they want their children to attend a school other than Slater.
A note of disclosure: The Atlanta Board of Education holds WABE’s broadcast license.
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