Huge Turnouts for Roswell Elementary Redistricting Meetings

Update:  The final redistricting meeting was held on December 10th.  A large crowd was on hand to review and give feedback to the school board on the the final proposed map.  To see the map, Click Here.  If you would like to give your input to the school board, they welcome your comments.  Please e-mail them at planning@fultonschools.org with Bham Redistricting in the subject line.

A new elementary school currently being built in Milton on Birmingham Highway is set to open in time for the new school year in August of 2009. Classroom additions are also being added at two Roswell elementary schools, Roswell North and Mountain Park, to open at the same time. This means the existing attendance zones for other North Fulton elementary schools will need to be changed to create new boundaries. This is good news for Roswell as it will help address overcrowding issues at some of our local schools - targeting those located West of GA 400.

The Fulton County School Board has a redistricting process to get community input on the new attendance zones, and several meetings have already occurred with huge turnouts from the community. Not only have parents of students in the impacted schools attended, but also people from the area without elementary aged children who want to show support for their neighborhood schools.

The next and final meeting is on December 10th from 7-9 pm at the Milton Center (86 School Drive, Alpharetta.) To find out more about the process, the proposed plans, and next steps, Click Here.

Hillside Elementary

Hillside Elementary is located next to Centennial High School on the top of the hill on Scott Road in Roswell, Georgia.

Hillside Elementary opened its doors in August of 2001 and boasts a population of 725 students and staff.

The school is home of The Huskies, a student developed mascot and colors are blue, yellow, and silver.

Many programs are offered through Hillside’s PTA group and are provided outside of normal classroom hours as a way to further student’s education.

Homes for sale in Hillside Elementary school district

Roswell’s Centennial High Rated in Top 5% Nationally for All Public Schools

All residents in Roswell should be proud of the accomplishments of the Roswell public school system.  Whether you have kids in school or not, this accomplishment is great news.  The quality of local schools impacts home values, and an accomplishment like this only improves the home value.

Newsweek’s list of the top public high schools ranks Centennial High School as number 272 in the entire country!  It is the highest ranking of any North Fulton School!  The rating measures the number of Advanced Placement Tests (as well as IB and Cambridge tests) taken by all students at a school in 2007 divided by the number of graduating seniors.  Centennial High School is in the top 5% of all public schools measured this way.

Other honorable mentions:
Roswell High School was ranked 529, Chattahoochee High School was ranked 530, Riverwood High School was ranked 301, Milton High School was ranked 325, and Northview High School was ranked 347.

More about the school rating.

Generous Gift Given to Fellowship Christian Teacher and His Family

Roswell teacher, Joel Flores was shocked and thankful at what was inside an anonymous envelope…the keys to a 2008 Honda Ridgeline truck and a wad of cash for a year’s worth of gas. 

“Thank you so much, it’s just such a blessing to us.  Words can’t express how we feel about it,” said Flores.

Flores and his wife Charlotte are both teachers.  Last year Charlotte resigned from teaching in order to stay at home with their son Elias.  The strain of only having one income forced the Flores to sell their family car and buy a used scooter for Joel Flores to get to work. 

Joel teaches English at Fellowship Christian School in Roswell.  In addition he also teaches guilar lessons to provide extra income for their family.  He also helps with the music program at school and coaches softball.

What does it feel like to receive such a gift?  Joel said he, “almost passed out.”  The note in the envelope said, “Joel, words cannot express how thankful we are to God for brining you into the lives of our children.”

This act sums up the community of roswell that is comprised of great neighbors, schools and their teachers, and the many other wonderful residents.  When you buy a home in Roswell you aren’t just buying a house, you are gaining membership into a community full of great people.

Redistricting Could Impact Roswell Students

A new high school in North Fulton for Johns Creek is currently under construction at the intersection of State Bridge Road and Medlock Bridge Road scheduled to open August 2009. The new high school will impact current Roswell students because existing attendance zones will be modified to create the new school’s attendance zone. The redistricting may impact Centennial, Northview and Chattahoochee High Schools.

Redistricting is determined by a round of three community meetings to gather information needed to draft a redistricting proposal that meets the North Fulton community’s needs.

Round 1: Introduces the redistricting process, residents form small groups and participate in facilitated discussions, and the staff gathers information to create proposals to the board.

Round 2: Reviews the redistricting process, introduces the proposed attendance zone plans, facilitated discussions, and staff gathers input to revise the proposals into draft plans.

Round 3: Reviews the process again, reviews the draft plan(s), facilitated discussions, and staff gathers input to finalize a recommendation for the Board of Education.

Once the staff has submitted its recommendation to the Board of Education the plans “sit on the table” for no less than a month to allow the staff to make alterations. The board then takes its final vote for the redistricting plans in September 2008.

At the first redistricting meeting, there were roomfuls of parents from the other two schools and just 7 people from Centennial. Roswell residents will need to be in attendance to ensure they have a say in the redistricting process.

The next two meeting times are:

Autrey Mill Middle School

East Roswell to Get New Library

The Fulton County Board of Commissioners at its March 19th meeting accepted the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library’s master plan for a complete revamping of the county’s current 34 libraries and the addition of eight new libraries.

As part of the plan, Roswell will receive a second library of 15,000 square feet to east Roswell. In addition the North Fulton cities of Alpharetta and Milton will also receive new libraries. Alparetta and Milton will both receive a 25,000-square-foot library, the Alpharetta library will replace its current 10,000-square-foot library.

The Board of Commissioners will still have to decide how to pay for the $150 million plan. The most likely way will be through a bond referendum for voters to approve at the presidential general election November 2nd.

State’s Oldest Football Coach Resigns

Fellowship Christian coach Bob Lord resigned at age 78.

Lord coached 12 years in the NFL, 19 in college and 16 in high schools. After leading Fellowship Christian to a Region 5-A championship and a state quarterfinal appearance in just its second season in the Georgia High School Association, Lord has decided to step down to spend more time with his wife Julie whom he has been married to for 54 years.

Centennial High School

Centennial High School is located at 9310 Scott Road, which is off Holcomb Bridge Road.  It is approximately 13 miles immediately north of Interstate 285 and 3 miles east of GA 400, Exit 7A.

Centennial High School is a 271,200 square foot educational facility sitting on 55 acres on the city’s east side.  Approximately 2100 students attend the school and professional staff of over 175.  There is student teacher ratio of 27:1.

Centennial High School is consistently ranked among the top 500 high schools in the nation by Newsweek Magazine.

Centennial High School has a variety of sports and club groups available for students to participate in.  Fall sports consist of Boys and Girls Cross Country, Football and Competition Cheerleading, Softball, Football, and Volleyball.  Winter sports include Boys and girls basketball, basketball cheerleading, swimming/diving, and wrestling.  Spring is host to the most sports; men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track, baseball, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s Lacrosse, men’s and women’s golf, and gymnastics.

Homes for Sale in Centennial High School District