Building a larger E. Rivers to accommodate the children in the current E. Rivers district, minimizes the disruption for our children and maintains what should be a model school for APS. This would require an acceptance by APS and the demographers that it is not wise to bring more children into our already overcrowded SRT. By accepting this, it helps alleviate overcrowding at the middle school level, and should eliminate the need for a third middle school.

Our immediate goal is to let Atlanta Public Schools (APS), the demographers, and our school board representative know that neither of the two redistricting scenarios that were released by APS is acceptable to Loring Heights:

Option A:  Loring Heights stays in E. Rivers, but loses Brookwood Hills and a part of the Chattahoochee area. We find this unacceptable, as it reduces the diversity of E. Rivers, and also removes one of our strongly connected and involved neighborhoods.

Option B:  Loring Heights is rezoned into a new elementary school with children from the current E. Rivers, Bolton Academy, and Centennial Place Elementary (adding kids from SRT-3 into the already overcrowded SRT-4). We are opposed to this option, as it puts our children in a non-IB school. Additionally, we would be starting over in trying to recreate E. Rivers – a highly diverse school that is thriving and achieving, due to years of parental and community involvement.

Both options A and B rezone Loring Heights away from Sutton Middle School into a school zone that extends to the south side of downtown, to the Georgia Dome and the Grady curve. Again, these options bring additional children into SRT-4.

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