EACA Newsletter for June 8, 2009

Tomorrow is EACA's monthly meeting -- Councilmember Natalyn Archibong will be presenting us with Council updates and will discuss a proposed distance exemption ordinance affecting the Village business district. Additionally, we will have an informational presentation regarding a proposed cell phone tower at 469 Metropolitan Place. Both topics are of key interest to community residents. Other agenda items include Burgess-Peterson's year-end wrap-up and details on B*ATL events. The meeting is at 7:00 p.m. at Branan Towers.

In this week's newsletter, read Burgess-Peterson's update and take note of upcoming meetings within the community.

Reynoldstown Wheelbarrow Festival - Saturday

Saturday, June 13th is the annual Reynoldstown

Wheelbarrow Festival.

The Festival (this year's theme: "Take it to the Streets") offers the opportunity for neighbors and other city residents will have the opportunity to enjoy a variety of fun actives including a barbeque cook-off, an artist market, a parade, various musical performances on two stages, and a health fair. Click HERE for more info.

Burgess Peterson End of Year Wrap-Ups & News

By Robin Robbins, Principal BP Logo

The school year has come to an end and we are in the process of celebrating the growth of the school and looking at how we can continue to SOAR to new heights! The course of my first year as principal was met with great challenges, however with setting goals and using effective monitoring techniques, I can truly say that we have made tremendous progress. At the present time, I am continuing to disaggregate our student achievement data, which looks like we have so much to celebrate.

One of the first goals that I feel was met was the work towards establishing a connection between the school and the East Atlanta Community. We all know that the school can not live apart from its community and expect to flourish. I believe that we still have a lot of work to do, however I am excited about the many opportunities that I have had to work with the greater community on a variety of projects and community events.

I would like to highlight several other initiatives which have been brought to fruition at Burgess-Peterson Academy and have been fully implemented this past school year:

Increased student achievement in the area of English/Language Arts, Math, and Science.
Implementation of the school's first up and running state-of- the art Science Lab.
Implementation of a mandatory uniform dress code with at least 85% of the students adhering to this policy.
The completion of our first school garden; aligned to the state curriculum, led by the East Atlanta Community Association.
District-wide recognition in the local Science Fair.
Demonstrated growth in the area of improving and building school partnerships.

These are just several of the many accomplishments that we have to celebrate on. I am so excited about the upcoming year because we have a lot to build upon to continue to take Burgess-Peterson to another height of learning!
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Coach Jackson (Burgess-Peterson's '08-'09 Teacher of the Year) made a presentation to EACA last month on the Burgess-Peterson Gardening for Wellness Project (partners in various Garden and Garden-related projects include Georgia Organics, Trees Atlanta, and The Graveyard Tavern). The garden has been a great success thus far and expansion plans are in the works for next year. You can see the slide content of the presentation HERE.

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