I hope that everyone had a wonderful Spring Break sharing time with children and family!  It's hard to believe that there are only 5 weeks of school remaining, but there are, indeed, many things left to accomplish.  Our most pressing event will be the administration of our new Georgia Milestones Assessment. 

While there is some apprehension on the part of our students regarding the assessment, we are excited about the level of rigor that is being added to our instructional programming. The test will be a great indicator of how our instruction needs to improve over the next few years. Test results should arrive back to schools around September of 2015.

As we prepare for the next school year, please be mindful of the Confidential Placement Form that will be located on the DES website May 1. The form is used to let planners know of any special circumstances that may warrant your child having special consideration regarding classroom placement for next year. You are not able to request teachers, but you can describe any issues or concerns.  If you request a teacher, then the request will be purposefully declined.  Forms are due back to the front office box by May 18.

The end of the year is such a busy time for classroom teachers and administrators.  We ask that you avoid scheduling conferences the last two weeks of school unless there is an emergency situation.  If you need a meeting with your child's teachers, please plan to schedule the meeting by May 8. 

Parents of students in grades 3, 4, and 5, please make sure your students are well-rested to begin GA Milestone testing this week. It is vitally important that they arrive to school prior to 7:45 each morning and that they eat a good breakfast. We wish all of our students the best of luck!

Jennifer P. Sanders

Dunwoody Elementary

As we near the end of the year we'd like to update everyone on the playground drainage remediation project. We have been working with DeKalb County Schools for over a year in an attempt to remedy the playground drainage. The PTO took the project to the Board of Education in November 2014 and the project was approved. In December 2014, we created a Playground Committee whose proposed action plan includes the following steps: 

1. Re-grade a portion of the playground on the southwest corner of the property;
2. Install a working drainage system;
3. Install proper roof drainage;
4. Create a new concrete play area; and
5. Install ground cover, such as sod or artificial turf, or a combination of the two materials, in specific areas over the existing playfield.

We believe that our plan for remediation of DES's playground drainage system and improvement of the school's playground facilities address three significant areas of concern: (1) operations, (2) student safety, and (3) facility maintenance.

Numerous quotes have been obtained to remedy the drainage issue. Unfortunately, to complete the minimum work required, the cost will exceed $66,000. To complete all items mentioned above, the cost exceeds $150,000, well beyond the PTO's current resources. Due to the high cost of this project, the Playground Committee, in conjunction with School Council, sent a letter to the DeKalb County Board of Education the beginning of March asking that DeKalb County Schools be responsible for a portion of the required work. Last week, Superintendent Michael Thurmond notified us that a meeting will be coordinated to identify next steps. We look forward to this meeting and are hopeful that work can be started soon!

We will have more information, including playground renderings, available at Thursday's, April 23rd PTO General Membership Meeting. In addition, the PTO Executive Committee Slate will be installed. Please join us in welcoming the 2015-2016 Executive Committee. The Evening of the Arts is the same night from 5-7:30pm. We'd love to see you there!

Thank you!