DeKalb County School District (DCSD) opened its third round of student assignment options on Tuesday, Oct. 27, putting new proposals in front of families in the Cross Keys, Chamblee, Dunwoody and three other overcrowded clusters.

The district's Engagement Session 3 page says this round focuses on refining options and considers whether a dedicated middle school should serve the Cross Keys area alongside the high schools that will operate when Sequoyah High School opens in fall 2029. No final attendance-zone changes have been made.

An online public survey opened Oct. 27 and closes Nov. 10. Speaker registration for two public comment sessions also opened at 9 a.m. and closes Friday, Oct. 30, at 5 p.m.

The session covering Chamblee, Dunwoody and Cross Keys clusters is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 5, at Dunwoody High School. A separate session for the Druid Hills, Lakeside and Tucker clusters takes place Wednesday, Nov. 4, at Druid Hills Middle School. Registration is required to speak but not to attend.

A fourth engagement session will follow, according to the district's SAP page. Feedback from Round 3 will shape the next version of the superintendent's recommendation before it goes to the Board of Education.

A Brookhaven-centered alternative

Separately, Dunwoody-Brookhaven Ledger columnist David Felfoldi published an analysis on the Brookhaven Brief asking whether the Cross Keys cluster should be reorganized around Brookhaven rather than continuing to stretch eastward toward Doraville.

Felfoldi noted that the existing cluster requires some elementary students to travel long distances to middle school before returning toward Brookhaven for high school. Sequoyah Middle School sits 7.4 miles from Cross Keys High School. Woodward Elementary students face a middle school roughly 7.5 miles away despite being next door to Cross Keys High.

He proposed that DCSD evaluate three geographically tighter feeder communities: Cross Keys oriented around Brookhaven, Chamblee around Chamblee and Sequoyah around Doraville. Each would offer an elementary-to-middle-to-high-school pathway in a more compact area.

The analysis flagged tradeoffs. Montgomery Elementary is substantially closer to Chamblee High School, and Ashford Park Elementary is slightly closer to Chamblee as well. A Brookhaven-centered middle school could increase travel for those families. Felfoldi wrote that any reorganization would also need to address capacity, equity and neighborhood continuity across all three clusters.

"I am not proposing a finished map or suggesting that Brookhaven's municipal boundaries should determine school assignments," Felfoldi wrote. He called on the district to evaluate the alternative using the same criteria applied to its other options before settling on a recommendation.

What families need to know

DCSD's Student Assignment Project (SAP) is tackling overcrowding in six clusters this fall. New and expanded schools are set to open beginning in 2027, with Sequoyah High School scheduled for fall 2029.

In coverage published in September, Superintendent Norman C. Sauce III told Atlanta News First that the district needed to "listen first and learn from our families, students, staff, and community members" before making decisions with lasting impact.

Community Advisory Team meetings are scheduled for Nov. 10 and Nov. 12.