Parents in the Dunwoody and Chamblee school clusters now have until Tuesday, Aug. 25, to apply for a seat on the advisory teams that will help decide how six new and expanded schools reshape attendance zones starting in 2027.
The DeKalb County School District on Tuesday, Aug. 11, opened applications for Community Advisory Teams as part of its relaunched Student Assignment Project. The interest form is live at dekalbschoolsga.org/sap.
Both the Chamblee and Dunwoody clusters are among six clusters the district labeled overcrowded and targeted for this fall's review. The others are Lakeside, Cross Keys, Tucker and Druid Hills.
What's driving the review
Six new or expanded campuses are scheduled to open between 2027 and 2029: Dresden Elementary, Cross Keys High School, Sequoyah Middle School, Sequoyah High School, Idlewood Elementary School and a new high school cluster. The district says those openings will require boundary adjustments for surrounding schools.
No boundary recommendations have been made yet.
The district says the engagement process for overcrowded clusters runs through October, with a presentation to the school board expected in December.
How the teams will work
Each Community Advisory Team will include 50 to 75 members drawn from principals, families, alumni, students, faculty and staff, and current SAP committee members, according to Dr. Triscella Weaver, DCSD's chief of access and opportunity, who outlined the structure at the July 13 school board meeting, as reported by Rough Draft Atlanta.
"We're continuing that work in new, more collaborative ways," Interim Superintendent Dr. Norman C. Sauce III said in the Aug. 11 announcement. "This fall, we focus on communities experiencing overcrowding, and early next year, we will turn to communities experiencing under-enrollment."
Beyond the advisory teams, stakeholders can participate through an online survey, a survey-plus-focus-group option and public comment sessions running through October.
A reset after criticism
The current process replaces an earlier SAP approach the district acknowledged in May felt "too top-down" with scenarios that "appeared predetermined," according to Rough Draft Atlanta's reporting. The board also pulled an $850,000 contract with community planning firm OGR Public Health Group LLC from its July 13 agenda; Weaver said the new process would be led by district officials rather than an outside firm.
District 2 Board Member Whitney McGinniss raised concerns at the July 13 meeting that the timeline seemed rushed and that the district had not replaced Sarita Smith, who resigned in May after leading the SAP process.
How to apply
Families, students, staff and community members can submit an interest form at dekalbschoolsga.org/sap before the Aug. 25 deadline. The district has not disclosed how many seats are available per team or what selection criteria will be used.
