DeKalb County Schools makes update to school closure plan: Here's what has changed
The DeKalb County School District has made some changes to its plan to shut down or convert dozens of schools as part of the second round of its redistricting plan.
The "Student Assignment Project," is the district's attempt to deal with an uneven distribution of the county's students. Currently, some schools are overcrowded while many desks sit empty in others.
According to DeKalb officials, only 83% of elementary seats and 79% of middle school seats were filled during the 2024 to 2025 school year. For the same time, there were about 4,000 open seats in high schools.
Following a round of feedback from parents, the school district shared a new proposal on Friday. In the update, the district said it planned to not close Rock Chapel Elementary School and Stoneview Elementary School as well as not change Lithonia High School and Lithonia Middle School, which would have been converted to lower grades.
The plan added three schools that could be facing closure or consolidation: McNair's Early Learning Center, Fairington Elementary School, and Oakview Elementary School.
Officials have said no decisions have been finalized at this time. Still, DeKalb County parents have showed up to meetings to discuss their concerns about the possible results of the project.
The DeKalb County School District is asking for feedback via a survey on its website. You can read the full plan and share your thoughts here.
A third proposal will be made this fall after a series of community sessions.
Potential DeKalb County school changes
Cedar Grove Middle School would close because of "cascading use and excess elementary capacity in the area," according to the scenario.
The proposal lists 22 schools that would be closed or repurposed.
- Brockett Elementary School
- Browns Mills Elementary School
- Canby Lane Elementary School
- Columbia Elementary School
- Early Learning Center in McNair
- Evansdale Elementary School
- Fairington Elementary School
- Flat Shoals Elementary School
- Henderson Mill Elementary School
- Kelly Lake Elementary School
- Kingsley Elementary School
- McLendon Elementary School
- Midvale Elementary School
- Oak Grove Elementary School
- Oakview Elementary School
- Redan Elementary School
- Robert Shaw Theme Elementary School
- Rowland Elementary School
- Stone Mill Elementary School
- Stone Mountain Elementary School
- Toney Elementary School
- Woodridge Elementary School
The proposal also has specific plans for six of the district's schools
- Cedar Grove Middle School would be converted to an elementary school, while Cedar Grove Elementary School would be converted to a middle school.
- Vanderlyn Elementary School in Dunwoody would be converted to a high school annex.
- Ronald E McNair Discover Learning Academy, Ashford Park Elementary School, and Bob Mathis Elementary School would be converted to early learning centers.
Oak Grove parents push back against plans
Parents of Oak Grove Elementary students have been fighting back. They've made videos, held protests, and gathered data on test scores and enrollment.
"We're a high quality school, high performing, and we're at capacity, so I was a little shocked we'd be on the list because we met the criteria that the public was told," said Tracy Brisson, whose son is in 4th grade.
"It's a very magical place. Not only for the kids, but for the parents and the staff too," said Arielle McKee, who has children in pre-K and in 2nd grade at the school.
Oak Grove Elementary has been around for nearly 70 years.
"My husband and I both went to Oak Grove. My father-in-law was in the very first class at oak grove in 1958," said McKee. ""We see our elementary school, my alma mater, on that list. It's extremely disheartening and confusing."
District meetings to discuss the proposed changes
The DeKalb County School District will host virtual and in-person meetings until the end of March to discuss the scenarios.
You can see a full schedule below.
Virtual Meetings
You can register for the virtual meetings here.
- March 23 - noon and 6 p.m.
- March 24 - 10 a.m. and noon
In-Person Meetings
All in-person meetings will begin at 6 p.m.
- March 23 - Lakeside High School
- March 25 - Towers High School and Stone Mountain High School
- March 26 - Lithonia High School and Dunwoody High School
- March 30 - Dr. Ronald E. McNair High School