Fulton County Schools Zone 4 Superintendent Alexandra Bates told the school board that more than 63 percent of students enrolled in Sandy Springs public schools are economically disadvantaged, but have made significant strides academically.

Bates made her presentation during the Fulton County Schools Board of Education’s work session on Dec. 9.

Bates said Zone 4 has shown clear, consistent improvement over the last three years. The number of beginning learners has decreased and the number of proficient and distinguished learners has increased. Almost half of the students in Sandy Springs meet or exceed standards, with the graduation rate a 95.6 percent in the two traditional high schools, Riverwood and North Springs.

The 8,774 students enrolled in Pre-K to 12 are served by 1,145 employees.

Related stories:
• North Springs and Riverwood boast high graduation rates in Georgia
• North Springs High launches Accelerated Career Diploma program
• Fulton County Schools shows student achievement increases

Bates’ report said that the Sandy Springs student population at these schools includes almost as many Hispanic students (2,718) as it does Black students (2,845). White students make up approximately 24 percent of the enrollment, or 2,160. Asian students are a smaller portion of the population, with 513 enrolled.

Almost 17 percent of the students are English learners, according to the Zone 4 report. Individuals with disabilities make up a little more than 12 percent of the student population. Approximately 18 percent of the students are classified as gifted.

Enrollment by grade level shows the stark reality of declining enrollment. According to the Zone 4 report, enrollment in grades nine through 12 totals 3,135. Only 2,335 students are enrolled in Sandy Springs schools in grades five through eight.

Bates said Zone 4 includes six elementary, three middle, and three high schools, plus six pre-K sites. Specialized learning is offered through one virtual school, one STEM campus, and one STEAM campus. Five schools provide the International Baccalaureate program, which Bates said offers rigorous opportunities for students.

“I want to highlight Woodland Elementary, which is one of the only two STEM schools in the district. Woodland has gone through a rigorous process to earn STEM certification and recently completed recertification,” Bates said. “It serves as a lab school hosting educators from across Georgia who visit to observe best practices and see students engaged in hands-on learning.”

Bates said Woodland’s commitment to hands-on, project-based learning in science, technology, engineering and math, STEM, and the design-thinking process is a way of life at the school. An example is the fifth grade’s work on its first semester question, which is how to lower the impact of power outages on lower-income families in the community. The solutions they create will be presented to community leaders.

“I’m proud to share that every elementary and middle school in zone four has surpassed this norm in English language arts. This is significant because strong growth scores are critical as we work to close achievement gaps for our students,” Bates said.

Other highlights include a 10.6 percent increase in reading indicators for Dunwoody Springs Elementary third graders. Ison Springs third graders had a 13.4 percent increase in reading, its fourth graders showed a 15.4 percent increase, and its fifth graders recorded a 13 percent increase.

Bates said these and other accomplishments couldn’t be done without community partnerships, including the Sandy Springs Education Force.

The post Economically disadvantaged Sandy Springs students show improved academic scores appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

The Sandy Springs City Council created a downtown using an empty parking lot
beside Roswell Road with the adoption of a master plan in 2012.

It would be six more years before the first phase of City Springs was completed with the opening of the new city hall and Performing Arts Center in May 2018. The
retail and restaurant spaces took longer to open, and City Springs was considered fully opened in September 2018.

The vision set by the council was to promote community interaction by creating
a safe and welcoming area for all residents.

Mayor Rusty Paul said the city had no place where the residents could come together and build the connective tissue of the city.

“This was just one big asphalt parking lot, but we identified this as the place we
wanted to put city hall, because it’s one of the highest points in the city, and you could see it,” Paul said.

In addition to the public government buildings and a four-acre City Green, the 14-acre City Springs mixed-use development has restaurants, exercise boutiques, and apartments.

Paul said the City Green is where the spirit of Sandy Springs can be found. A community skating rink opened for the season in November. Concerts are held using the stage. The Sparkle Sandy Springs parade draws 5,000 to 6,000 people. And for the Fourth of July celebration, 8,000 to 12,000 people attend. He said none of this could have been done before City Springs was developed.

“When I talk about it being transformative, I don’t think anybody in Sandy Springs can imagine Sandy Springs without this complex because of the versatility, the ability to do so many different things, to come together as a community,” Paul said.

The community can visit and put a blanket out, or a table, they can set up a table for their organization or just come out to have a great time with friends, Paul said.

When the original plans for a city hall at the site expanded to include a Performing Arts Center and a conference center, it opened up opportunities. Paul said soon after he was elected, he was at a concert at the Heritage Green when he looked up at the hill to the future city hall site. Looking at the concertgoers enjoying themselves around him, he realized the space on the hill offered more opportunities for the community to gather and connect.

The City Council supported the idea, and then-city manager, John McDonough,
was charged with starting the process on something that had no plans or concepts.

Paul wasn’t the only person who saw opportunities at the City Springs site. Andy Bauman had founded the Sandy Springs Farmers Market in 2010 with Jeff
Langfelder in a bank parking lot on the corner of Sandy Springs Circle and Johnson
Ferry Road, drawing attention to the site’s possibilities.

When Bauman was elected to the City Council two years later, he began
working with other council members on the City Springs master plan.
Council set the budget for the public part of City Springs at $220 million, selecting Holder Construction to construct the buildings. Agreements were signed with private partners Carter & Associates and Selig Enterprises for the residential and
retail development.

Demolition crews began work to take down the former Target building at 235
Johnson Ferry Road in January 2014, a big step in the city’s revitalization efforts.
Public input was taken through 2015, with the name “City Springs” revealed at a
groundbreaking event in September of that year.

Four years later City Springs opened with a ribbon-cutting.

Bauman envisions more for City Springs even for its first phase. Extensive power
connections were installed next to the City Green along Mount Vernon Highway,
offering an opportunity for small retail or food spaces. He said the location for the standalone restroom facilities on that side of the City Green could be repurposed and still retain those facilities.

Attempts to develop Phase Two of City Springs have stalled due to market constraints and financing difficulties. When the council awarded a contract to a development team in June 2023, construction had been expected to begin in late 2024.

The idea is to develop the parcels the city owns just south of Mount Vernon
Road, across from City Green. The concepts call for more restaurants, experiential retail, an upscale boutique hotel, office spaces, limited residential options, additional green spaces, and shared parking facilities.

The post Sandy Springs created its downtown with City Springs appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett’s $1 million women’s health grant funding proposal was denied during a meeting on Dec. 3.

Other requests by Barrett to seek the repeal of Georgia’s six-week abortion ban and to establish a women’s commission also failed in tight votes.

“What I’m proposing today with this resolution is a $1 million healthy women Healthy Families grant program to fund nonprofit organizations that are focused on everything from women’s cancers like breast cancer and ovarian cancer to heart disease, which is the leading cause of death for women in Georgia, to domestic violence, to reproductive and maternal health,” Barrett said.

The closure of two Wellstar hospitals in Fulton County has worsened the health crisis, Barrett said.

“I am in support of women’s health and healthy families, for darn sure and but I don’t think from a public policy standpoint, this is the best way to make use of taxpayer money to have an impact on those issues,” Commissioner Bob Ellis said.

Ellis said the commission should continue to work with the Fulton County Board of Health and Grady Hospital to affect health outcomes, such as the opening of an emergency department in South Fulton.

Barrett’s proposal for a Fulton County Women’s Commission also failed.

“What I’m asking for today is that we establish a Women’s Commission for Fulton County that will advise us on policies, strategies, and community partnerships that best address gender inequity and the systemic barriers that impact women,” Barrett said.

Commissioner Mo Ivory supported the women’s commission. She said she couldn’t understand why any women on the county commission would vote against a women’s commission, as it is the one area where they should all be able to agree.

Before the vote, Pitts said commissioners could form the entity without a vote. He said he set up a women’s commission out of his elected office to advise him on women’s issues.

Barrett’s resolution to urge the General Assembly to repeal of Georgia’s six-week abortion ban across the state also failed.

She asked for passage of the resolution a few hours before the commission was scheduled to meet with a legislative delegation. Barrett said it was important to affirm that reproductive rights are human rights. The resolution would also stand against the criminalization of women seeking care for miscarriages or the doctors who provide that treatment.

Commissioner Khadijah Abdur-Rahman called the measure a “feel-good” resolution. She said she was pro-choice when she walked the streets of Washington, D.C., in support, and when pregnant people with no place to live called her county commission office.

“I personally don’t feel that this resolution does anything to change what has happened at the state,” Abdur-Rahman said.

Testifying before the General Assembly and having conversations with the legislators who made the decision to approve the abortion ban could make a difference, Abdur-Rahman said.

The post Fulton County commissioner proposal for women’s health funding fails appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

The incident happened at a polling location at Dobbs Elementary School, according to a news release from Raffensperger’s office.

“Georgia is the best state for elections because we work around the clock to keep our elections secure and fair. That’s why investigators have been deployed to Fulton County to gather evidence and conduct a full investigation into the December 2 incident,” said Raffensperger, according to the release. “Georgia’s system is designed to catch this exact behavior, and we look forward to seeking prosecution of this poll worker to the fullest extent of the law.”

Raffensperger commended work of the Secretary of State’s law enforcement staff and the Fulton County Police Department. He said he looked forward to seeking prosecution of the poll worker.

It was announced on Dec. 8 that a Fulton County poll worker who was caught allegedly scanning multiple ballots for family members in Dec. 2’s runoff elections would prompt a recount in those races.

Fulton County Board of Registration Chair Sherri Allen said that during the runoff election, a poll manager saw a poll worker scanning two ballots and reported it to the director of elections. A police officer at the polling place escorted the poll worker out of the location, Allen said during a media briefing on Dec. 8.

“Upon further investigation, we learned that the poll worker had scanned her own ballot, had voted herself, and scanned her own ballot, but also for other family members that we later learned on Saturday were not present at the precinct location,” Allen said.

The poll worker and her family members lived at the same residence, Allen said.

Additional information, including the poll worker’s name, was not given because it is an active investigation, Fulton County Deputy Police Chief Ken Schierle said.

The Board of Registration reported it to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office.

Allen said the recount was held because of discrepancies and irregularities in a few races. Runoff elections were held in the cities of Sandy Springs, Atlanta, Roswell, East Point, and South Fulton.

The poll worker no longer works for the county, Allen said. The poll worker had worked during previous elections, and the investigation is looking into those election activities.

Fulton County Elections Director Nadine Williams said the recount was to be completed Dec. 8. No additional costs were expected.

The post Update: Raffensperger announces full-scale investigation of worker accused of scanning multiple ballots appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

Lauderhill’s Fine Jewelry has served the community as a family-owned business for more than 43 years at its Orchard Park Shopping Center store.

The cities of Dunwoody and Sandy Springs wouldn’t form until decades after Frank and Geneva Barnhill opened Lauderhill’s in 1981 at 2090 Dunwoody Club Drive, Suite 107.

Frank began his jewelry career 60 years ago, working for Ellman’s Fine Jewelers. After those stores were sold, Frank Ellman asked him to work at his Cumberland Mall store as a diamond buyer. When that store was sold, he worked for Rich’s as a fine jewelry buyer. When Rich’s sold, it was too much for Frank Barnhill. When he came home with that news, he asked Geneva to help him open up their store.

Geneva said they opened the store “on a wing and a prayer” with the help of the family’s supporters. Financially, they weren’t prepared to open a store. The Dunwoody area location was chosen because they knew so many people in the area. From the first three months, it was a success. It was the right move at the right time, she said.

Frank fell ill with cancer and now suffers from Alzheimer’s and dementia. Geneva said he was a very successful businessman and got Lauderhill’s off to a good start. But it remains a family effort. Geneva said their son, Mike, started working at Lauderhill’s 29 years ago. She said her master jeweler at the store said Mike had a natural talent and he should be given a chance.

Lauderhill’s is a full-service jeweler with a repair shop. It offers custom design work on site.

“We do a tremendous amount of special orders, because as people become more successful, they buy more special items,” Geneva said.

Fine jewelry is available at all price points, she said.

“You don’t have to break the bank to get a fine piece,” Geneva said.

Lauderhill’s does not offer lab-grown diamonds or commercial products. Geneva said Lauderhill’s steers clear of trends and specializes in one-of-a-kind pieces. She said the demand for higher quality always exists.

“People don’t like going to the club or a wedding and wearing the same piece of jewelry that two other people have on,” Geneva said.

Lauderhill’s job is to stay more specialized and offer things customers haven’t seen in a catalog. They order jewelry from France and Italy.

The business has gone through many cycles.

“In the beginning, we did a lot of custom work making pieces. And then it became more important items, more expensive things, for anniversaries and birthdays,” Geneva said.

Customers who grew to know them came in to make purchases for anniversaries, birthdays, and other special occasions. Then they started buying for their children, and then their grandchildren.

Geneva said they created engagement rings or wedding gifts using jewelry from customers’ grandmothers.

“People know when they come here that they’re coming in for fine jewelry,” Geneva said. “And after the children inherit what grandmother had, they can bring in the pieces, and it’s still fine. We can refinish it; we can rebuild it. We can do wonderful things with it.”

Geneva wants to make everything the store does special for the individual customer. Each person has a special need, and they need to feel comfortable that their need will be met when they come to the store.

Geneva is in her 80s and has no interest in retiring. A visit to Lauderhill’s usually shows her active and engaged while helping customers.

The store is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The post Lauderhill’s Fine Jewelry serves community for decades appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.