EDITORIALS
Dear Decaturish: Starting 2026 with all Decatur schools open
By CSD Parents
January 8, 2026
As we look toward 2026, our community approaches the future of our schools with hope. With all schools open, we can focus on further strengthening a school system we all care deeply about.
Less than three months ago, this future was uncertain. A consultant was hired to facilitate the closure of one of Decatur’s diverse, inclusive, accessible, and top-tier lower elementary schools. In a stark departure from Decatur norms, the CSD Board moved toward a decision that would permanently dismantle a thriving school community without clearly defining the problem being solved, the necessity of closure, or the rationale for selecting this school … and without community involvement.
We begin by thanking CSD for quickly recognizing that school closure is a bad and avoidable decision, for reversing course, and for advocating for a “keep-open” school strategy. This pivot averts a painful outcome for Decatur and reinforces the partnership between our charter school system and the community it serves. It creates space for reflection, trust-building, and collaboration, signaling a willingness to listen, adapt, and plan for the long term rather than react to a single moment.
It also demonstrates the strength of a caring community that showed up. Now, we reflect on the journey we’ve been on together, and the path and work ahead.
Decatur needs transparency before committing $23 million to early learning center
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Patrick McConnell and Akila McConnell
December 2, 2025
Imagine your family needs another bedroom. Would you build a whole new house or renovate the one you have? To make that decision, most of us would gather multiple quotes and compare costs. We would not accept a single estimate at face value, especially one that increases our mortgage for years to come.
The City Schools of Decatur Board of Education faces a similar choice, but with far more public money at stake. CSD has proposed spending $23.1 million to construct a new early childhood learning center for 0 to 3-year-olds, while simultaneously closing Westchester Elementary. But the district has not shown that this is the most cost-effective, or even necessary, approach.
Dear Decaturish — Trust isn’t a PowerPoint problem
By Thomas Moore
November 4, 2025
Here's the thing about trust: you can't fix it with a PowerPoint deck.
The Decatur School Board and Superintendent Gyimah Whitaker have a trust problem. Not a communication problem. Not a messaging problem. A trust problem. And it's going to haunt this community for years.
Philosopher Onora O'Neill spent a lot of time thinking about how institutions earn trust, and she figured out something important. The question isn't, "How do we get people to trust us?" The question is, "How do we become worth trusting?"
That difference matters.
Dear Decaturish — Decatur school closure idea questioned
By Matthew Woodruff, Ariana Marin and Morgan Fraga
October 30-31, 2025
As a parent of a kindergartner at Oakhurst Elementary, I’ve been following the ongoing discussions about potential school closures with both concern and hope. I truly appreciate our Board of Education members and district leaders for their time, patience, and dedication in navigating such complex decisions. It’s not easy to balance budgets and enrollment numbers while also listening to so many passionate families, educators, and community voices.
[…]
Before deciding to close a school, I hope the district will take a closer look at some creative, community-based alternatives that could strengthen enrollment and make better use of existing buildings.
Dear Decaturish — What does City Schools of Decatur value?
By Jessica Cino
October 27, 2025
As our community faces the possibility of closing one of our schools, I find myself asking what values we are truly centering in this decision. We are being asked to accept “efficiency” and “consolidation” as reasonable responses to enrollment and budget pressures. But when the solution involves dismantling the very spaces where our youngest learners find belonging, support, and stability, we must pause and ask — efficient for whom, and at what cost?
Dear Decaturish — Closing our school won’t boost efficiency
By Caroline Morgan Berchuck
October 17, 2025
Closing Westchester Elementary will not advance equity or efficiency.
It will cost Decatur dearly — in community cohesion, in a worsened inequality gap, in financial challenges, and in the public’s trust in both this district and the city’s leadership. How do we know this will happen?