News

Decatur Education Foundation Seeks New Executive Director

Decatur Education Foundation (DEF) is seeking a strategic, dynamic, and community-minded leader to build on the organization’s impactful 20-year history. Mission We solve the problems that keep our kids from finding success by connecting people, resources, and ideas. Central to this work is a commitment to eradicating barriers caused by systemic racism, income inequality, and the lack of behavioral health supports. Vision All Decatur youth realize their full potential, regardless of economic status, ethnicity, race, nation of origin, gender, gender…

DHS Students Explore Storytelling through Film

Christopher Brune’s title is “English Language Arts teacher” at Decatur High School, but he recently expanded his repertoire when he became one of two teachers of the brand-new IB HL Film class in the 2022-2023 school year. A few months into teaching this class of junior and senior students, Brune realized the class needed new filmmaking equipment and access to more movies for the students to analyze. “The DEF grant [will] provide students with the necessary equipment and knowledge to…

Alt Text Gail

Decatur Education Foundation Executive Director to Step Down in June

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Over twenty years ago, our community made a commitment to bring resources together to ensure that every Decatur child had what they needed to grow and learn. This simple yet profound idea gave rise to the Decatur Education Foundation, which has impacted generations of Decatur youth. In 2009, I was hired to lead the foundation as its first foundation-supported executive director. For 14 years now, I have experienced first-hand the power of a community to come together to create opportunities…

The Blue & Gold Squad Grows to Include More Student-Athletes

For six years now, DEF has helped fund the Blue & Gold Squad, a grassroots mentoring program at the high school that was the brainchild of Special Education teacher Beth Lewis to establish one-on-one relationships between faculty and the DHS football team. In the beginning, the Squad connected a teacher or CSD staff member with a member of the football team to support them in their transition from 3A to 5A.  As many good ideas do, the Blue & Gold…

Two Students Writing In Journals

Meet Our Partners: Paint Love

You may have heard of Paint Love from last year’s Poetry Slam at Renfroe Middle School. DEF supported Paint-Love’s collaboration with the school through its Zara’s Arts Infusion Fund. Besides partnering with DEF through several Zara’s Fund projects, Paint Love is also our new neighbor! They moved in down the hall from the DEF offices last year. Paint Love was founded in 2014 by Atlanta artist Julie McKevitt with the mission of bringing extraordinary arts programming to youth, especially those…

Go on a Treasure Hunt!

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DEF is celebrating 20 years with a treasure hunt around Decatur! It’s fun and it’s FREE, and it’s something the family can do together anytime. The first 20 families to complete the hunt will be entered to win some cool prizes like a week of summer camp at Little Shop of Stories or ColorWheel Art Studio and more! To get started, click HERE.

People On The Bus

Catching a Ride Towards a Bright Future

For the group of DHS students who enrolled in college classes at Georgia State University (GSU), the course material should be the most challenging aspect of taking these classes, not finding transportation to the nearby college. GSU offers an Early College Program that provides dual enrollment opportunities for minority groups, specifically students of color, low income students, and first-generation college students. While dozens of DHS students are a part of this program, their participation was limited by transportation barriers. Career…

Blue And Gold Squad Group

The Blue & Gold Squad Establishes Community Between Staff and Athletes

What started as a way to show a little extra support to the school’s varsity football team when they moved from division 3A to 5A a few years ago has blossomed into a “support squad” of 113 faculty and staff who sponsor 123 student athletes. These adult sponsors include a wide range of positions at CSD – from the School Superintendent to the entire cafeteria staff, as well as custodians, the SRO officer and our teachers. The Squad has expanded…

Tutoring Pair Continues Their Work Together

Everyone could use a little extra help sometimes. In response to the needs of our students as a result of virtual learning, DEF established the Virtual Pals Tutoring program to provide that help. We pair 2nd-8th grade students with an adult volunteer tutor. One hour per week, the pairs meet virtually to work on homework, organization, or practice skills like reading and math problems. The program has been successful, and even though City Schools of Decatur has returned to in-person…

CSD Among 15 Schools Chosen to Participate in National Safe Supportive Schools Learning Collaborative

We are excited to announce our district’s participation in a national program to foster safety and support in our schools! City Schools of Decatur (CSD) is one of only two school districts in the Southeast and the only district in Georgia that was selected to participate in the National Safe Supportive Schools (NS3) Learning Collaborative. This two-year program brings 15 school district teams from around the country to collaborate to accelerate innovation and the best practices needed to promote safe…

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