Key points:
• A survey is being circulated about decisions parents would make if Vanderlyn Elementary School closes.
• Many have said they would leave the school district or look at private school options.
• Parents say standardized test scores should be considered in closure decisions.
• The school board is holding a press conference on March 20 on the next steps in the process.
A group of Vanderlyn Elementary School parents are conducting a survey about DeKalb County School District’s proposal to shutter the school as part of a sweeping consolidation throughout the county – and the results are telling.
In mid-February, DCSD officials revealed a list of 26 elementary schools that could be closed or repurposed based on a recommendation in the Student Assignment Project (SAP) as part of an effort to address the district’s ongoing declining enrollment. It also includes five middle schools and three high schools.
Among the elementary schools in the Dunwoody cluster under consideration for closure is Vanderlyn, a high-achieving school ranked #4 in the county, and #39 in the state by U.S. News and World Report. Kingsley Elementary is also on the closure list.
Kindergarten parent David Lubin, along with David Ziskind and Denice Dudley, devised a five-question survey that more than 140 people associated with Vanderlyn have answered in the 10 days since it was posted.
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“This brief survey seeks to understand how Vanderlyn families may respond to potential school closure scenarios currently being discussed as part of the DCSD Student Assignment Project (SAP),” the survey said. “Responses will help us illustrate to the county how these scenarios could affect families across the district.”
This survey said it is being organized by Vanderlyn parents and is not affiliated with the Vanderlyn PTO or DeKalb County School District.
Parents will opt out
The survey results paint a dim picture of the future if the school is closed.
“One of the most important findings is that 53 families selected only options outside of DCSD (private school, another district, or charter) if Vanderlyn is no longer an option,” Lubin said in a letter to the DCSD board sent on March 19. “Of the 50 families who said they would move to another public school district, approximately 38% have two or more children at Vanderlyn, meaning entire families – not just individual students – would likely leave.”
Lubin said parents feel that school system officials are using flawed logic in determining which schools will close.
“They are just looking at ‘seats’ and ‘chairs’ instead of taking into account the communities,” he said. “There is no vision, just destruction, and that is terrifying to us.”
The ad-hoc group believes that testing scores must be taken into account when determining whether or not a school should be considered for closure.
However, during a series of community meetings held in late February, DCSD officials emphasized that test scores would have no bearing on the schools targeted for closure.
“At the end of the day, testing scores should be a factor in the decisions that are made,” Lubin said. “I don’t want any schools to close, but moving children from a lower-performing school to one that is high performing makes more sense.”
Lubin said comments made by respondents show that families purchased homes specifically so their children could attend Vanderlyn, and that closing it would spur them to move or choose a private school.
“Closing the school would drastically alter our decision to remain in the district,” one person said, while another wrote, “We specifically purchased our home to be in the Vanderlyn school district,” a phrase that was repeated by many respondents.
Parents said they were initially concerned when District 1 Board Member Andrew Ziffer mentioned at a Dunwoody Homeowners Association meeting last July that Vanderlyn could be among schools targeted for closure to address declining enrollment and aging schools.
Announcement surprised many
Lubin said he was reassured at the beginning of the 2025-26 school year that Vanderlyn would not be a candidate for closure because of its superior test results.
“I heard, ‘This school is safe,’ and, ‘There’s no way they can shut us down because we have amazing scores,'” he said. “Nobody thought this would come to fruition.”
Rough Draft contacted Ziffer for comment regarding the survey.
“My job is to ensure that DeKalb County Schools are not just a first choice for our families, but a continued choice – one we earn every single day through strong schools, strong leadership, and real results for students,” Ziffer said in response to the inquiry.
He wrote in an opinion piece published in mid-February that he was surprised by the inclusion of both Vanderlyn and Kingsley on the closure list.
Round 2 plans to be revealed March 20
DCSD officials will host a media briefing on March 20 to discuss the launch of the second round of scenarios for SAP and outline the next phase of community engagement.
“During the briefing, district leaders will highlight how community feedback from Round 1 helped shape the updated scenarios and will explain the district’s ongoing work to address school building utilization, including overcrowding and under-enrollment across the district,” the announcement said.
An informational session regarding the Dunwoody, Chamblee, and Cross Keys clusters will be held at Dunwoody High School on March 26 at 6 p.m.
More information about SAP can be found on the school’s website.
