DeKalb County School District


The DeKalb County School District is a school district headquartered at 1701 Mountain Industrial Boulevard in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, near Stone Mountain and in the Atlanta metropolitan area. DCSD operates public schools in areas of DeKalb County that are not within the city limits of Atlanta and Decatur. It served a portion of Atlanta annexed by that city in 2018 until 2024, when that portion was re-assigned to Atlanta Public Schools.
The school district is overseen by the seven-member DeKalb County Board of Education. The superintendent/CEO is, as of June 8, 2024, Dr. Devon Q. Horton. The system educates more than 102,000 students at 138 schools with more than 14,000 full-time employees and 6,000 teachers. In 2018, the school system graduated over 5,800 students from high school.
The district includes three of the top-ranked schools in the nation in 2018 according to U.S. News & World Report. The DeKalb School of the Arts earned a gold designation after being ranked No. 75 overall, and No. 2 in Georgia. Chamblee Charter High School also earned a gold designation, ranking No. 457 nationwide and No. 14 in Georgia. The Arabia Mountain High School Academy of Engineering-Medicine performed well enough to earn a silver designation, ranking No. 58 in Georgia. DeKalb Early College Academy earned a bronze designation, ranking No. 68 in Georgia.
DCSD is also home to Henderson Mill Elementary School, the first STEAM certified school in Georgia.

History

Accreditation

In 2017, the DeKalb County School District received a full, five-year renewal of its accreditation from AdvancED, through 2022. The renewal comes after the district regained full accreditation in 2016.
On December 17, 2012, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools announced that it had downgraded the DeKalb County School District's status from "on advisement" to "on probation" and warned the school system that the loss of their accreditation was "imminent."
On January 21, 2014, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools announced that it had upgraded the DeKalb County School District's status from "probation" to "accredited warned" which is below full accreditation status.

Academic Achievement

In 2017, the DCSD College and Career Ready Performance Index score increased to 70, up from 66 in 2016. Since 2016, the CCRPI score for elementary schools increased five points; middle schools increased three points; and high schools increased nearly one full point.
In 2017, more than 2,500 students in DCSD took the ACT, earning a composite score of 19.8, compared to last year's composite score of 19.4. That same year, more than 3,500 students took the SAT; the district's total composite score continues to improve year-over-year. DeKalb's 2017 total mean score for the SAT was 980.
The four-year graduation rate for DCSD's Class of 2017 was 74 percent, a four-point increase from the 2016 graduation rate of 70 percent. Between 2013 and 2017, the District graduation rate improved 14 percentage points.
Indictment
Former DeKalb County Schools Superintendent Crawford Lewis was indicted in 2012, along with former DeKalb County Schools Chief Operating Officer Pat Pope, and others, on criminal charges related to a school construction scandal. The indictment listed four counts of racketeering, as well as theft by taking and bribery.
On October 15, 2025 the DeKalb County Board of Education voted to accept the resignation of Superintendent Devon Horton who had been serving since 2023. An indictment accusing him of offering district contracts in the Evanston-Skokie School District 65 outside of Chicago to his friends, then receiving about $85,000 in kickbacks from the contracts between 2020 and 2023 triggered the vote and subsequent resignation.

Shooting and hostage situation

On August 20, 2013, 20-year-old Michael Brandon Hill, who was armed with an AK-47, entered the front office of Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy, an elementary school, and barricaded himself. He fired six shots at police officers outside, who returned fire. The school's students were evacuated. Antoinette Tuff, a school bookkeeper, was able to convince Hill to surrender without further violence. Tuff was later praised by President Barack Obama for her courage and calmness in defusing the situation. Hill later pleaded guilty to 13 counts, including aggravated assault, false imprisonment, making terroristic threats, and burglary, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Bus drivers' strike

From April 19-23, 2018 nearly 400 school bus drivers for the district participated in a strike over low pay and little employee benefits. Inspired in part by the concurrent nationwide teacher strikes in states such as West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arizona, bus drivers for the district planned a "sick-out". About 42 percent of bus drivers in the county participated, causing nearly 60-90 minute delays in students being picked up for school. As a right-to-work state, public sector employees are prohibited in Georgia from striking. The strike resulted in at least 7 bus drivers, particularly ones who helped organize the strike, being terminated of employment.

Emory and CDC annexation by Atlanta

The City of Atlanta, in 2017, agreed to annex territory in DeKalb County, including the Centers for Disease Control and Emory University, effective January 1, 2018. In 2016 Emory University made a statement that "Annexation of Emory into the City of Atlanta will not change school districts, since neighboring communities like Druid Hills will still be self-determining regarding annexation." By 2017 the city agreed to include the annexed area in the boundaries of Atlanta Public Schools, a move decried by the leadership of the DeKalb county district as it would take taxable property away from that district. In 2017 the number of children living in the annexed territory who attended public schools was nine. The area ultimately went to APS, and as part of a 2019 settlement Emory would help establish school-based clinics for DeKalb schools. Students will be rezoned to APS effective 2024; they will be zoned to DeKalb schools before then.

Schools and centers

Elementary schools

Zoned
Optional
  • DeKalb Elementary School of the Arts
  • Oakcliff Traditional Theme School
  • Oakcliff Traditional Theme School

    Middle schools

'''Zoned'''

High schools

Zoned
Optional
'''Alternative'''

Partnerships

Elementary schools

  • Atherton Elementary
  • Brookhaven Elementary School 1948-1975
  • Jim Cherry Elementary School 1949-1975
  • Forrest Hills Elementary School, 1954-2004
  • Glen Haven Elementary Current home of DeKalb Preparatory Academy Charter School
  • Gresham Park Elementary Demolished in 2014
  • Margaret Harris Elementary School, 1967-1988
  • Heritage Elementary School, 1968-1999
  • Hooper Alexander Elementary School, 1935-2008
  • Kittredge Elementary School 1958-1975
  • Medlock Elementary School, 1951-2011
  • Midway Elementary Currently houses International Community Charter School
  • Nancy Creek Elementary School, 1970-2008
  • Northwoods Elementary School 1954-1984
  • Oakcliff Elementary, 1964-1993
  • Rehoboth Elementary School, 1963-1979
  • Sexton Woods Elementary
  • Shallowford Elementary School, 1968-1997
  • Robert Shaw Elementary School, 1955-1969
  • Sky Haven Elementary
  • Skyland Elementary School 1948-1989
  • Leslie J. Steele Elementary School, 1951-2006
  • W.D. Thomson Elementary School, 1939-1975
  • Tilson Elementary Demolished in 2014
  • Tucker Elementary School, 1955-1983
  • Wesley Chapel Elementary School, 1953-1979 Demolished in 2016

    Middle schools

  • Avondale Middle School, 2000-2011 Currently undergoing renovations to become Performing Arts School

    High schools

  • Avondale High School 1955-2011 Part of building has been converted to records storage. Other portion houses DeKalb School of the Arts.
  • Briarcliff High School, 1962-1987
  • Bruce Street High School, 1938-1968
  • John B. Gordon High School, 1959-1986
  • Hamilton High School, 1924-1969 a school for African Americans, currently Hamilton Recreation Center
  • Henderson High School 1970-1996
  • Peachtree High School, 1968-1988
  • Sequoyah High School 1965-1988,
  • Shamrock High School, 1967-1996
  • Walker High School, 1966-1987
Centers:
  • DeKalb Transition Academy Building was demolished in 2016
  • Destiny Academy of Excellence, 2007-2018

    District facilities

  • Administrative and Instructional Complex — The building complex was originally built as an American Fare. After this closed, DeKalb County School District bought the property. The district renovated the original building, converting commercial spaces into educational and office spaces. The building served for a short time as the district's alternative high school before becoming the Administrative and Instructional Complex.
  • The William Bradley Bryant Center
  • East DeKalb Campus
  • Sam Moss Service Center District Logistics Distribution and Storage. District Facilities and Grounds Maintenance. District Transportation Pool and Servicing facilities.

    Athletics

The district offers 17 athletic programs and earned 253 state championships dating back to 1938; the majority of the titles came from track and field and wrestling. The county provides five athletic stadiums:
StadiumYear constructedSeating capacityLocationAdditional information
Adams Stadium19626,500 Unincorporated - adjacent to the old Briarcliff High School buildingRenovated summer 2016
Avondale Stadium19586,500 Unincorporated - adjacent to City of Avondale Estates
James R. Hallford Stadium196815,600 Unincorporated - adjacent to City of Clarkston and the Clarkston Campus of Formerly named Memorial Stadium.
North DeKalb Stadium19626,500 Within the city limits of Chamblee
William "Buck" Godfrey Stadium19688,500Unincorporated - adjacent to the Decatur CampusFormerly named Panthersville Stadium