home > welcome to dekalb > School System

DeKalb's Public Schools Pre-K through Grade 12
DeKalb County is home to the DeKalb County and City of Decatur schools- in size and product, two of the metro area's most influential public school systems. Each system makes a distinctive contribution to the community in the quality of its graduates.

DeKalb County School System
There are over 98,000 students in the public schools in DeKalb County. The DeKalb County School System's mission is to give each of these children an excellent education. There are currently 84 elementary schools, 20 middle schools, and 21 high schools  in the DeKalb County School System.   DeKalb is one of the metro area’s most ethnically diverse counties. At Clarkston High School, for example, students come from 54 countries and speak 47 languages.

DeKalb County Schools have launched several new Innovative Programs, including SpringBoard, a comprehensive program of math and language arts used in most middle schools, that uses hands-on activities to help teach concepts. Also, the Operation Graduation Program was launched to identify struggling students and mobilize academic and social resources in order to help them earn high school diplomas. DeKalb’s broad magnet program includes 14 schools at the elementary, middle and high school levels, offering specialized curricula in performing arts, math, science, computer education, technology and foreign language. The system is also home to eight charter schools, including the brand-new Gateway to College Academy at Georgia Perimeter, which allows students to earn college and high school credit simultaneously. DeKalb is also one of the few school systems nationally that offers students access to 3 electron microscopes at the Fernbank Science Center and Fernbank Museum.

Contact Information
DeKalb County School System Administration
3770 North Decatur Road
Decatur, GA 30032
678-676-1200  - Administration
678-676-0027  - Board of Education
www.dekalb.k12.ga.us

Website includes maps and contact information for all schools.

City Schools of Decatur
The system runs the public schools for the city of Decatur in DeKalb, serves nearly 3,000 students from Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. The Decatur system stresses its commitment to neighborhood schools that promote strong test scores. The focus in this smaller system is on parent and community involvement in the schools, where it is believed that "In Decatur, helping students to achieve success is the responsibility of everyone - home, school and community".

Seventy-five percent of Decatur's graduating seniors in 2000 were eligible for the Georgia HOPE scholarship. The system's SAT scores are consistently and significantly above state and national averages; in 2000 they were 71 points above the Georgia average.

Decatur schools employ almost 200 teachers in their Pre-K-12 programs, more than 70% whom have earned master's degrees. The certified staff ratio for student enrollment/all teachers is 13:1. Schools are all accredited by SACS.

Contact Information
City Schools of Decatur
320 North McDonough Street
Decatur, GA 30300
404.370.4400 - Superintendent
www.decatur-city.k12.ga.us

Website includes contact information for all schools.

Private Schools in DeKalb County
DeKalb has more than 60 private schools that educate an estimated 10,000 students from pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. About a quarter of these students attend the county's 10 private and parochial high schools, with the remainder filling all the early grades.

Some of the larger private schools in DeKalb offer instruction beyond basic academics that attract the metro-wide population, including:

St. Pius X Catholic High School
1,106 enrolled, comprehensive co-ed college-prep curriculum, SACS accredited

Marist School
1,028 enrolled, Catholic education, college-prep curriculum, SACS accredited

The Paideia School
860 enrolled, college prep, art, music, drama, sports, SACS candidate

Seigakuin Atlanta International School
Grades Pre-K-6, 60 enrolled, bilingual education and accelerated math curriculum, Japanese Ministry of Education accredited

Clara Mohammed Elementary & Warith Deen Mohammed High School
300 enrolled, Arabic, Islamic studies, broadcasting, SACS, CITA & GAC accredited

The Howard School
164 enrolled, small class program for language-learning differences and disabilities, SACS accredited

Horizons School
136 enrolled, focusing on international students, performing arts, student work program for high school, GAC accredited

Yeshiva Atlanta
110 enrolled, student support center, distance learning lab, web design, SACS accredited

Cathedral of the Holy Spirit
350 enrolled, Grades 2-12, Flat Shoals Parkway South DeKalb County

Greenforest Academic Center
535 enrolled, Grades K-12, higher education, Christian values, 3250 Rainbow Drive

The Friends School

The Waldorff School of Atlanta

St. Thomas Moore

Faith Academy