College Heights Connection

Dear Families,

We are having a wonderful first full week at College Heights. The students are quickly settling into their new school routines and already independently navigating the school and classroom environments. Thank you to all the parents for their support with arrival and dismissal times. As a reminder to our Pre-K families, students must be in their classrooms by 8:00 a.m. to avoid being marked as "tardy." It's going to be a great school year!

Have a great weekend,

Principal Garland

August 21 - Curriculum Night (6-7 p.m.)

August 27 - Pre-K Early Release Day (12:15 p.m.)

August 29 - Child Find (8:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.) PREREGISTRATION REQUIRED

September 1 - Labor Day (no school)

September 12 - Coffee Chat on Curriculum and Assessment (8:00 a.m.)

September 22-26 - Fall Break (no school for Pre-K and Preschool Special Education students)

Experience a day in the life of a College Heights Chick! We warmly invite you to join us for Curriculum Night on August 21 as we share a typical day in your child's exciting learning journey. Your child's teacher will share insights into the daily schedule, classroom routines, expectations, and provide valuable tips to support your child's success this year. Let's connect and build a strong partnership for your child's educational growth!

Choose one of the convenient 30-minute sessions below:

• Session 1: 6:00- 6:30 p.m.
• Session 2: 6:30-7:00 p.m.

To best accommodate families with multiple children at College Heights, the same informative session will be repeated during both time slots. This allows you to attend Curriculum Night for each child and learn about their classroom experiences.

PLEASE NOTE: Curriculum Night is for adults only.

We look forward to seeing you!

On four days during the school year, all CSD schools will release students two hours early so that teachers and staff are able to have meetings, participate in professional learning, and hold parent conferences.

The Pre-K early release schedule is as follows:

• Two hour early release. Students eat lunch at school.
• Bus riders will be dismissed between 11:45-12:00 p.m.
• Walkers/car riders and community after school programs will be dismissed beginning at 12:15 p.m.
• Families enrolled in community after school programs should contact the program directly on their early release details.
• Students enrolled in the College Heights aftercare program will remain in their rooms for rest time and will transition to their aftercare location at 2:30 p.m.
• Early release days generally fall on the last Wednesday of the month, but some early release days occur just before a holiday or break. The 2025-2026 dates are: 8/27, 10/22, 12/19, 1/28, and 3/25.
  
• Students in the 0-3 tuition program are not released early; they attend for the entire school day as usual.

Please reach out to Caretha Hall if you have any additional questions.

College Heights is committed to ensuring every classroom is stocked and ready for students and teachers to have what they need to be engaged and successful. We do this by using our allocated state and local funding to fulfill classroom needs. Funding covers essential classroom supplies, any specialized materials needed for educational programming, individual or team requests for specific supplies, professional learning and general operating costs.

In addition to this, some staff at College Heights have customarily shared supply wish lists with families via email or online. Please know that these are optional and individualized by the staff member. Wish lists should not be interpreted as an indication that classrooms at College Heights or our programming lack supplies or funding. Instead, the lists reflect individual preferences for extra items. Any purchases made from these lists are considered gifts to staff and must follow state guidance and Georgia Professional Standards Commission (PSC) rules around gift-giving to public employees, including monetary limits.

If you have any questions about how supplies are funded or how you can support our classrooms, please contact Principal Garland.

Pre-K students will experience a variety of off-site field trips this year. Field trips are aligned to instructional goals and provide an opportunity for our students to extend their learning. For the school to budget for entrance fees and transportation costs, we are asking each Pre-K family to contribute a $25 field trip fee. This contribution will cover your student's field trip costs for the entire school year. Please send a check (no cash please!) with your Pre-K student through their green folder. Thank you for supporting this important initiative.

Preschool Child Find is part of the City Schools of Decatur’s system for identifying children suspected of having delays in development. If a young child is not meeting typical developmental milestones, or if someone is concerned about the child’s growth or learning, Child Find teams will assess how the child plays, learns, speaks, behaves, and moves. The purpose of the screening (informal assessment) is to determine if there is a significant delay and a need for early intervention.

Children between the ages of 3-5, who are not yet in kindergarten, and who live within the City Schools of Decatur boundaries, may be referred by the parent/guardian at any time when a family member, doctor, or childcare provider has a concern about the child’s development. Please contact the school to register or if you have any questions.

Upcoming Child Find dates:

Oct 24, 2025

Dec 12, 2025

Feb 27, 2026

The College Heights library just completed a huge purge of books to make room for new titles, and these books were donated to a local non-profit, Children Read. Founded in 2014, Children Read collects new and used books to give to Pre-Kindergarten children attending Title 1 schools, Sheltering Arms, Head Start, and other programs for low-income families. The organization has distributed nearly 300,000 books to date. College Heights' donation of over 700 books magically fit in the back of board member Marla Johnson's Toyota Highlander!

College Heights recently launched its new website, which will provide an enhanced online experience for current and prospective families, staff, and community members.

As with any move, some content may have inadvertently been misplaced, or a few links may be temporarily down during the migration to the new platform. If you encounter any issues, please contact Leslie Joiner. Thank you for your patience and valuable feedback as we complete the final adjustments and continue to add content.

Do you have a heart for supporting our amazing teachers and staff at College Heights? We’re looking for a parent to serve as Vice President of the PTO this school year—to be ready to step into the President role next year.

We know everyone’s time is valuable, so we keep things simple:

• One meeting per month (just one hour!)
• Streamlined tasks that fit into busy schedules
• Collaborative leadership—we’re happy to explore a Co-VP setup if that’s a better fit for you

If you’re interested or just want to learn more, we’d love to chat! Reach out and let’s talk about how you can make a difference at College Heights. Email or call PTO President Lauren Elliott (678-427-3489).

Read the August 7, 2025, issue of the district-wide newsletter, CSD Weekly here.

Come out to cheer for our beloved mascot, the College Heights Chick, on Friday, August 8, during the first DHS home game of the season. The game starts at 7 p.m., and the race will occur during halftime. Decatur Bulldog Booster sponsor Keller Knapp Realty is giving away cowbells for fans, so get ready to make some noise for your school and your Decatur Bulldogs. Last year, Claire the Bulldog dove across the finish line to win the first-ever CSD Mascot Run for Clairemont Elementary. Who will break the tape and take home the trophy this year?

All recent issues of the College Heights Connection are available here.

Older issues of CSD Weekly may be found on CSD's district newsletter webpage.

College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center cultivates an atmosphere where children take their first steps in building an authentic love of learning through developmentally appropriate practices in an environment that fosters family and community involvement.