College Heights Connection

Dear Families,

I hope you are having a great week and enjoying the cooler temperatures. Parent/Teacher conferences are scheduled for December 1-12. Classroom teachers will share a link (also see image linked below) for parents to sign up for a variety of times during the two weeks. Conferences are a great time for parents and teachers to check in on student progress and goals. Conferences are held in person or virtually.

Looking ahead to Thanksgiving break, the Pre-K and preschool special education programs are closed for Thanksgiving week (November 24-28). Our 0-3 tuition program will close at noon on Wednesday, November 26 and will be closed November 27-28.

Have a great weekend,

Principal Garland

November 24-28 - Thanksgiving Break (Pre-K and preschool special education)

November 26 - School Closes at Noon (0-3)

November 27-28 - Thanksgiving Break (0-3)

December 19 - Early Release Day (Pre-K)

December 22-January 5 - Semester Break (Pre-K)

December 24-January 2 - Winter Break (0-3)

Families, please click the image below to access the conference signup Google doc. You will need to click your teacher's individual link to sign up for a conference.

Professional Employee of the Year

Congratulations to Aneesah Edwards, College Heights' Professional Employee of the Year! Aneesah received this honor yesterday morning.

Your school family loves you, Ms. Aneesah!

Book Parade

It was a chilly morning but well worth it to watch all 270 College Heights students and their teachers - and several brave parents! - march in the annual Book Parade, hear the results of PTO's wildly successful Read-To-Me-A-Thon, and honor Principal Garland in a surprise presentation for School Principals Week!

Click here to view a slideshow of photos from the morning.

We have had several questions about this. Unfortunately, College Heights is not able to accommodate families for our Thanksgiving lunch. We apologize for any confusion.

Hola familias,

Last month, we wrapped up Unit 1: Español sí, sí, sí (Spanish, Yes, Yes, Yes) for Pre-K and Mi mundo sencillo (My Little World) for our 3-year-olds!

We are now continuing with Unit 2: Mi cuerpo y mi cara (My body and my face parts). The children are thriving in the immersion setting—singing, dancing, playing games, and listening to stories en español. Coming up next, we will enjoy our storytime La Aldea de los Cuentos (The Story Village) for Unit 2, featuring fun and engaging stories that connect to our body and face theme.

I’m attaching optional color and cut activities for 3YO and Pre-K (see links below) related to this unit. It would be wonderful if you and your child could do them together at home. It’s truly amazing to see how quickly preschool and Pre-K children pick up a new language!

Thank you again for making this possible and for supporting your children as they continue their Spanish journey.

¡Hasta pronto!

Señorita Gigi

3YO activities

Pre-K activities

Want to see loving care in action every day? Look no further than room 117! This classroom has eight adorable older infants and is led by Yolanda Jenkins, with her capable and dedicated assistants, Shemika Fluker and Dianna Anthony. Let's get to know them a little better.

Yolanda is from Atlanta and has been at College Heights for a little over four years. Outside of school, you'll find Yolanda relaxing and listening to audiobooks. She loves music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s and has had a lot of fun sharing this music with the class.

Shemika also hails from Atlanta. She's worked at College Heights for three years, and she loves to watch comedies (Daddy's Home is a particular favorite), read, and study. She's working on writing a children's book. She also revealed that she loves the holidays because it is such a cheerful and joyous time, and she's already watching holiday movies!

Dianna is the newest member of the team. She's from right here in Decatur and in her spare time, Dianna loves spending time outdoors, trying new things, watching anime, and snuggling with her three dogs (80, 30, and eight pounds - see photo of these cuties below) and one cat (who is not much of a snuggler), and she revealed that she is the tallest and youngest of three children in her family.

Read the November 6, 2025, issue of CSD Weekly, the district-wide newsletter.

On October 30, Education Planners sent an update about the K-2 School Consolidation and Redistricting Process to the community. The letter is copied below:

"Based on the input received, Education Planners recommends that the City Schools of Decatur proceed with a community-based process to explore additional solutions before the Board of Education makes a final decision. This updated approach will be presented to the school board at the November 11 meeting.

Our recommendation is that four committees guide this next phase:

• Facilities & Finance – enrollment, costs, and capital planning
• Student Experience – instructional programs, transitions, and early-learning access
• Safety & Operations – traffic, walkability, and daily operations
• Culture & Communication – transparency and ongoing engagement

Community members are invited to participate in one of the committees by clicking this link: K-2 School Consolidation Committee Sign Up."

Upcoming Board Meeting and Public Hearing:

• The next Board of Education Meeting is Tuesday, November 11, at the Wilson Center. Here is the BOE meeting schedule: Pre-work Session: 2:40-3:05 p.m., Work Session: 3:05-4:40 p.m.,
• Regular Meeting: 4:50-6:30 p.m., and Public Comment: 6:30 p.m.
• The next public hearing will be Thursday, November 13, 6:30-8:00 p.m. in the Beacon Hill Middle School Cafeteria. The community is invited to provide input and offer considerations to Education Planners regarding a potential school consolidation.

Please continue to visit the City Schools of Decatur website at csdecatur.net for the latest information.

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.