Decatur Career Academy

Dear Students, Families, and Community Members,

As autumn settles in and the crisp November air fills the days, it gives us a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the incredible progress our Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) students have made this semester. Our students continue to demonstrate dedication, innovation, and pride in their work.

With November underway and Thanksgiving Break just around the corner, now is a pivotal moment in the school year. As the semester nears its end, I encourage every student to maintain their momentum and stay focused on their goals. Finishing the semester strong requires commitment—attending classes daily, completing pathway projects, and preparing for end-of-pathway assessments and certifications.

As we look forward to a well-deserved Thanksgiving break to gather with loved ones and express gratitude, let’s keep our eyes on the finish line. Thank you to our dedicated educators, supportive families, and hard-working students for making this a memorable and productive fall season.

Let’s end this semester with focus, pride, and strong momentum!

Warmly,

Ms. Terra Smiley

Director of CTAE

The FCCLA officers traveled to Covington to attend DISCOVER Training. There they were learning what it means to be an officer and how to grow the organization.

Seven Decatur High School students participated in the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority’s 2026 High School Community Health Worker (CHW) Summer Program. On Saturday, October 10, these students were celebrated for their hard work and accomplishments, including their presentation of Through Our Lens, a powerful photo voice exhibit.

Through this project, students explored their communities, capturing photographs that highlighted barriers affecting community health and access to essential resources. Their work offered a unique perspective on real-world challenges while demonstrating the importance of youth voices in creating healthier communities. During the celebration, students were also recognized for successfully completing the program and received certificates and stipends in recognition of their participation and hard work.

Congratulations to these seven outstanding students for their dedication, creativity, and commitment to making a difference!

Over the past month, the Decatur High School AVTF program not only produced their routine DEC Media news show episodes, but also was heavily involved with the community. Recently, the class has provided services to the following groups:

• JROTC (promotional video)

• DHS study body (grading system announcement video)

• Decatur Prevention Initiative

• Decatur Performs (covering the production of Edward Tulane)

• Decatur Athletics (football game recording)

Make sure to check out the latest episode of the class news show at: https://youtu.be/4A9b66SWqxM?si=M0PNNX4Y5E_LMZy5

We are thrilled to announce that our students have officially opened "The Welcome Cup," serving coffee and tea to adults in the building every Monday–Friday from 8:00 AM to 8:30 AM. Thank you to everyone who came out at 1:00 PM today to support our Grand Opening Celebration! Huge shoutouts to Dr. Sprull, Mrs. Foy, Ms. Smiley, and Mrs. Lowe for supporting this venue.