School Information
Boulevard Heights is services by the Atlanta Public School (APS) system. More information on APS schools may be found at the APS website.
Education is a hot topic within BOHO and surrounding neighborhoods. There are frequent discussions on the Boulevard Heights Group on this topic (scroll down on the About page to learn about the group). There's also a great deal of information and discussions on the Southeast Atlanta Communities for Schools (SEACS) website (more about SEACS below).
What Schools Serve Boulevard Heights?
There have been some recent and positive changes to districting for schools serving Boulevard Heights. The entire neighborhood is zoned for Parkside Elementary School, ML King Middle School, and Maynard Jackson High School, the latter two receiving complete rebuilds in recent years, with radical improvements in facilities and resources.
In addition to those public schools, several exceptional public charter schools service our neighborhood, including but not limited to Kindezi O4W, Wesley Academy, Neighborhood Charter Elementary, Neighborhood Charter Middle, Genesis Innovation Academy.
The Atlanta Public Schools Locator Map takes you to an Atlanta Public Schools interactive map where you can enter your address and see more about the schools for the neighborhood. BUT FAIR WARNING, not all BOHO addresses can be found on the locator map site and some will show the wrong schools (such as showing Benteen for Elementary school instead of Parkside).
See school zone maps here for correct displays of school zones:
More About SEACS:
NOTE: This was written for another online forum by former neighborhood president, James Palmer, SEACS At Large Board Member President of the Boulevard Heights Community Organization. It has been edited slightly for context and reproduced here.
In talking with some neighborhood folks over the past few weeks about the school issue, one question still persists in the community, "So, what does SEACS do again? How can I get involved and really, why should I?" Okay, that's two questions... Anyway... It seems clear to me that, in spite of the FB [Facebook] group and the various online discussions surrounding the local school issue--not to mention SEACS's prominence in those discussions, some local residents are still somewhat in the dark about SEACS and what it is about. And further, folks are wondering why and how they should involve themselves.
First, a little history. SEACS (Southeast Atlanta Communities for Schools) has been in existence in one form or another for the past two and a half years as parents in the SE ATL community began to show some real concern about their options for high school. As various options were considered, it was ultimately decided that SEACS, which hadn't been formally named as an organization yet, would focus on a community investment in Maynard Jackson High School. In the year (+) since, SEACS has not only continued to coalesce around Jackson, it has also broadened it's advocacy to include ALL schools in the MJHS cluster. SEACS was a nexus for parent and community engagement in SE ATL as the redistricting process was getting underway and SEACS still strives to support communities as they look to a better future for ALL Southeast Atlanta families and children.
So, how can you get involved and why should you? The "why" is easy. First, as taxpayers in SE ATL we all are stakeholders. For those of us who are parents, the stakes are even higher. The "how" is a little more complex--but still easy. No you don't have to post on the FB page 10 times a day. No you don't have to be a regular poster to the comments section on Maureen Downey's blog on the AJC. What you need to do first and foremost is just show up. Show up at meetings. Try to absorb as much of the information as you can on this issue and participate in the discussion--even if it's just to ask questions or listen to what others have to say. Sure there will be others who are probably more steeped in the minutae of all things APS and there will no doubt be disagreements. But none of that should dissuade anyone from jumping in to help shape the future of SE ATL schools. In the final analysis, we all want the same thing.
I hope you will become involved and join the discussion and, yes, debate. There are still openings on the SEACS board for those who want to REALLY get involved. We have a real opportunity to create something truly wonderful (and unprecedented) in SE ATL--a broad coalition of communities and parents united to bring quality education to all of our kids. But we need your help, your involvement, your talents, and your voice.