Celebrating
Community
Coming Up
Community
19 years
Grant Park welcomes all to Summer Shade Festival ....page 4
Local fans mourn death of comedian Robin Williams ....page 5
SERVING DEKALB, FULTON, GWINNETT, HENRY AND ROCKDALE COUNTIES
VOLUME 20 NUMBER 20
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Tyler Perry Studios to redevelop Fort McPherson ...page 7
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AUGUST 16, 2014
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DeKalb County School District considering shift to charter school system By Joshua Smith
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ill DeKalb County become a public charter school system? School officials are pondering the idea and want feedback from the public to approach state officials about making the idea a reality. The school district would Michael Thurmond become the largest charter school system in the state, if the district’s petition is approved by the Georgia Department of Education. “We want to get the public’s input on how we can make the petition for charter schools suitable for all parties involved—school staff members, parents, and of course, our students,” said DeKalb Schools Superintendent Michael Thurmond. “I think this concept is innovative and I know it will have tremendous potential for our students and their development.” District officials are seeking input from the community on the flexibility that the potential system would bring to improve academic learning in schools. After receiving public input, school officials must craft and complete the petition for state review by June 30, 2015. Former School Board member Jesse Cunningham says the flexibility can lead to innovations in teaching students and governing schools. “The new system would be a good thing. If DeKalb goes to the charter system, schools would have more latitude on rules governing them. Schools could have their own committees comprised of principals and who the principals elect to make
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decision for the schools in their cluster,” said Cunningham. “For example, if MLK High saw a need for Saturday school, they would go to their principal and get it approved. It wouldn’t have to be approved by the state (Department of Education).” In 2013, the DeKalb School Board rejected a group of parents and educators who were seeking approval and funding for a “charter cluster” for Druid Hills High School and six feeder schools in North DeKalb. The board rejected the idea, saying that the cluster would drain money and resources from the
district and could prevent some students who live in the community from attending based on criteria set up by cluster organizers. The DeKalb Schools District has set up five community engagement sessions, and anyone seeking to provide input is invited to attend, including parents, teachers and others in the community. In the past, the charter cluster concept has been See Charter, page 6
Gregory Levett expands funeral homes, leading way in technology at Conyers location
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By Joshua Smith
regory B. Levett & Sons Funeral Homes is expanding again. This time, the funeral business is bringing advancements in technology to its new location in Conyers. The company’s fifth location showcases several tech-savvy features such as four luxury family suites equipped with state-of-the-art flat screens that can allow the services to be viewed from other linked rooms at the facility, and new computer programing to log in all family information. Levett is especially happy about a new Droid and Apple phone application that posts families’ obituaries within four hours after payment. Levett says he is the only funeral home in Georgia with an App, an exclusive agreement he has for one year with the company that launched the App. “This is a new generation and we have to adapt. This is the future. With this application, you can pay $69, instead of running an obit in the media for $300 so it’s saving families money, too,” said Levett. “Everyone may not have a computer but pretty much everyone has some kind of smartphone. This app will make it easy for families
Photo by Glenn L. Morgan/OCG News
The Conyers-Rockdale Chamber of Commerce welcomed Gregory B. Levett & Sons to the community with a special called ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, Aug. 14, in Conyers.
to communicate and share important announcements across the country, easily.” The app also features installed GPS systems to navigate to the services. The 10,000-square-foot funeral home in Conyers, located at 1999 Highway 138, is the former location of Horis A. Ward funeral home, the world’s largest chain. Levett said also plans to offer live streaming of
services in the next few months at the new location. Family and friends who cannot travel to a funeral will be able to view the service on their phones, computer or laptop. Levett, who opened his first funeral home in DeKalb County’s Scottdale community in 1980, said opening a location in Conyers fulfills his father’s vision and allows him to “come back home.” Gregory Levett also has three
other funeral homes—one in South DeKalb, one in Lawrenceville and one in Buford. “This is where my roots are. My daddy, the late George Levett, had a dream to have multiple locations across the Metro. My father had two operating at one time,” said Levett, who says the company spent two months renovating the building in Conyers. “With this location I am confirming my personal mission to make my father’s dream a reality.” Levett says the company closed on the loan on May 30 and opened for their first day of business on Aug. 1. Born and raised in Rockdale County, Levett is no stranger to Conyers. His first business was a Radio Shack, located in Rockdale in 1976. He also opened Levett Bail Bonding in Rockdale in 2008. “We were already serving about 70 to 80 families in Rockdale who had to drive to our other locations for service. So the need was there. We plan to serve at least 200 to 250 families a year here,” said Levett. “In addition to that, my first client was from Rockdale. I’ll never forget that family. It was 34 years ago and my daddy told them to go use See Levett, page 7