The Riverside Forum

We are thinking about Bolton Academy for first grade next year? any thoughts? anyone have a child there now? I have heard good things about it and that it is changing and am taking a tour this week but thought I would hear what the neighborhood has to say. anyone know about the PTA? thanks! jen

http://srt4.atlantapublicschools.us/175 ... odeID=1360

We are a few years off from having to send Georgia to school but we are already receiving the emails from Bolton and getting information. Click the link above for PTA information and to subscribe to their emails. They are very active and we get at least one to two emails a week regarding events going on at BA. We too need to get more information about this school and have been putting it off. Please keep everyone posted as to your experience over the next couple of months getting your child ready.

Thanks.

FJ

We just enrolled our daughter in kindergarten for next year ... we have only heard good things about the school. You can contact the PTA at:

boltonacademypta@gmail.com

Our daughter is just finishing up 1st grade at Bolton. We started sending her there for kindergarten. We have been nothing but pleased with the quality of the education, facilities, faculty, families and students. It is a diverse student body which is great for our kids to know and be friends with kids of different socio-economic backgrounds and kids that speak different languages and are of different cultures.

We started from the ground up as my husband was the PTA Co-President last year, we were very invloved and still are. The PTA is great and is a great resource for getting involved with the faculty and students and learning more about the school. All the parents in the PTA are very involved and highly motivated, it's great to see so much enthusiasm and energy.

Like all the APS schools they have the Accelerated Reader and Challenge programs which our daughter is in both. As with all student acheivement and scholastic excellence it begins at home so as long as you are engaged with your child's academics he or she will do very well on the standardized tests,AR, challenge programs and in class. I have read concerns about the Bolton test scores compared to say Brandon. Unfortunately as you know the lower economic status usually means lower test scores so hence the lower scores for Bolton. How we can help as parents is volunteer with the kids that are struggling to help make Bolton better all around for all the kids.

A plus to a lower income school is that we get more federal and state funding. If you look at the money the PTA has to raise at Jackson or Brandon just to pay for a school nurse or IB Coordinator it is astounding. They have to raise 100's of thousands of dollars. At Bolton our IB Coordinator is paid through other funding as well as the nurse. Just little pluses of our school.

As with any public school there are pluses and minuses but so far we are very happy and plan to have both of our kids complete elementary school there. Now what we really need is to get the neigborhood cleaned up, that is more of an issue to me, the school is great.

If you have any direct questions please feel free to PM me or email the PTA.

With regards to Spanish speaking children (i am assuming this is the "different languages"):

1. What is the percentage? Ballpark figure.

2. Does this affect the pace of learning in the classroom? I would assume the classes are all in English but don't know for sure. Our outside perspective is that the classes would be slowed down to accommodate for the kids who are not speaking English in their homes and outside the school. Is this a valid concern or is this where the Accelerated and Challenge Programs come in and the point is void?

We have about two years to figure this out and want to be well informed. Sorry if these questions seem narrow-minded or rude, we are just starting to educate ourselves about Bolton and really want to try and send Georgia there.

Thanks,

FJ

I am a parent of a pre-k student at Bolton who has been re-enrolled for Kindergarten there next year. The percentage of ESOL students is about 27%.

Based on my observation, the ESOL students do not slow down the learning pace for the English language learners. The fact is that the curriculum is guided by APS and is the same for all schools in the system. For most successful schools, the pace of learning is really up the parent and how much you choose to be involved with your child's education.

If you are interested, you should take a tour of the school to see what it's all about. There is definitely a disproportionate amount of lower income families for the school compared to Brandon or Jackson. However, this provides an opportunity for volunteer service at the school. This past year, I have volunteered with some of the ESOL students and their pace of learning is ridiculously fast. On the kindergarten level, there are students who came in with very little knowledge of the English language and are now reading and writing in English. They are so eager to learn, it's amazing.

What I really like is that the diversity at the school provides an opportunity for our kids get to know other cultures and reflects what they would expect in the real world. This is not unlike the idea behind the IB curriculum that is embraced by the schools in the Northside cluster. Again, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to send an email to the PTA at boltonacademy@gmail.com. I would also be happy to answer any additional questions.

Thanks,
Gail

www.schooldigger.com
is an excellent site for checking out schools in the area.

Contact me if I can provide more info.
mark.schreiner@coldwellbankeratlanta.com
404.285.4434

Both my husband and I took a tour (an hour and a half) and were amazed at the school. We went to every classroom, met teachers, saw lesson plans, etc, and heard all about the Gifted and Reading programs and what options are available for each student. I got the chance to meet the current PTA president, VP and secretary and we had some good discussions on the day-to-day activities there kids are doing in the school and how they are faring. I have no problems with sending my daughter there now. This school only suffers from bad press. when we moved to this area 9 yrs ago we didn't think we would still be here as we would move to the burbs when we had kids. Life, jobs and the economy has kept us here and we didn't think of Bolton Academy as an option b/c all we had heard years ago was that it was not very good. Times have changed as have our neighborhoods. We had our daughter in private for Kindergarten and wish we would have checked out Bolton for kindergarten.

The school is very open and creative and there are many options for children who may progress more quickly in certain subjects. I do not think the ESOL is an issue (other than test scores) but does not hold the classes back. I have toured many schools in East Cobb as well as private schools in our area and Bolton is fabulous and rivals any of those schools.

I'm exicted to learn more and to become involved when the school year starts in Aug. The PTA sounds very involved as do all the teachers. I got a very homey and safe feeling upon walking into the school and the size of the school (about 400 or so) is a great number. looking forward to the 2010-2011 school year at Bolton Academy.

thanks for all those other posts - glad we all agree that this school has changed!

Jdwood stated that there is about 27% hispanic children in the school that is probably accurate, the balance in the actual classroom may be different. There are currently two Kindergarten teachers that are fluent in Spanish & English. Ms. Curry has all the ESOL kids in her class that are new to this country or that really have not been introduced to much English. She teaches in English but also will explain things to kids in Spanish. Ms. Veiga-Herring is also fluent so she has another majority of spanish speaking kids in her class.

Stella had Ms. Veiga-Herring, who we *loved*. I volunteered quite a bit in the classroom and got to see firsthand the levels that each of the kids were on. Ms. M-V would break the kids up into groups with the stronger kids with the less strong kids and she tailored lessons to the kids levels. Kids that identified the alphabet, could write and read received different projects in class and homework than the kids that couldn't. She also would give intructions in English and when some of the kids were confused she'd repeat in Spanish. Stella is biligual so we loved it. The classroom and teaching were very well executed. Also if your child is in the challenge program they are pulled out of class twice a week to attend the challege class so they learn more advanced things. In first grade the ESOL kids are fluent by now, unless they are new, so they are mixed in all the classrooms. Accerated Reader program or AR is also based on parent involvement, you need to encourage your child to read. Stella has been in challenge and AR since Kindergarten and has done quite well. She loves AR because they have two parties a year for the AR kids.

I have to say my biggest issue before we started was not the actual school and faculty but the other kids. My concern was if the parents are not involved with their child's education are these students going to bring down my kid. I was also concerned about behavior problems rubbing off on Stella. We have had no issues with either of these things. In fact Stella learned the word hate and how to use her fingers as guns at our private pre-school in Buckhead she hasn't really up any negative behavior from Bolton kids.

If you have the time it's great to take a tour or attend a PTA meeting in the Fall so you can get a feel for what's going on. You can become a member of the PTA without having a child in the school. You can also volunteer doing anything at the school, they would be thrilled. Another thing is to talk to the principal to look into becoming a mentor. My husband and a collegue were mentors to two boys last year. Xavier is now at Sutton and doing well, we see him about once a week.


Be the change you wish to see in the world...- Gandhi

It takes a village to raise a child - African proverb

Thank you for all these wonderful and very informative posts about Bolton. I have a son who is 2 and and have pretty much been thinking about where he is going to go to elementary school since he was born!, so it is nice to hear that there are great things happening there and that you have had good experiences. I also think that people should keep in mind that test scores are only 1 piece of a school's success and can at times be very misleading. There are so many other indicators of success (especially parent involvement...to me that is SO important, and I hope it only increases at Bolton as the years go by...sounds like we are on the right track).

Yes, thanks everyone for educating me and my wife. She has learned a ton just from these several posts.

FJ

Bolton is the best kept secret in Atlanta... it's a school filled with dedicated teachers who care and want to move forward, A principle who is firm, determined, and driven, and classrooms that are not fighting overcrowding on any level. I was hesitant in the beginning, but now have 2 daughters there and would not pull them out in favor of Smith, Brandon, Jackson or any of the other APS elementary schools that are trendy with parents. My girls are thriving there, and I can only hope that the school doesn't grow too fast, as the success will most assuredly continue.

Other parents of Bolton might agree with this sentiment, but I am legitimately sad for parents who bypass the school in favor of private, or those schools mentioned earlier. I only feel that they are missing a great opportunity for their child based on false assumptions. I was close to being in that group. Needless to say, I am extremely happy with the decision to investigate, then go with my instinct rather than test scores, and word on the street.

anyone know when registration is for Bolton Academy? we have been out of town most of the summer and I haven't been able to get any response from the School or PTA reps. Anyone have any info or dates for registration? hope I haven't missed it. will check the Bolton website again.

thanks
jen

I'll see if i can find out. Our daughter will be in 1st grade there this coming year. We had a great Kindergarten experience!

Bolton will host a second round of registration on Monday, July 26th
thru Friday, July 30th from 8a.m. - 12p.m. each day.

Parents of kindergarten students are asked to bring the following:

1. Original social security card for the kindergarten student
2. Certificate of Immunization for Georgia (Must be current form #3231)
3. Certificate of Eye, Ear and Dental (Must be current form #3300)
4. Proof of residency - EX: Georgia Power Bill
5. Parent or Guardian - Driver's License or court papers for
guardianship
6. Original Certified Birth Certificate for kindergarten student
7. Withdrawal papers from previous school (if applicable)