| Dear Drew Community, This afternoon, Drew’s Senior Academy held a virtual Rising 9th Grade Parent meeting on our Zoom platform. Unfortunately, during this meeting there were several racial outbursts, including use of the “N” word, from unidentified participants, which disrupted the meeting and required us to abruptly end it. Drew is working with our technology team to determine the identities of the perpetrators in the meeting. We are sharing this information with you as it impacts our entire Drew community. Drew administrators and staff are totally devastated by what occurred during this meeting. This is the third time in two weeks that I have had to write to you about racism and its impact on our immediate community and the larger world. As I have said before, Drew Charter School will not tolerate racism of any kind, and we will continue to weed it out as it presents itself. As infuriating and disheartening as this is, nothing will shake our unwavering commitment to and affirmation of Drew’s black students, staff, and families. Sincerely, Peter McKnight Drew Head of School |
Category: Uncategorized
To the Drew Community:
STAND WITH US, KNEEL WITH US – Friday, June 5th, at 5:30PM
A Message from the Senior Academy
June 3, 2020
Good evening Drew Community,
It has come to my attention that a Senior Academy student posted an offensive, inappropriate and discriminatory post on social media. First, I want to say that I am deeply saddened and disappointed. I appreciate every student and parent that has brought awareness to this issue and as such, we have already begun the follow-up with the family. I want to reassure this community that we have high expectations for our parents, staff, and our students. There should be a clear understanding that this is not a community that will stand by and condone discrimination, racism, systematic oppression, and/or institutional racism. It is our responsibility to hold every member of our community accountable and respond immediately and appropriately.
I express this in all transparency but want to be clear that due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) the school cannot share with anyone the details, specifics, consequences of an incident with anyone other than the offending party in any situation.
While some of these incidents may be met with restorative practices, education, and corrective requirements or policies, it is important to understand that certain actions will not be tolerated. Drew administrators and staff will take all appropriate steps to eradicate actions that threaten the safety and security of the people in our community.
Please reach out to me with any concerns or further questions.
K. Myers
A message from the Senior Academy
April 14th, 2020
Enjoy our most recent Senior Video featured below.
Senior parents you should also have received an email and remind from Senior Academy admin team. If you do not, please feel free to reach out to me, Dr. Allen, or Mrs. Weaver.
Have a wonderful rest of your day and enjoy!
K. Myers
Week of April 06th, 2020
Spring Break: April 6-12
E-Learning will resume on April 13th,2020
Shoutout to Senior Academy students for all of the comments, posts, smiles, and stories they shared on social media last week! Thank you for the amazing memories; I am very thankful for our time together virtually, it was a week full of fun.
As we go into Spring Break, I encourage everyone to use this time to rest and relax. Please use this time to indulge in your favorite hobby or to simply rest, and put your computer to the side!
You deserve this time – enjoy it. Have a great break!
- K.Myers
Breaking News Update: School Closed for Remainder of School Year
Dear Drew Parents/Guardians:
Governor Brian Kemp announced today that all K-12 schools in Georgia will remain closed for in-person instruction for the remainder of this school year. In keeping with this order, Drew Charter School will remain closed for the remainder of this school year and will continue implementing e-learning Days for the duration of the closure.
As this closure was just announced, we will work on the specific impact of this decision as it relates to considering alternatives to celebrate our Drew 2020 graduates and to address the loss of comprehensive instructional learning time for the school year. Once we have had the opportunity to consider all aspects of this closure extension, we will follow up with families and staff to communicate more details.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through these developments. In the meantime, please do all you can to take care of yourself, your family and your loved ones. We will be back in touch soon.
Peter McKnight
Head of School
Breaking Update: Message from Head of School [HoS]
School Closed Until April 24th
Drew Parents and Guardians:
As you may have seen in the local news, earlier today Governor Brian Kemp announced the continued closure of schools in Georgia until at least April 24th in the ongoing battle against the coronavirus. In keeping with the Governor’s order, Drew Charter School will remain closed until at least Friday, April 24th, until further notice.
During this closure, Drew will continue to implement e-learning Days. Drew will observe Spring Break during the week of April 6th – April 10th as originally scheduled. Drew will not hold e-learning Days during the week of Spring Break.
For information updates and resources available to your family during this crisis, please visit Drew’s Coronavirus webpage on Drew’s website.
We continue to keep the safety and well-being of you and your family in our thoughts as we collectively work our way through this monumental crisis.
Peter McKnight
Drew Head of School
IMPORTANT DREW CLOSURE and E-LEARNING DAYS UPDATES – PLEASE READ
March 13, 2020
Dear Drew Parents/Guardians:
As we continue making preparations for the changing conditions that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) is presenting for our students, staff and families, we wanted to follow up on our earlier communication. Yesterday, we communicated that Drew Charter School will be officially closed starting Monday, March 16th, for at least two weeks and potentially beyond Spring Break. With the intent of being thoughtful and understanding about many of the challenges that our community may be facing, we are sharing a few important updates with you as it relates to our school closure and transitioning to our E-learning environment. We encourage you to carefully review the below information:
UPDATED E-LEARNING DAYS INFORMATION
Today, we had a successful dry-run of our E-Learning process. We have updated our E-learning Guidelines to include more details and helpful tips. Please click here to review the Updated E-learning Information Guide. If your child is not familiar with logging into Google Classroom, be sure to review login instructions at the end of the E-learning guide.
Free Internet Access
If your family is in need of internet access, please note that Comcast is now offering free internet access for up to 60 days. Please see details at the website below:
SCHOOL CLOSURE UPDATES
Athletic Teams/Events
Effective today, March 13th, 2020, all middle and high school athletic activities are canceled. Team coaches have communicated these closures to their respective teams.
Additionally, all school events are canceled for the duration of the time school is closed.
Re-enrollment for 2020-2021
The on-site portion of re-enrollment for the 2020 – 2021 school year, which was scheduled to begin next week, has been postponed. Please note that the online re-enrollment form, which was the first step of the re-enrollment process, is available now and should be completed by March 27. Thank you to everyone who has already completed this! If you have yet to do so, please look for an email with the subject line “Drew Online Re-enrollment Form”, which was initially sent on Monday, March 9 (you may need to check your spam folder). If you did not receive this, let us know by emailing enrollment@drewcharterschool.org with the name of your student, and we will make sure you receive it.
Once we have finalized the next steps for the on-site, in-person portion of re-enrollment, we will update all communication channels. Additional information is always available on the re-enrollment section of our website.
Food & Nutrition – Free meals for children during Coronavirus School Closures
Beginning Monday, March 16, 2020, all APS students can daily receive free bagged meals at 5 school sites that will be open for food distribution Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- Douglass High School
- Cleveland Ave Elementary School
- Bunche Middle School
- Sylvan Middle School
- Phoenix Academy (Crim High School)
Beginning Monday, March 16, 2020, APS partner, GOODR, will provide ready to eat meals at the following local community sites:
Hosea Williams Feed The Hungry (4779 Mindy St. Atlanta, GA. 30366 * 404-755-3353) Food Pantry – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10 a.m. – Noon. Bring ID and Social Security Card
Loaves and Fishes @ St.John the Wonderworker Parish (543 Cherokee Ave., SE Atlanta, GA. 30312 * 678-373-9433) Serves food Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Beginning Monday, March 23, 2020, all APS families can report to one of the 5 open APS school sites Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. to receive a bag of shelf stable grocery items from the Atlanta Community Food Bank.
Supporting Drew Families in Need
The Drew community is prepared to come together during this challenging time to support one another. Drew’s social worker, Mr. Rashid, and counselors will be connecting with those families who are experiencing hardship during the extended leave, and funding from the Drew Opportunity Fund will be used to help meet immediate needs such as food, medicine, hygiene products, etc. If you would like to support these efforts, please consider making a gift to the Drew Opportunity Fund. A portion of existing Drew Opportunity Fund money will be used for this purpose; additionally, beginning March 13, 2020, all funds raised will go toward assisting families who need it most during this time of uncertainty.
To make a donation to the Drew Opportunity Fund, click here or visit https://www.drewcharterschool.org/support-drew.
If you or another Drew family is experiencing hardship due to the unforeseen closure, please contact your grade level counselors or Akil Rashid, Drew’s social worker. His email address is akil.rashid@drewcharterschool.org and his phone number is 731-236-0258.
Drew Communications
Academy principals will continue to send weekly academy newsletters/blogs. Please anticipate receiving additional communication updates as needed.
Questions
We realize that transitioning from a physical school building to E-Learning Days will be a learning process for us all as students, parents and staff. With change we understand that there is often a need to ask questions and gain clarity. With that in mind, please feel free to contact the following should you have questions:
For questions related to classes, content, assignments and instruction, email your child’s teacher. Email addresses for all teachers are listed in the Faculty and Staff Directory on our website or by clicking here.
For questions or concerns about the social, emotional or well-being of your child, yourself, or your family, please contact your child’s counselor and/or our school social worker, as they are available to offer support. Their email addresses are below:
| Title | Name | |
| School Social Worker | Akil Rashid | Akil.Rashid@drewcharterschool.org |
| Elementary Academy Counselor (PK-2) | Kimberly Miller | Kimberly.Miller@drewcharterschool.org |
| Elementary Academy Counselor (3-5) | Terina Isaac | Terina.Isaac@drewcharterschool.org |
| Junior Academy Counselor | Sherri Hudson | Sherri.Hudson@drewcharterschool.org |
| Dean, College and Career Readiness | Rachel Weaver | Rachel.KaneyWeaver@drewcharterschool.org |
| High School Readiness Counselor | Stephanie Cook | Stephanie.Cook@drewcharterschool.org |
| High School Counselor (10 & 12) | Rob Richardson | Rob.Richardson@drewcharterschool.org |
| High School Counselor (9 & 11) | Tara Davis | Tara.Davis@drewcharterschool.org |
| College Counselor | Emily Hermon | Emily.Herman@drewcharterschool.org |
| College Counselor | Ashley Young | Ashley.Young@drewcharterschool.org |
| Persistence Counselor/Early College | Miriam Denard | Miriam.Denard@drewcharterschool.org |
| College Advisor/Scholarship Coordinator | Julianna Jaeger | Julianna.Jaeger@drewcharterschool.org |
| Academic Support Coordinator | Charles Copp | Charles.Copp@drewcharterschool.org |
For all other questions, or if you are not sure who to ask, please email your academy dean or principal at the below email addresses:
| EA | Principal | Monishae O’Neill | Monishae.ONeill@drewcharterschool.org |
| EA | Dean of Students (PK-2) | Joi Thrash | Joi.Thrash@drewcharterschool.org |
| EA | Dean of Students (3-5) | Bethany Paquette | Bethany.Paquette@drewcharterschool.org |
| JA | Principal | Gregory Leaphart | Gregory.Leaphart@drewcharterschool.org |
| JA | Dean of Students | Terrilyn Ali-Ferguson | Terrilyn.Ali@drewcharterschool.org |
| SA | Principal | Kendrick Myers | Kendrick.Myers@drewcharterschool.org |
| SA | Dean of Students | Tameka Allen | Tameka.Allen@drewcharterschool.org |
We thank you for your continuous patience as we navigate this new territory together to ensure that our students remain academically engaged in the learning process. Be safe, and know that we will be in touch with updates as needed.
Sincerely,
Peter McKnight
Drew Head of School
Breaking Update from Drew Charter School
Following the recommendation from Governor Brian Kemp, Atlanta Public Schools just announced that APS schools will closed starting on Monday, March 16th, for an extended leave. The leave is anticipated to last for at least two weeks and potentially extend beyond Spring Break. In keeping with APS’s decision, Drew Charter School will also close beginning Monday, March 16th. Drew Charter School will be open tomorrow, March 13th, for full instruction. A dry-run of Drew’s E-learning process with staff and students was already scheduled for tomorrow. We will continue with that plan tomorrow as we prepare to implement full scale E-Learning Days starting next Monday. Please anticipate an E-Learning update tomorrow. In the meantime, we encourage you to review the E-learning Days guidelines, which have been previously shared with you. Please click here to view the guidelines.
As a reminder, on tomorrow, Drew will implement all of the precautions in the Coronavirus Update sent earlier this afternoon.
Thank you for your continued understanding and support as this situation continues to evolve.
Peter McKnight
Drew Head of School
