New Manchester To Reduce Student Populations, Mobile Classrooms

It may be graduation season, but the Aug. 4 start date for Douglas County schools' 2011-12 year is quickly approaching, and the school system is finishing the final stages of its fifth high school so it will be ready by that date.

“I’m very passionate about opening a new school and what it means to the students,” New Manchester High School Principal Connie Craft said. “We may not be ready until the doors open in August, but we will be ready by Aug. 1.”

New Manchester High, built on 73 acres off Boundary Waters Parkway, will be Douglas' first high school in the southeast corner of the county in what school system officials consider a high-growth area. The school, which cost slightly less than $51.3 million to build, is expected to reduce some of the overcrowding at Alexander, Chapel Hill, Douglas County and Lithia Springs high schools.

“The public needs to know we don’t build in anticipation of growth; we build after the need has already been established,” said Craft, who left Douglas County High as its principal after five years in February to lead New Manchester.

New Manchester's Impact

According to figures from Chief Operating Officer Dudley Spruill and High School Instruction Director Rob Brown, student enrollment at the current high schools is expected to drop, as will the need for mobile classrooms at two schools. In total, 60 of the county's current high school teachers are set to transfer to the new school.

:

• Enrollment on April 29: 1,765
• Projected enrollment drop for 2011-12: 126
• Current mobile classrooms: 39
• Mobile classrooms needed for 2011-12: 18
• Teachers transferring to New Manchester: 9

:

• Enrollment on April 29: 1,711
• Projected enrollment drop for 2011-12: 555 
• Current mobile classrooms: 28
• Mobile classrooms needed for 2011-12: 10
• Teachers transferring to New Manchester: 13

:

• Enrollment on April 29: 2,034
• Projected enrollment drop for 2011-12: 185
• Current mobile classrooms, which will all be needed for 2011-12: 22
• Teachers transferring to New Manchester: 22

:

• Enrollment on April 29: 1,695
• Projected enrollment drop for 2011-12: 179
• Current mobile classrooms, which will all be needed for 2011-12: 8
• Teachers transferring to New Manchester: 16

In addition, Craft said another four teachers are transferring from county middle schools, three are other county transfers, four are from outside Douglas, and one is from H.A.V.E.N. Academy. Roughly 150 district teachers applied for the positions, Craft added.

Superintendent Gordon Pritz said the new school will provide some "much-needed relief" regarding the use of portable classrooms.

The maximum relief provided by New Manchester "will not be immediate because one of the options we’ve given the students is to stay at their current school if they want," he said.

"But over time, we should see these portable classrooms greatly reduced," Pritz added. "There are close to 100 of them now at those schools, and that will be reduced down to probably less than 20, depending on whether we continue to grow.”

New Manchester's Enrollment

New Manchester's projected enrollment when it opens is set at 1,321 students— including 270 seniors—which is about 650 students short of its 1,975 enrollment capacity.

The lower-than-capacity enrollment and continued need for some portable classrooms partially stems from the Douglas County Board of Education allowing juniors and seniors to continue at their current high schools, even if they're zoned for New Manchester. Rising ninth graders who are siblings of those juniors and seniors can also stick to the school they were formerly zoned for.

However, students must provide their own transportation.

Douglas County Principal Tim Scott, who replaced Craft when she left for New Manchester, said it was "really generous" that the school system let current students stay at their “home” schools.

“You get to choose, and this was really good for our parents," said Scott, a former administrator at in Cobb County. "That’s one reason why our numbers are as high as they are because parents choose to keep their children here. A brother and a sister enrolled can (also) stay at the current schools.”

Messages left for the principals of Chapel Hill, Alexander and Lithia Springs were not returned.

With the bulk of New Manchester’s students coming from Chapel Hill, Lithia Springs and Douglas County and a handful from Alexander, Craft said she hopes students will feel connected to each other quickly.

“We want to blend the students coming from the three primary contributors to this school into a united group of New Manchester Jaguars,” said Craft, a 30-year educator with 12 years of experience in Douglas County. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for students. It’s a state-of-the-art facility. We’ve got incredible athletic opportunities. Our goal is to become a performing arts magnet (school).”

21st Century Classrooms

Craft said each of the school’s slightly more than 100 classrooms will offer 21st century technology—Promethean boards, LCD projectors, teachers using laptops and students having access to laptop labs. She also said the entire campus will have WiFi connection.

The school will offer four classes next year with the Georgia Department of Education’s Virtual School, called "Blended Learning" classes.

“We’re going to have ‘bring your own technology’ for students,” Craft said. “We want to harness their enthusiasm and natural ability to use technology."

The school’s cafeteria will have a capacity of serving 700 students at once but likely will serve only 500. The cafeteria, along with the majority of the entire building, will have a scarlet-and-gray color scheme to reflect the school's colors.

Adjacent to the cafeteria is a covered courtyard where students can eat. Also, sports or club teams can practice there during inclement weather.

Craft said New Manchester has already attracted top fine arts students. The entire theater complex, with baffles hanging from ceiling tiles in the chorus and band rooms, boasts “wonderful acoustics." The auditorium will seat 780 people and includes an orchestra pit.

The school’s gym includes an elevated walking track, weight room and an auxiliary gym with a rubberized floor. The size of the auxiliary gym will allow for games to be played simultaneously, Craft said.

The main gym will feature a Jumbotron scoreboard aloft at the center of the court. Outside, the school will have a football field, track, tennis courts, and softball and baseball fields.

New Manchester’s athletic program is set to be in Region 6-AAA. The mascot, a jaguar, is consistent with the cat mascots of the county's other four high schools.

Scott said he is thoroughly impressed by New Manchester High.

“It’s a beautiful campus,” he said. “I’m new to the school system and our Board of Education, and central office people really take care of us because they really built a first-class facility.”

You can see a video tour of New Manchester by clicking here.