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Rockdale County schools earn mostly 3- and 4-star climate ratings; district schedules community forum on drug prevention
Summary
District officials presented Georgia's school climate star ratings (Rockdale schools received 3 or 4 stars) and announced a community forum with DEA and local health and safety officials on drug prevention for families this coming Monday.
Rockdale County Public Schools received and reviewed Georgia's school climate ratings and announced a community forum aimed at drug prevention and parent education.
Dr. Smith Dixon explained Georgia's school climate star-rating system and said the state tool is embedded in state law and resumed this year after a pause during the pandemic. She said the 2024 calculations use the same method as 2019 and that district schools received either three or four stars. The district mean score was reported as 88.8; elementary schools averaged 92.5 while middle and high schools were lower, reflecting different metrics by grade span.
The presenter described the climate rating as a diagnostic tool that includes responses from the school climate survey, discipline and attendance metrics (including staff attendance) and measures of safe, substance-free learning environments. She noted this year's climate data were the first implementation of a revised survey and that the Georgia Department of Education publishes a public dashboard for district and school comparisons.
Separately, the district announced a collaborative community forum at Rockdale Career Academy next Monday, designed to give parents and caregivers tools to identify drug use and hidden devices. The district flyer lists Wanda Wiggins from the Drug Enforcement Administration presenting "Hidden in Plain Sight," Decatur Prevention Initiative representative Terry Moore discussing community-level prevention strategies, and two Piedmont Rockdale physicians speaking on emergency and chronic symptoms associated with substance use. The district also said the sheriff and chief of police would attend to brief the community on prevention and enforcement efforts.
The district framed the forum as the beginning of an ongoing community conversation to provide prevention tools before students leave for summer break.
