Patch Poll: Do You Want Separate Ninth Grade Academy in Buckhead?

The Atlanta Public Schools, to handle a projected enrollment of approximately 2,400 students over the next few years, seeks to create a separate ninth grade academy.

The ninth grade academy would be placed at the present site of , demographer .

Cropper told surprised parents that the site of a new North Atlanta High, in the preliminary stages of construction, is only able to accommodate a maximum of around 1,800 students.

Although parents wondered why the Northside Parkway site of the new high school doesn't have enough land to handle the higher numbers of students, Cropper said its geographical features make it unsuitable for this. Also, the increased amount of traffic would raise concerns in the surrounding neighbhorhoods.

To alleviate overcrowding at Sutton, which has nearly 500 sixth graders this year and more than 30 temporary buildings, earlier plans had called for a separate sixth grade academy at Sutton. The new plan for the ninth grade at Sutton would keep the sixth, seventh and eighth grades together in a new middle school at the present site of North Atlanta.

Buckhead Patch in this poll seeks your response to the plan. Please give any comments you have in the comments box.