Dougherty County parents concerned over potential closure of Alice Coachman Elementary School

ALBANY – Parents of students at Alice Coachman Elementary School flocked to the Dougherty County School Board meeting Thursday to get answers concerning rumors of the school’s closure. 

A proposal regarding Alice Coachman’s closure was brought up at the last school board meeting. Reasons for potential closure include declining enrollment. The school system would look to repurpose the building in the case of closure. Since 2019, the elementary school’s student population has dropped from 525 to 437, according to GDOE data. Students at the school would be split among Martin Luther King Elementary School and West Town Elementary School. 

However, DCSS Superintendent Kenneth Dyer made clear Thursday that no action had been taken in closing the school yet. A final decision would not be made until two required public hearings were held.

“The board has not called for a public hearing because they have not done all the due diligence to determine the best move to make,” Dyer said Thursday. “There’s consideration about delaying that process for a couple of years because we don’t want to pack the classrooms.”

Still, parents of Alice Coachman students are on edge. 

Portia Upshaw has two daughters who attend the school. They enrolled at Alice Coachman after the Morningside Elementary School was converted to a pre-kindergarten facility. She said she wasn’t aware of the public hearings that were held for the Morningside decision. Alice Coachman’s closure would uproot her daughters all over again.

“It’s a lot – it’s a big change of environment for these kids,” Upshaw said. 

She said she worries about the instability school closures cause and how it contributes to ongoing violence among young people if they don’t feel supported by their schools.

Upshaw said while her daughters have only attended Alice Coachman for about a year, they’d fallen in love with their teachers and school administrators. 

“It’s a very nice and very good school,” she said. “It feels like a school of excellence. They’re really striving and pushing for greatness for these kids.” 

Upshaw also pointed out the historical element of the school. It’s named in honor of Alice Coachman, an Albany native who was the first black woman from any country to win an Olympic gold medal. Since attending the school, Upshaw said one of her daughters started to aspire to become an Olympic athlete, too.

“Why would you want to get rid of a historical school?” Upshaw said. “It means a lot to these young girls who want to be strong black women or black leaders. You started something great, and now you’re taking it away from the kids? It’s not fair.”

Chan, a parent who asked that her full name not be used to protect her children’s privacy, has twin girls who attend Alice Coachman. One of them is enrolled in an exceptional student program at the school, which serves students with disabilities who require special education. Chan said she knew her daughter had autism before she turned 1 year old.

“I fought with doctors, everybody,” she said. “Never have I gotten the help that I’ve gotten with teachers at Alice Coachman in her life.”

Chan said her daughter has made strides in development since attending the school. She said she spent years trying different therapies and special programming and none had gotten through to her daughter until she began working with Alice Coachman teachers.

“She’s still nonverbal at 7 years old, but she’s trying to speak,” the mother said. “I am so scared that if they close that school, my child will revert and go back to the way she used to be. She’s a social butterfly now. They’re good at what they do.”

Chan skipped her training in an effort to become a family nurse practitioner to be at the school board meeting Thursday. She said she heard talk about the school’s potential closure through other community members.

“I’ve been sick to my stomach and in tears since I found out,” she said. “They feel like family. They care. They’re compassionate. Closing the doors is gonna hurt the kids – not just my kids.” 

Albany Ward VI Commissioner Diana Brown faced the board in support of Alice Coachman. She passed around a petition for parents at the meeting to sign. By the end of the meeting, it had accumulated more than 30 signatures. 

Brown, who has a grandchild at the school and lives in a neighborhood close by, said she worries about the impact another school closure will have, both for students but also for property values in the area. 

She said she worries forcing the students into different schools would place a heavier burden on already struggling teachers. Brown said she’s been in contact with “a lot of parents” who are concerned and feel out of the loop, unable to reach the school board members who represent their districts.

Brown said her mission is to ensure her constituents are made aware and kept up to date about the issue.