DeKalb school to be named for Pres. Obama

DECATUR — A new elementary school in DeKalb County will be named in honor of President Barack Obama.

The Barack Obama Elementary Magnet School of Technology will be temporarily located in Old Terry Mill Elementary School on Fayetteville Road.

The permanent location is scheduled to open in January at the former Clifton Elementary School site in Decatur.

More than 700 students will start the school year in August at Barack Obama Elementary School. The new campus will hold up to 900 students.  %

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The kindergarten through fifth-grade children will be in a magnet dual-language immersion program. 

Total costs for the new school will be $23 million.

"President Obama embodies the values of a strong family, hard work, and education as the means of getting ahead," Superintendent Dr. R. Stephen Green told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.  "These values are reflected in the DeKalb County School District and are the keys to college and career readiness."

"President Obama's public career and his family commitment offer inspiration to our students and staff," Dr. Melvin Johnson, chair of the DeKalb County Board of Education told the AJC.  "The name on this school will remind us every day of the importance of these attributes in being good citizens."

DeKalb school board members said the students, teachers and community weighed in on the school name, mascot, an eagle, and colors-- red, white and blue.

The school will be the first in the state named after Pres. Obama.

Cox Media Group