| DeKalb International Center |
| The International Center was established in 1985 to meet the needs of DeKalb's international student population. Since then, it has been housed in several buildings as the international student population has grown. Today, the International Center is located on the Warren Technical School campus at 3075 Alton Road, Atlanta 30341. Dr. Joanne Lottie heads a staff of 17 who work to help these children adjust to the language (English) and to the ways of a school system in the southern United States. Students are defined as International if they were born abroad, that is, outside the United States, or if they do not have a good command of the English language. |
| Students from 4th through 12th grades are sent to the International Center upon their arrival in the DeKalb School System. Each child is given a battery of tests to determine his or her command of English and other academic subjects. Depending on the results of those tests, they are placed in orientation and English language classes for three to six weeks at the Center. |
| At any given time, there are approximately 150-175 children in the Center, and during a typical school year some 2,500 students are served. There are four classrooms at the Center, and students are at the Center from 8:30 am until 1:00 p.m., when they return to their home schools. |
| The students are placed into one of three categories, depending on the results of the battery of tests. |
- Those students who enter with little or no formal schooling are sent to the Laboratory School Program at either Clarkston or Cross Keys High Schools.
- Those who test above the 25th percentile in their grasp of English go straight into the English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program at their home school.
- Students who test below the 25th percentile remain at the International Center.
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