Midvale Elementary a World School

Midvale Elementary School, 3836 Midvale Road, has been mentioned in past Tucker Patch articles as the possible recipient of displaced Livsey Elementary students. That’s not happening, but Midvale has earned its own mention as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School for the past three years.

Midvale Elementary, open since 1966, benefited from a major $3 million renovation last year that replaced the roof, heating/air conditioning, ceilings, lighting and security system. The 450 students and 41 nationalities learn in a clean and comfortable environment. 

Principal and former kindergarten teacher Susan Wilson is in her fifth year at Midvale and means it when she says, “We’re proud of what we do here.” That statement not only covers the school’s coveted IB designation.

For example, every classroom boasts a computer-projected interactive board – in effect, a large-scale iPad-like teaching device that leaves chalkboards in the dust. In addition, Midvale has an extensive special education program and Wilson said those children are accepted and respected well by other Midvale students.

The IB program teaches students to be active, respectful and lifelong learners. An IB diploma can mean having the pick of the nation’s finest universities; Harvard-bound Tucker High School quarterback Norman Hayes is an example. Midvale grades one to five are tested every six weeks so that high-achievers can be taught by select teachers.

Midvale students also benefit from the IB program through structured inquiry and each grade explores the world through themes. For example, Wilson said groups of Midvale fifth graders have put together exhibitions on natural disasters and what the victims need; the students will produce commercials about their disaster on the school’s closed-circuit televisions.

The IB program teaches compassion and serving the community. Midvale kids have collected shoes for Haiti, mosquito netting for Africa, laundry supplies and toiletry kits for the homeless and money for the Special Olympics, according to Wilson.

The Midvale PTA is highly active, having recently sponsored a school-wide field trip to the Georgia Aquarium and a silent auction, said Wilson. During this writer’s visit today, a scholastic book fair offering many books was being sponsored by the PTA and will continue through April 1.

Others in the community support Midvale, according to Wilson. The Atlanta Silverbacks soccer club plan to improve the school’s fields, the Georgia Federation of Women’s Clubs support an outdoor garden by kindergartners, and the Northlake Doubletree Hotel, Kroger and Wal-Mart are other helpful sponsors.

Midvale Elementary is one of only three DeKalb and 22 Georgia elementary schools that have earned the IB designation. However, as this writer found on his tour today, there is plenty else to make this neighborhood school a special place.