What made you want to go to SWD? If you had a choice back then, what made you choose SWD? I was fortunate to live in the area SWD served, but a number of people I knew back then attended SWD because of the football program, track program, and or the band. As football players, we always wondered how good our team would be if we didnt have to share talent with neighboring schools like Columbia, Redan, Towers, and even Lithonia. Then we started losing even more talent with the M-to-M (Majority to Minority) program to schools like Lakeside, Henderson, Dunwoody, and Tucker. These schools continued to draw students from SWD throughout the years. But consider the impact Stephenson, MLK, AND Arabia Mountain has had on SWD. Student enrollment at Southwest DeKalb HS has steadily declined over the last 6 or 7 years. The number of full-time students we have determines the number of teachers, counselors, and administrators we can have to support our students. The situation at SWD is a critical one because we have already lost teachers and will lose more teachers, a counselor, and an assistant principal if this proverbial bleeding does not stop. The demographic of our surrounding community has changed. Football players are no longer dreaming of playing for SWD like they used to. Potential band members are taking their talents elsewhere. Also, we are seeing a number of magnet and gifted level students enrolling in Arabia Mountain instead of SWD. We no longer have the draw we once had and we, the alumni, must do something about it. If Panther Pride is to return to 2863 Kelly Chapel Road, we have to do our part in making this happen. We have 3900+ members in this group and many more outside of it. There is strength in numbers but only if those numbers are actively participating and working TOGETHER. The SWD Alumni Association is only as good as the SWD Alumni who participate in and contribute to the cause. This is what we need: 1. We need your membership dues and your donations. They are tax deductible and go towards scholarships for deserving graduating seniors. Our goal is to give ten $500 scholarships at the end of this school year. That is the equivalent of 200 paid SWDAA memberships. I pray we can get at least 200 members of this group to join the SWDAA. 2. We need to know who you are, what you are doing, and what you have accomplished. We are compiling a list of notable Panthers to show the kind of talent SWD has produced and is capable of producing. We want to build our Panther network but also showcase its value to potential students and Panther parents. 3. We need volunteers who are willing to work and help us reach our goal of bringing back Panther Pride. Whether it is helping with our parent empowerment programs, student mentoring, campus beautification, or serving on the scholarship committee, we need your help. Please, get involved and make your presence felt in the SWD community. It is about time WE bring back the Panther Pride and stop waiting on somebody else to do it for us. #SWD4LIFE
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 22:28:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015