Decatur High School

What Decatur High School does

City Schools of Decatur (CSD) is a public charter school district operating in the City of Decatur, DeKalb County, Georgia. Founded in 1901 and converted to charter system status under the Georgia Charter Systems Act of 2007, the district serves approximately 5,300 students across 10 schools: four neighborhood elementary schools (K-2), two upper elementary schools (3-5), one middle school, one high school (Decatur High School), an Early Childhood Learning Center, and a Decatur Virtual Academy. The district's core product is comprehensive K-12 public education, augmented by specialized programs in Special Education, ESOL (serving 30+ home languages), Gifted and Talented, Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), school nutrition, and athletics and activities. Achievement outcomes are strong, with a 96.04% graduation rate in 2024 and a 94%+ graduation rate sustained for over a decade, consistent with top-ten rankings among Georgia districts.

The district's technology stack is built on standard K-12 educational platforms: Infinite Campus serves as the Student Information System with a Parent & Student Portal for grades, enrollment, and meal payments; ClassLink's CSD LaunchPad provides single sign-on access to district resources. Safety and security architecture is a notable investment area, including Centegix Visitor Management and Centegix CrisisAlert systems, Evolv Express and CEIA OpenGate weapons screening at secondary campuses, Bark for student Google Workspace threat monitoring, and the I Love U Guys Foundation's Standard Response Protocol (SRP) for crisis response. The district integrates Google Workspace as its core cloud productivity platform.

As a public entity, CSD's business model is funded through local property taxes (millage rates), state education funding (per-pupil allocations), and federal grants, with no tuition charged to City of Decatur residents. Two auxiliary revenue streams exist: courtesy tuition enrollment for out-of-district students and full nonresident paying tuition. Distribution is direct-to-consumer through district schools and the Virtual Academy, with marketing conducted via newsletters (Supe Scoop, CSD Weekly), social media (Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube), and the 'Words with Dr. Whitaker' podcast. The district is governed by an elected Board of Education, led since July 1, 2023 by Superintendent Dr. Gyimah Whitaker, and received the GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Award and ASBO Pathway to the MBA for fiscal 2025-2026.

Name

Decatur High School

Legal name

City Schools of Decatur

Website

https://csdecatur.net

Company type

Public

Founded year

1901

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

City Schools of Decatur is a public charter school district serving approximately 5,300 K-12 students across 10 schools in Decatur, Georgia. Funded primarily through local property taxes and state per-pupil allocations, it delivers comprehensive public education from early childhood through grade 12, including special education, ESOL, and virtual learning.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public K-12 Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Educational Services (61)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Elementary Schools (EDAJAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public K–12 Combined Schools (EDAJAAAE), Public School Districts (K–12) (EDADABAA), District Student Services Administration (Special Ed, Counseling, Health) (EDADABAJ)

Keywords

• Public K-12 education
• Charter school system
• Elementary secondary education
• Early childhood learning
• Special education services

Headquarters

HQ city

Decatur

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Education Funding: Revenue comes from local property taxes (millage rates), state education funding, and federal grants. As a public charter school system, the district receives per-pupil funding from the state and local tax revenue based on property values within the city.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Decatur High School is part of City Schools of Decatur, a public charter school district that delivers comprehensive K-12 education to approximately 5,300 students across 10 schools in the City of Decatur, Georgia. The district provides a full continuum of instructional, student support, and ancillary services including early childhood learning, special education, ESOL, gifted and talented programs, athletics, nutrition, and transportation. Decatur High School specifically serves grades 9-12 at 310 N. McDonough Street.

Product overview

City Schools of Decatur operates as a public charter school district providing comprehensive K-12 education services to approximately 5,300 students. The district offers a unified core educational product supplemented by specialized modules including an Early Childhood Learning Center, Decatur Virtual Academy for online learning, and robust Athletics & Activities programs. Technology platforms supporting operations include the Parent & Student Portal powered by Infinite Campus and CSD LaunchPad (ClassLink) for single sign-on access. Safety and security offerings include weapons screening systems (Evolv and OpenGate), Centegix visitor management, and Bark monitoring. Specialized student support modules cover Special Education, ESOL, Gifted and Talented, and Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). The district also provides ancillary services including school nutrition, transportation, and various community engagement programs. The district comprises 10 schools: four neighborhood elementary schools (K-2), two upper elementary schools (3-5), one middle school, one high school, an Early Childhood Learning Center, and one virtual academy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Decatur High School: The district's comprehensive high school serving students in grades 9-12, located at 310 N. McDonough Street, Decatur, GA 30030.
• Beacon Hill Middle School
• Decatur Virtual Academy

Products and services

• K-12 Public Education Services Comprehensive public education services for grades K-12 serving approximately 5,300 students in a four-square-mile area, with a graduation rate over 94% and a 96.04% rate in 2024. Delivered across 10 schools including elementary, upper elementary, middle school, and high school.
• Early Childhood Learning Center (College Heights ECLC) Early childhood education programs for children from birth through pre-K and kindergarten, operated by City Schools of Decatur as a standalone early childhood learning center.
• Decatur Virtual Academy Virtual/online education program providing remote learning options for K-12 students seeking alternative educational delivery within the City Schools of Decatur system.
• Athletics and Activities Program Comprehensive athletics, arts, and afterschool activities program for students across the district, including competitive sports teams, performing arts, and extracurricular clubs.
• Special Education Services Specialized instructional and support services for students with disabilities, including Specially Designed Instruction (SDI), Individualized Education Program (IEP) support, and participation in the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program.
• ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Language support services for English learners, serving a linguistically diverse student body speaking more than 30 languages across the district.
• Gifted and Talented Services
• School Nutrition Program School meal services including daily menus, special diet accommodations, carbohydrate counts, online meal payments, and free/reduced-price lunch application processing.
• Student Transportation Services District-wide student bus transportation services including bus registration, route information, address/route changes, and an Infofinderi-powered school zone and bus locator.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 94% graduation rate for the past decade
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered community partner and core partner.

• City of Decaturcommunity partnerOthersPartnership for community engagement including Safe Routes to School program supporting student transportation safety
• Communities in Schools of Atlantacommunity partnerOthersNonprofit partnership supporting student success, dropout prevention, and integrated student services
• Decatur Education Foundationcore partnerOthersEducation foundation providing funding, grants, and community support for district programs and initiatives
• Decatur Housing Authoritycommunity partnerOthersPartnership supporting housing access and educational opportunities for students from Decatur Housing Authority communities
• Wylde Center Decatur Farm to Schoolcommunity partnerOthersFarm to school program connecting students with local food systems, nutrition education, and garden-based learning experiences

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Atlanta Public Schools: Urban public school district serving Atlanta, the same metro area as City Schools of Decatur. Comparable as a Georgia public district with charter-like flexibilities and similar urban demographics.
• DeKalb County School District: Large Georgia public school district located in the same county as City Schools of Decatur. Comparable as a neighboring public district with overlapping student demographics and geographic proximity.
• Fulton County Schools: Large Georgia public school district in the Atlanta metro. Relevant because Dr. Whitaker previously served in Fulton senior leadership, and Fulton offers a benchmark for suburban Georgia public district operations and outcomes.
• Cobb County School District: Large Georgia public school district in metro Atlanta. Comparable as a high-performing suburban public district competing for similar families and benchmarking academic outcomes.
• Gwinnett County Public Schools: Largest school district in Georgia, suburban Atlanta. Comparable as a high-performing, large-scale Georgia public district representing the operational benchmark for scale and ESOL/ELL program depth.
• Savannah-Chatham County Public School System: Coastal Georgia urban/suburban public district. Comparable as a Georgia public district with charter-like flexibilities and a similarly diverse student population requiring ESOL services.

Regional players

• Boulder Valley School District: Colorado public school district of similar size to City Schools of Decatur. Comparable as a small-to-mid-sized, high-performing public district with progressive community engagement.
• Cambridge Public Schools: Small Massachusetts public school district. Comparable as a compact, high-performing urban/suburban public district with strong community support and a similar enrollment scale.
• Berkeley Unified School District: California public school district of similar scale. Comparable as a progressive, high-performing small public district with strong family engagement and diverse learner programs.
• Evanston-Skokie School District 65: Illinois public school district of similar size. Comparable as a small, high-performing, community-engaged public district operating under charter-like flexibilities within state mandates.

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gyimah_whitaker
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCcFPDBIhjY5ou5WvWqie5_g
• Facebookfacebook.com/csddhs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/csdecatur
• Instagraminstagram.com/cityschoolsofdecatur

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Decatur High School