The Tucker Cluster Council was created in 2017 at the urging and under the direction of our former DeKalb County School District Board Member Jim McMahan. As an involved parent in the Lakeside cluster, Jim saw firsthand the value of a cluster-wide parent council and as a School Board Member he encouraged the clusters in his region to each form one. While Jim was the motivator, he knew he needed strong and dedicated parents to set up the council, so he approached Erin Kirn who then brought in Anne Thomas.
Erin and Anne spent some time attending other cluster council meetings to get an idea of how it might work for Tucker. Tucker’s needs were different from the driving force behind the other clusters and they wanted to make sure the council would be able to meet different and growing needs for the years to come.
Over the years the council has performed SWOT analysis to identify needs and participated in the District-wide comprehensive master plan, but like everything else in the world, COVID stalled any progress towards creation of by-laws and sub-committees but it did offer an opportunity to allow for flexibility in scheduling meetings and allowing for more informational output.
At every meeting, each of the schools share exciting projects and upcoming events. Representatives from the School District are invited to present on various projects and answer questions and the School Board members that represent the Tucker Cluster give board updates as well. The topics and ideas have changed since inception and as leadership of the Cluster Council has changed the goal and mission have remained the same: create a unified voice to efficiently and effectively communicate the needs of every school in the cluster to the District.
When Erin was ready to pass the torch to new leadership last year she called upon two Tucker powerhouse volunteers, Sabrina Chambers and Stephanie Wilson. With the schools still closed to the public, Sabrina and Stephanie continued TCC on Zoom with great success. The two were commended for providing an opportunity for the cluster principals to have an opportunity to meet as a small group to share and listen to ideas and projects.
The coming school year brings two new faces to lead the Tucker Cluster Council, Malaika Washington and Maria Damian, both parents of Dekalb County School students attending Smoke Rise, Tucker Highschool and GLOBE Academy. They have been busy learning the history, goals and mission of the Cluster Council and are eager to get the ball rolling this fall.
To learn more about the Tucker Cluster Council and receive notices about upcoming meetings please visit tuckerclustercouncil.org
