DeKalb charter school to open at old Kroger site on Memorial Drive

A new DeKalb County charter school plans to open its doors next year at the site of the former Kroger located at the intersection of North Hairston Road and Memorial Drive in Stone Mountain.

The Communit y Academy for Architecture and Design, a project-based design school, is expected to open its doors fall 2019, the school announced on its website. The school, also known as TCAAD, is initially enrolling kindergarten through third-grad- ers, but will eventually expand to include up through eighth grade. The charter school was approved in July along with three other charter schools in metro Atlanta.

The tuition-free school, created by Tariq and Tiffany Abdullah, hopes to expose students to architecture and design while equipping students with real-world, project-based skills, according to the school’s website.

The duo conceptualized the school after parents requested an architecture workshop series Tariq Abdullah created to integrate more math and reading skills. The workshop, which won an award from the American Architecture Foundation, also saw success in Michigan and gained popularity in DeKalb County libraries.

Though the school has an emphasis on design, students will receive “standards-based” reading, math, scienceand social studies skills, according to its founders.

TCAAD is hosting an information session for residents interested in the school at 7 p.m. on Oct. 25 at the Pizza Hut on 1130 South Hairston Road.