Avondale High Closing: Graduation Day

Students Jada Henderson and Imaan Watts will be one of several hundred seniors taking a walk down the aisle and graduating to new heights Thursday.

Both are honors students (Henderson is valedictorian) and plan to attend Hampton University in Virginia.

While the occassion will be a happy one, it will also be marked with sadness during graduation ceremonies at Ray of Hope Christian Church in Decatur.

The that will close as part of a cost saving measure.

The closings are part of an overall redistricting plan expected to save DeKalb County Schools more than $12 million.

"It’s sad because I’m not going to have anything to come back to," Watts said. "One day, when I go to tell my children about my school, it may not be here."

To mark the closure, seniors put items into a time capsule including football jerseys, pom poms, a yearbook, pieces of a marching band uniform, a basketball, and more.

Students also wrote down their fears and anxieties on balloons, then released them into the sky during field day at Avondale High last week.

"It's pretty positive," Watts said. "But I feel like it’s unfair that I won’t have something like everyone else, but it’s okay."

said Henderson: "It's sad, but its not the end of the world."