A new school year at North Atlanta means many things. The gamut runs from waking up at six in the in the morning so you won’t miss your bus or walking up and down 11 stories to get to your next class.  And then with any school year there’s also the challenge of making your way through the masses of all the new students.

The 2017-18 school year has seen North Atlanta’s school population grow to the eye-popping level of 1,900. Of course freshmen always qualify as new students. But what about those who have transferred in from other school districts or even private schools? How are they acclimating to life in the largest high school within Atlanta Public Schools?  

Freshman Hannah Dendy comes from a completely different environment, specifically she transferred in from Woodward Academy. After her experience in private school, her take on North Atlanta is that the teachers here are more lenient where school rules are concerned. “The teachers here are really cool,” she said. “At Woodward you can get a detention for everything,” she said.

For many, a senior year in high school is a pressure-filled all-important passage of time. So there are real challenges associated with transferring during that year. This is the reality for senior Axel Cortez who transferred to North Atlanta from a high school in Dekalb County. He said so far that he’s found his new Warrior peers to be accommodating. “The kids here are really nice. I found it rather easy to make friends,” he said.

Junior Claude O’Meara is among the students who have transferred in from other schools. He came to North Atlanta from Holy Spirit Preparatory and he said he’s enjoyed the transition from a much smaller to a bigger school. He also said he’s enjoyed ditching the dress code that he had to follow when he was a Holy Spirit Cougar. Before he enrolled at North Atlanta, he had to wear black shoes, gray slacks, black belts, button down shirts with blazers and ties. “It was a bit of a culture shock when I came here but there are way more academic and social opportunities for me here. I’m really glad I made the change,” he said.  

North Atlanta continues to grow in both diversity and in numbers, staying true to its mission statement. While the new environment may be an adjustment for some, the students of North Atlanta embraces the new with open arms.