Bruce Roaden, former Decatur 4/5 Academy, Renfroe Middle principal, passes away

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This story has been updated.
Bruce Roaden, a top-level City Schools of Decatur employee, passed away this week.
Roaden worked in CSD’s central office as the Executive Director of Student Support. He was the secondary education director before that, but he will perhaps be best remembered in Decatur for his time as principal in two of the city’s schools. He was principal of Decatur’s 4/5 Academy at Fifth Avenue. He left that job in 2015 after serving as principal for four years.
Previously, he had served as principal at Renfroe Middle School. Parents who remember his time there said he convinced them to send their kids to Decatur’s public middle school instead of sending their kids to a private school. He started at Renfore, and with CSD, in 2006, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Superintendent David Dude confirmed the news as did Roaden’s church, Saint Mark United Methodist. A representative for the church said the cause of death is unknown, but it appears Roaden passed away in his sleep.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information becomes available.