Archive for 2014
My 100th blog post – Hooray for learning!
There are at least a hundred reasons to get excited about the great things happening in APS. What is the best way for me to celebrate my 100th blog posting? By celebrating our students of course! Take a look at a few awesome highlights from around the district. Two North Atlanta video broadcast students, Jada…
Read MoreMy day with the KiPPsters of KIPP Strive Primary
KIPP Strive Primary was my first stop during school visits this past Friday. I visited the adjacent middle school, KIPP Strive Academy recently to give out AFAEE awards, but this was my first time on the primary side of the building. From the moment you walk into their beautiful Beltline adjacent facility, you are greeted…
Read MorePsychology Awareness Week
By now, you know that I truly believe that the social and emotional learning of students is equally as important as their academic success. This week we celebrate School Psychology Awareness Week in our district and we are featuring conversations with several school psychologists on our Talk Up APS blog. The article features several of…
Read MoreMy Visit with the Beecher Bees
I spent time Friday at Beecher Hills Elementary School, an IB Primary Years Programme neighborhood school with 360 students in grades PK-5 that feeds into J.C. Young Middle School and Mays High School. The school has a great sense of community. It sits on the Atlanta Beltline and the staff likes to walk on the…
Read MoreA Hopping Good Time at Fickett Elementary School
A ‘sock hop’ was in full swing at Fickett Elementary School when I arrived. The entry ticket was a canned food item. The school’s annual canned food drive is a big hit each year and the items are donated to Atlanta’s Hosea Feed the Hungry. Principal Twyman uses this activity to teach students to work…
Read MoreHappy Veterans Day
Today, as a nation, we say a collective thank you to the 21.4 million veterans who have served and protected our country during times of war and peace. President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed November 11th as Veterans Day in 1954 to “…preserve our heritage of freedom.” Atlanta Public Schools is proud to have many of…
Read MoreLet’s go Maaaays…LET’S GO!
I just received this note from our athletic director Jasper Jewell. Way to go Mays High School!“Please join me in congratulating the Mays High Varsity Competition Cheerleading squad for becoming Region 6AAAA Champions this past…
Read More‘Shout Out’ to our great students, teachers and schools
There are a lot of GREAT things happening in our district. Each month I will give “shout outs” to students, staff and volunteers who are helping us achieve excellence in Atlanta Public Schools. Let’s give a shout out to… The 38 North Atlanta High School students who competed against students from 17 other high schools…
Read MoreCooking it up at Bunche Middle School
Teens at Bunche Middle School are learning the basics of cooking! The school has partnered with the Logan Wilkes Foundation and Georgia Coalition for Physical Activity and Nutrition to take a series of cooking classes, Cooking Matters for Teens. So far, 7th graders learned how to prepare healthy, tasty meals while being in the kitchen. …
Read MoreRally for Reading with Rubbermaid: Guest Blogger David Jernigan, Deputy Superintendent
I was excited to be on hand last week for a Reading Rally Assembly hosted by Newell Rubbermaid, the district’s newest partner and our friends at Scholastic Book Fairs as they donated new books to the students of William Boyd Elementary School. This was a part of Newell Rubbermaid’s second-annual Global Day of Service where dozens…
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