Archive for 2015
Running with the Jags and Strutting in the EAV!
Tuesday, after school, I was able to have my first cross country training experience at Jackson High School with the Jaguars! Let me tell you, these kids work hard! Our run started at the school’s athletic field, wound through the historic Grant Park neighborhood and over into Grant Park, near the Atlanta Zoo. There were…
Read MoreSo Sweet (and Smart) at CSK Young Women’s Leadership Academy!
Last week, my back-to-school drop in visit with the ladies of Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy (CSKYWLA) was so much fun! At the helm of the recently merged, all girls’ middle and high school is new principal Erin Barksdale. She and her team gifted me with a super smart looking t-shirt that was…
Read MoreAPS Developing Aggressive, Targeted Response to OSD
Amid the public dialogue surrounding the state’s proposed Opportunity School District (OSD), I’ve received some questions and concerns about the strategies and tactics the Atlanta Public Schools district is taking to turnaround under-achieving schools and keep them under local control. I want everyone to understand that we are developing an aggressive and targeted course of…
Read MoreThe Cool Kids of Continental Colony Elementary School
Principal Frederico Rowe over at Continental Colony is doing a great job. He’s leading the school for the third year – with a new assistant principal by his side, APS veteran Dr. Sarah Haynes. And he’s embraced cluster planning in the district, which will help him to continue to build strong schools. I’ve blogged before…
Read MoreWelcome Back Perkerson Elementary Students and Staff!
It is so important that when our students leave APS that they are be able to not only graduate college and career ready, but also ready to compete globally when they enter the workforce. Learning a second or third language, I believe, is the key to a young adult becoming invaluable in the global marktetplace.…
Read MoreA Day to Play at Cascade Elementary School
I was laser focused on getting to the playground when I visited Cascade Elementary. Over the summer, Cascade was one of eleven elementary schools that received brand new playgrounds in Atlanta Public Schools! Sitting on the backside of the school, surrounded by gorgeous greenery, the play space feels a little like an oasis – a…
Read MoreM. Agnes Jones Elementary is Serious about S.T.E.M.
I was looking forward to my trip to visit principal Woolfolk and her students and staff at M. Agnes Jones Elementary School today. I had heard about their new Innovation Station inspired by Georgia Tech, which included robotics, tinkering and 3D printers. The Washington High School cluster of schools, of which Jones is a part,…
Read MoreA Welcome Surprise as the Bunche Chargers Return Home
Whenever you get a chance as a superintendent to open a freshly renovated school building and welcome students back to state-of-the-art technologies, new desks, sparkling floors and tasty, nutritious school lunches … that pretty much makes your week. And at Bunche Middle School today, home of the Chargers, I thoroughly enjoyed touring the new building…
Read MoreWelcome to Tiger Town!
I’ve been impressed by the leadership of Dione Simon since meeting her when she was principal of C. S. King Middle School, so I knew she would have creative ideas for Towns Elementary. She really loves this school. She and her leadership team spent a great deal of time this summer re-branding the school as…
Read MoreMaking New Friends at Scott Elementary
Scott Elementary School received a face-lift over the summer. When I walked in I was immediately struck by the bright yellow paint – the cafeteria looks fantastic. The room was cheerful and the smell of yummy biscuits was in the air. Scott has a dynamic new principal, Mr. Langston Longley is a former APS assistant…
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