Rolling Through the District for Day One

Welcome to SY18-19! This morning, like thousands of students within Atlanta Public Schools, my team and I boarded one of our school buses (shout out to our driver, Mr. Rapley!) with excitement and anticipation for a long but wonderful day ahead! It’s Day One of the 2018-2019 school year! As part of our DAY ONE…

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Powering Down Power Up!

A Summary of our New Sizzling Summer School Programs As we prepare for Day One tomorrow, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on summer 2018.  In summers past, our summer school model primarily focused on remediation for students needing additional supports. Meaning, if students weren’t going to school during the summer to receive…

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2018 #GaMilestones Results Are Blossoming! Gains on All End-of-Grade Subjects Take Root

APS Trims the Gap with State in Elementary and Middle Grades It’s the end of summer and APS is still blooming! 2018 Milestones Results show our roots are stronger and we are still growing. As our summer season transitions into fall, it seems like it was just yesterday when we were celebrating our 2018 graduating…

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UPDATED (Additional Public Hearing Added! Remaining Hearings are Monday, July 23, at 6 p.m. and Monday, Aug. 6 at 6:30 p.m. at APS Center for Learning & Leadership): With Tax Digest in Hand, What Happens Next To Help Homeowners AND To Support and Invest in Our Children

“So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life’s A Great Balancing Act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed)” — Dr. Seuss in Oh, The Places You’ll Go (UPDATE – July 21, 2018)  Atlanta Public Schools (APS) will hold its third…

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Congratulations, Grad Nation APS Class of 2018

Congratulations 2018 Grads! It’s late on Friday at the Georgia World Congress Center, and all of the Atlanta Public Schools’ Classes of 2018 — cheered on by happy, teary-eyed parents, caregivers and other family members, as well as teachers, principals and friends — have left the building to start the next chapter in their lives.…

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Putting Students and Schools First:

Proposed Budget for the 2018-19 School Year This time of year brings with it one of the best things about being superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools, as well as one of the job’s most difficult tasks. Right now, the air is filled with excitement and anticipation as graduation ceremonies and summer break are just a…

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Let’s Celebrate Our Teachers!

During National Teacher Appreciation Week This week is National Teacher Appreciation Week and I couldn’t be more excited to celebrate our dynamic teachers from across the district!  I really cannot say enough about the importance of our teachers who serve on the front line in our classrooms every school day, educating and preparing our children for a bright…

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2017 NAEP Shows Gains in 3 of 4 Areas

But More Work To Do Welcome back! As we all get back into our normal school schedules and activities, assessment results for the “Nation’s Report Card” were released. In short, there is some encouraging news about our student performance in reading and math in 4th and 8th grades. The results of the 2017 National Assessment…

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#MLK50Forward

First Flames of Freedom in APS When the David T. Howard Building opened in 1924, it was a grammar school for African American students. It was, perhaps, at this school that the flame that burned inside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., urging him to seek social justice and freedom for all people, was first lit.…

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(Spring) Break Through Barriers

It’s Friday! But, not only that, it’s the Friday before Spring Break! I hope you are all looking forward to your much-deserved time off next week for Spring Break with friends and family. Some of you may be traveling, while others may be booking themselves a stay-cation (I am…at least for part of it!) to…

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