Blog
I spent Tuesday morning at Hutchinson Elementary School where the generous volunteers from FedEx and The Heart of America Foundation were building a reading corner filled with brand new books! It was exciting to see the FedEx volunteers putting the finishing touches on the reading corner, hosting story time in the classrooms. Hutchinson is the…
→The Georgia Department of Education has announced the 2014 Reward Schools. Eight APS schools earned Reward designations this year. A Highest-Performing School is among the five percent of the state’s Title I schools with the highest absolute performance, over three years, for the “all students” group on the statewide assessments. A school may not…
→Congratulations to MHJHS Spanish Teacher Mrs. Maria Lopez! This morning Mrs. Lopez was surprised by SunTrust Bank and the Atlanta Falcons and named a Symetra Hero in the Classroom. Chartez Bailey, a MHJHS student, nominated Mrs. Lopez for the award and today. Mrs. Lopez received a $1,000 donation for the school, two tickets to watch…
→I am giving a virtual hug, (a great big one), to the first grade team at Adamsville Primary School on this National Day of Service! They took the difficult topic of 9/11 and created a meaningful, age-appropriate lesson for their first graders on the importance of communities, families, history and safety. Students were engaged in…
→Three Henry W. Grady High School students were recently selected as finalists for Intel’s 2014 Drone Prize. The team traveled all the way to Portland, Oregon to present their project as a part of Innovation Day and compete for a $10,000 award. Congratulations to Isabelle Carson, Sajjad Ali, and Gabriel Kupersmith of the G3 Robotics…
→Tonight I was honored to address our students who completed their high school careers over the summer. I am very proud of these students! Below are my remarks and a few photos from the event. ————- Congratulations to the Atlanta Public Schools class of 2014! You made it. You set graduation as a goal, and you…
→Today, the Cultural Experience Project turned 10 and APS was in the house – at the Rialto Center for the Arts – to celebrate! This program gives the gift of art, music, dance and theater to every APS student. All students ages Pre-K to 12th Grade have the opportunity to visit at least one arts or cultural event every…
→Congratulations to Cadet Kimberly McQuay of Benjamin E. Mays High School, one of 29 cadets nationwide awarded this year’s Legion of Valor Medal. She was one of only two from the state of Georgia. LTC Robert Rooker, Director of Army Instruction, tells me it has been a great couple of months for APS JROTC, with…
→Yesterday was the Big 10—our 10-year anniversary for our annual State of the Schools address. Almost every year since 2004, the citizens of Atlanta have come together for a public conversation about the state and fate of our schools. We held two events, one in the morning at North Atlanta High School and the other last night…
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