Star Students
Inman Middle School Student Wins Atlanta Public Schools’ 2015 Districtwide Spelling Bee
Our APS students from 37 schools competed last night in the district’s spelling bee at Maynard Holbrook Jackson High School. It took nearly two hours of word definitions, countries of origin and correct pronunciations before a winner was determined. Kedar Veeraswamy, a seventh grader at Inman Middle School, correctly spelled cruller and was crowned the champ. Kedar, age 12, credits his success to…
Read MoreTo: Superintendent From: The best gift givers – Teacher Rita Simmons, her students, GADOE and GA Aquarium
Imagine my surprise to find a fun email today (so I had to do a quick post) from our beloved Cleveland Avenue Elementary School teacher AND 2013-2014 Atlanta Public Schools’ District-wide Teacher of the Year AND 2015 Georgia Teacher of the Year Top-Ten Finalist – Rita Simmons! She was awarded an opportunity to take students…
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… Senior football player Travodius “Vodi” Ferguson at Maynard Jackson High School made the Georgia High School…
Read MoreI Had the Best Day at B.E.S.T. Academy!
As I started my trip down the main hallway at B.E.S.T. Academy, the district’s all male middle and high school, I immediately noticed a group of students looking intensely at a screen in the computer lab. Turns out the young men were members of the school’s football team. I spent some time with the football…
Read MoreA Beautiful READesign for West Manor Elementary School
I was excited to be on hand this week as we helped Target and The Heart of America Foundation unveil West Manor Elementary’s newly renovated school library! The renovated space features 2,000 new books, furniture, carpet, shelves, 25 iPads, a flat screen television; and a school broadcast video system complete with a mixer, laptop, teleprompter…
Read More16 APS Students Sign Contracts & Commit to REACHing their College Goals
Congratulations to the 16 REACH Scholars of Atlanta Public Schools! They are eighth and ninth graders in our district, members of the “class of 2018” and the “class of 2019.” This morning we held a special ceremony where each scholar signed their scholarship contracts. Yes, it’s THAT serious. The Realizing Educational Achievement Can Happen (REACH)…
Read MoreSouth Atlanta’s Aleia Smith is a State Bar of Georgia Law Academy Graduate!
Congratulations to South Atlanta Law and Social Justice’s Aleeia Smith who graduated from the 2014 State Bar of Georgia Law Academy! This is a major accomplishment for Aleeia who is an 11th grader in the school. The Law Academy is a very prestigious and selective program that chooses students based on their commitment to the…
Read MoreTwo Mays High School Football Players are Army Football Strong!
Today, two of our hardworking scholar athletes, seniors Natrez Patrick and Dallaw Warmack of Benjamin E. Mays High School, were selected to play in the 2015 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. The game will take place January 3 in San Antonio, TX. Army Bowl officials were on hand to present each player with an Army Bowl…
Read MoreG3 and their award winning UAV
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…
Read MoreA Big Salute to Cadet McQuay and First Sergeant Venning!
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…
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