Blog

Atlanta Has Always Embraced Peaceful Civic Engagement (and so will APS)

February 22, 2018

On the afternoon of Wednesday, February 14, 2018, our country watched in shock (again) as we learned the horrifying details of a mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida. It happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School — part of the Broward County Public School District — where, tragically, 17 students and staff lost their lives,…

APS Wants Your Thoughts on Make Up Days

January 18, 2018

  (UPDATE):  Due to inclement weather, Atlanta Public Schools has cancelled classes and all school activities on Friday, January 19. The district will resume normal operations on Monday, January 22. Here we are again! Another snow day (grimace emoji!). As you know, we had to cancel classes and all school activities again on Friday, January…

We Honor MLK by Continuing Our Journey of Transformation

January 13, 2018

As a native of Selma, Alabama, most of you know about my roots in and respect for the Civil Rights Movement and all of the icons – both famous and unsung – who participated in it. Today’s 32nd celebration of the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday has an even more special meaning for our nation,…

Taking Further Steps in School Event Security

October 21, 2016

Over the last two school years, I have already seen more shooting incidents around our Atlanta school community involving children than the rest of my other two superintendency tenures combined. It’s so disheartening but it also means we have to be more proactive to protect our students, parents and staff. As a school district, we…

Call to Action for a Kinder, Braver, Safer World

July 15, 2016

Dear President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education John King, It started with the first rally cry: Je suis Charlie. And, sadly, then there were more. Paris. San Bernardino. Brussels. Orlando. Istanbul. Bangladesh. Dallas. As the United States is still reeling from weeks of tragic events, it came full circle for France last night. Je suis Nice. Among the 84…

We ‘made up our mind’ to celebrate literacy and Dr. Seuss’ birthday!

March 2, 2016

I hugged a cuddly Lorax who wore slippers, not boots. Took selfies with Things that were tiny and cute. I grappled with friends over a fish, dog or yent. All in all, I can say, my day was well spent. OK, OK, so I’m not Dr. Seuss or a writer anywhere near the genius that…

APS Advances Strategy for Transformation

January 28, 2016

When I unveiled the APS Turnaround Strategy during the State of the District last October, I explained that because of the longstanding, multi-generational educational needs of our students and a looming, high-stakes potential takeover Opportunity School District, we did not have time to waste. I also expressed that we would move with deliberate speed in…

Time to “Max the Vote” for Toomer Elementary School!

October 21, 2015

Kindergarten students are incredibly curious. Whenever I visit kinder classrooms you notice two things – they love to ask questions and they love to move! Emily Max and her kindergarten students at Toomer Elementary School are no different. When Emily decided to apply for a $100,000 grant through the Farmers Insurance Dream Big Teacher Challenge…

Day and Night at North Atlanta High School

August 24, 2015

Whenever I find a school, program, or any place where things seem to be working well in APS, I want to immerse myself in their process so that I can glean how we can apply that lift and success to other schools in our district. As a part of my back-to-school tour, I decided to…

I See You: Social-Emotional Learning at Fain ES, Boyd ES, West End Academy and Crim Open Campus HS

August 21, 2015

Checking in on the progress of our schools doesn’t stop after Day One or even week one. I love visiting schools as often as possible and seeing first-hand how the decisions we make as leaders impact the day-to-day learning of students. It was great to see the beginnings of our social-emotional learning (SEL) work taking…