Blog

Healthy Food and Fitness at Fickett Elementary!

August 20, 2015

I popped in recently for a quick visit with our friends at Fickett Elementary. Principal Twyman is always bursting with new ideas and she was excited to show me one of the newest additions to the school, a learning garden! Fickett is the recipient of a Captain Planet Learning Garden grant as well as a…

Congratulations, APS Class of 2015!

May 29, 2015

Graduation elicits a broad swath of emotions from the thrills of reaching the end of high school to the pride of a job well done to the sadness of leaving friends, families and classmates behind to go to the next step of college, career and life. For me, the graduation of Atlanta Public Schools’ Class…

SHOUT OUT to Our Awesome Students and Staff!

May 15, 2015

  EAT, SLEEP, RUN!  That was the Maynard Jackson Lady Jaguar track & field team motto this season, running all the way through the finish line to capture the 2015 GHSA Class AAA State Championship.  Marking the first state title for the school’s athletic program since 1990 when then Southside High School Lasers won the…

Visiting Latin Academy

May 15, 2015

A middle school with almost 300 students, The Latin Academy, one of the district’s newest charter schools, opened in the 2012-2013 school year.  I had a chance to visit with the staff and students this week.  The school moved into the former APS Capitol View Elementary school building last school year. True to their name,…

North Atlanta Golf Team headed to the State Championship

May 15, 2015

After an impressive season, the North Atlanta High School golf team is headed to the state championship tournament, Saturday, May 18! They’ve played in eight tournaments finishing second three times, third three times and have five wins with no losses in match play.  I wanted to check in with Coach Sarden to see how he…

A Successful School Year for Our Scholar Athletes

May 14, 2015

Our APS Athletics Director Jasper Jewell just gave me some incredible news about the district’s scholar-athletes.  45 APS teams and athletes advanced this school year to state playoffs!  This is a tremendous accomplishment for our athletes and coaches.  Mr. Jewell says that in his five years in APS, he has never experienced this much success…

Supreme Douglass High teacher headed to the Supreme Court

May 14, 2015

Congratulations to Frederick Douglass High School teacher Jameka Fields! Ms. Fields is one of 60 civic education teachers selected to attend the Supreme Court Summer Institute.  The Institute will give Ms. Fields the chance to study Supreme Court cases and learn how she can bring innovative teaching techniques back to her classroom.  She will have…

Keeping up with the KIPPsters

May 14, 2015

I had the pleasure of visiting two KIPP campuses this week, KIPP WAYS and KIPP Vision, together serving just over 900 students in elementary and middle school.  KIPP WAYS Academy is an APS charter school housed in the former Herndon Elementary facility.  Dwight Ho-Sang is in his fourth year as the school’s principal and leads…

The Heroes of Heritage Academy

May 12, 2015

Teachers were the celebrated superheroes during Teacher Appreciation Week at Heritage Academy and the students and school leaders were celebrating with special costumes, themed days and teacher toolkit gifts from our partners at Newell Rubbermaid. I spent time last week handing out toolkits, filled with essential classroom supplies, and getting to know more about the students and…

GADOE Announces 2015 Georgia Scholars

April 28, 2015

Our high schools are full of talented students doing amazing work not only in their classrooms, but also in their communities.  Last week, the Georgia Department of Education recognized eight Atlanta Public Schools graduating seniors as 2015 Georgia Scholars.  They join 175 other Georgia 12th graders who have also achieved excellence in their academic life as…