An unsung name. An unforgettable legacy. Atlanta history is filled with big names etched into its skyline and politics and Stories of Atlanta has covered many of them over the years. But some of the city’s greatest builders worked quietly, shaping lives without ever seeking the spotlight. This is one of those stories. She began […]
Tag: APS
Posted inAllison Joyner
Midtown High club hosts school board forum for students before Election Day
Organized by the student group Midtown Votes, students from Midtown High School club last week to hear from candidates running for school board offices about significant issues affecting the Atlanta Public School (APS) system. Alfred “Shivy” Brooks and Tamara Jones, running for District 7 At-Large; Jessica Johnson and Nkoyo Effiong Lewis, running for District 9 […]
Posted inAllison Joyner, Latest News
APS improves high, middle school safety with new weapons detection system
The Evolv Express expedites physical security screenings while accurately identifying weapons. By Allison Joyner This week, Atlanta Public Schools (APS) announced have installed Evolv Express weapons detection systems in their high and middle schools as an added layer of safety and a more efficient way to screen students’ belongings. “One of the things that we […]
Posted inAllison Joyner, Latest News
APS’s Student Advisory Council gives call to action during rally to stop gun violence
The concern was raised after the deaths of two APS students last month. By Allison Joyner On Thursday, the Student Advisory Council of Atlanta Public Schools (APS) and the Atlanta Board of Education held a rally to make a public stance against gun violence and call city leaders and the Atlanta community to action. Chanting […]
Posted inAllison Joyner
Partnership gives APS kindergarteners savings accounts
According to the Nationwide Retirement Institute, 40 percent of Black adults say COVID-19 has impacted their retirement plans, compared to 33 percent of white adults. By Allison Joyner Last week, Operation HOPE along with the City of Atlanta and Citibank announced a partnership that will provide child savings accounts to kindergarteners who attend Atlanta Public […]
Posted inAllison Joyner
New air filtration systems in APS facilities help keep students, faculty and staff safe
By Allison Joyner With its first semester of in-person learning almost in the books, it appears the investment in a new air filtration system has helped Atlanta Public Schools (APS). “Getting the air circulating, especially now that the mask mandate is optional, I think we didn’t have any pushback from staff about the options,” said […]
Posted inLatest News
APS recognizes baseball hall-of-famer by renaming academy
The school was previously named after Confederate General and Ku Klux Klan leader Bedford Forrest. By Allison Joyner On Wednesday, Atlanta Public Schools (APS) took another step to further distance its institutions from honoring problematic historical figures. The former Forrest Hill Academy — named after the Confederate General and Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford […]
Posted inAllison Joyner
Atlanta Public Schools opens Center for Equity + Social Justice
The first of its kind, the center’s mission is to help students thrive, not by accident but by design. By Allison Joyner Last month, Atlanta Public Schools (APS) hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the district’s new Center for Equity + Social Justice (CESJ). Dr. Tauheedah Baker-Jones, the district’s Chief Equity + Social Justice Officer, said […]
Posted inColumns
An Open Letter to Dr. Lisa Herring, incoming superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools
These days are emotional for parents like me. My daughter is a high school senior and like many students across the country, she won’t get to experience her last day of school with her classmates and teachers. … Neither my mother nor I ever got the chance to graduate, so my daughter will be the first in our family. But we won’t be able to see her walk across that stage, and that’s something I have dreamed about since she was born.
Posted inLatest News
Atlanta schools leader: Poverty at the heart of issues facing students
“You can see that white students … they’re 4.5 grade levels ahead of black students and it’s tied to poverty,” APS Superintendent Meria Carstarphen said.
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Achieve Atlanta and APS receive $622,000 from Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a total of $622,000 in grants to Achieve Atlanta and the Atlanta Public Schools to support their efforts for college success.
One grant for $532,000 will go to the Network for School Improvement. That will enable Achieve Atlanta to work with the APS data team to build a technical platform that will allow students to identify good “match and fit” colleges while they are in high school.
Posted inColumns
APS seeks to cut down dozens of healthy trees for Howard middle school project
The Atlanta Public Schools is seeking to cut down 60 trees on a key piece of property in the center of the city.
The trees have been growing on the land that surrounds the former David T. Howard Elementary School from the days when Martin Luther King Jr. attended the elementary school – only a few blocks away from his birth home.
Posted inArts & Culture Seen, Thought Leader
Q & A with Chris Moses of the Alliance Theatre
Arts Education plays a central role in almost every arts organization’s mission. That is certainly true at the Alliance Theatre, where Chris Moses serves as the Dan Reardon Director of Education / Associate Artistic Director for the theatre. We asked Chris to update us on some of the most recent developments in arts education at […]
Posted inLatest News
Mayor Bottoms and APS reach agreement on property deeds
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has forged a working relationship with Meria Carstarphen, superintendent of the Atlanta Public Schools.
During a speech before the Kiwanis Club of Atlanta on Tuesday, Bottoms said the Atlanta City Council at its meeting later in the day would be considering her proposal to transfer the deeds of 50 properties from the City to APS without restriction or condition.
Posted inColumns
Atlanta’s public policymakers must put children first
By Guest Columnist MERIA CARSTARPHEN, superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools
Atlanta – as the birthplace of a King, the crucible of the Civil Rights Movement and the international gateway to the Southeastern United States – is a city of innovation and spirit. Yet it is also a city entrenched in inequities that prevent children from living the choice-filled lives they deserve.
Posted inLatest News
Pullman Yard: APS supports tree protection, proposed farm and nature center
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with a comment from the board that oversees the Kirkwood Neighborhood Association. –
Atlanta’s school superintendent is backing an effort to protect a 10-acre stand of trees and the development of an urban farm and nature center at the site of Pullman Yard, the 27-acre site in Kirkwood that the state of Georgia is selling as a likely mixed use development.
Posted inLatest News
Dispute at an end: Atlanta to hand deed to Adair Park school to Atlanta Public Schools
The end of the battle over Adair Park Elementary School is in sight. The Atlanta City Council is slated to vote Feb. 6 to hand the deed over to the Atlanta Public Schools. Mayor Kasim Reed is expected to approve the deal.
