School disciplinary practices and the inequities they highlight are one of the major issues parents and stakeholders are paying attention to as the upcoming election for Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education nears. For a district that was 72.2% Black in 2022, Black students made up 93.5% of out-of-school suspensions and 100% of expulsions. These numbers […]
K-12
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Low Turnout, High Stakes: Why Atlanta School Board Elections Matter
Iesha Lyons has always picked her daughter up from school. As she sat in her car one afternoon in August, stuck in a long line outside Howard Middle School, she admitted she might change her stance after the 8th-grader graduates this spring. “Maybe she will ride the bus when she goes to high school,” Lyons […]
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Atlanta School Board Seats Are Open: Ready to Run?
August means back-to-school time for thousands of students at Atlanta Public Schools. But it also marks the start of election season for the school board. Aug. 23-25 is the official qualifying period for potential candidates to put their name in the running for the upcoming APS School Board elections, which will take place on Nov. […]
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DeKalb County Schools Has a New Superintendent. Here’s What Residents Think.
The decision-making process LaTasha Adams went through before deciding to enroll her 8-year-old daughter at Wadsworth Magnet School was intense. The Decatur resident, who lives in the Columbia Woods neighborhood, had been home-schooling her daughter Zoey, but after taking a site tour of the magnet school in South DeKalb, and meeting the administrators, she was […]
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How Does the Atlanta Public School Budget Work?
This story was originally published by Atlanta Civic Circle. Education budgets are like iPhones: they’re expensive and essential, but few of us know exactly how they work. It doesn’t have to be that way, says Eshé P. Collins, Atlanta Board of Education chair and District 6 representative. “We have a very nice-sized budget, and a […]
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Active Shooter Training Is Coming to Georgia Schools. Here’s What We Know.
If you’ve got a child in Georgia schools, they could be required to take part in active shooter training, thanks to a new law. Earlier this month, Gov. Brian Kemp signed House Bill 147 into law. Also known as the Safe Schools Act, HB 147 was introduced by state Rep. Will Wade — one of […]
Posted inEducation, K-12
Will Georgia’s Book Ban Target Black Authors? Educators Have Concerns.
Cicely Lewis loves being a school librarian. Lewis has spent nearly two decades in education. For the past seven years, she’s worked as a librarian at Meadowcreek High School in Norcross. The job encompasses everything she’s drawn to, including the teaching component, and an opportunity to train other educators. Getting to buy books is just […]
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If Thomasville Heights Elementary Temporarily Closes, What Happens to the Students?
On a Monday night inside the board chambers of the Atlanta Public Schools headquarters, there was a palpable tension. As APS officials trickled in, concerned parents and residents of Thomasville Heights packed the room. They filled every available seat, some standing against the wall. Parents still in work clothes brought their children. Officers from the […]