Black college students in Atlanta are not mincing words after last month’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling to end affirmative action in higher education. They say the decision — which limits colleges from considering race in admissions — is just another in a long list of challenges keeping scholars of color from gaining access to colleges […]
Education
Posted inK-12
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 […]
Posted inK-12
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 […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Higher Education, Policing
Why Atlanta College Students and Professors are Chanting, ‘Stop Cop City’
At a rally on Emory University’s quad earlier this week, Maresah Malcom, a senior from Decatur, joined just over 100 fellow students in protesting the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, also known as “Cop City.” Malcom said she came to the Stop Cop City demonstration because the facility is being built in the area where […]
Posted inEducation, K-12
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, Higher Education, LGBTQ
How Morehouse College Is Challenging What It Means to Be a Black Man
A culture shift is underway at Morehouse College. The 156-year-old men’s college — among the nation’s most-selective historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) — was built upon the image of a serious, contemporary Black man fit within a uniquely American mold. But now, students, faculty members, and administrators are reconsidering what it means to be a […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
How a New President, Alums, and Current Students Kept Morris Brown Going
Julian Ross did not need to think twice about his decision. The lure of an education in a music department led by Sharon Willis, the first Black woman to own her own opera company, is what attracted the Baltimore native to Morris Brown College. When he enrolled for his freshman year in 2019, Ross, the […]
Posted inEducation, Higher Education
HBCU Stereotypes ‘Dampen the Light.’ Here’s What People Get Wrong.
Too often, media coverage of historically Black colleges and universities centers on tropes or repeats falsehoods. The reality is that HBCUs are a powerful and historically undercovered sector of higher education. And in recent years, the sector has notched some critical victories: a surge in applications, additional federal funds aimed at addressing inequity, and a […]
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 […]
Posted inEducation, K-12
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 […]