The deadline for Atlanta’s new school superintendent, Bryan Johnson, to deliver a plan for his first 100 days is next week, but there’s already a clue about what might be one of his top priorities. $11.8 million of Atlanta Public Schools’ recently passed $1.8 billion annual budget is dedicated to literacy initiatives, a nod to […]
Education
Posted inEducation, K-12
AP African American Studies Course Cut by State Superintendent’s Office
Georgia education officials have closed the door on state funding for local school districts to offer Advanced Placement African American History courses. With only days before the 2024-2025 school year begins, a bulletin from Gwinnett County Chief Learning Officer DeNelle West went out to parents Monday evening stating that the state’s largest school district would […]
Posted inHigher Education
Morehouse President David A. Thomas Announces Retirement
Morehouse College’s top man will hang up his hat at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year. David A. Thomas, 69, announced his retirement in a statement released by the college late Friday afternoon. A veteran educator with more than 30 years of experience, Thomas was selected as Morehouse’s 12th president in 2018. His last […]
Posted inEducation, Equity, K-12, School Boards
Literacy Rates, Community Trust Among Top Challenges for Atlanta’s New Schools Chief
Now that Atlanta Public Schools has finalized its choice of a new leader, the real work can start. The Atlanta Board of Education on Monday unanimously approved a three-year contract for its new superintendent, Bryan Johnson, the former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga chief strategy officer. The contract is effective Aug. 5. Johnson comes with […]
Posted inEducation, K-12, School Boards
Will Atlanta’s New School Superintendent Bring A New Era of Equity?
Atlanta Public Schools are preparing to move into a new era with the selection of its next superintendent this week. Dr. Bryan Johnson, who was announced as the “sole finalist” to be the next superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools on Tuesday. Johnson, a former superintendent of Hamilton County, Tennessee., schools, was most recently executive vice […]
Posted inEquity, Money
Killer Mike’s Bankruptcy Journey Highlights Black Wealth Gaps
Editor’s note: The following is excerpted with permission, from the book “Fifteen Cents on the Dollar: How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap,” which examines the structural origins of racialized wealth inequality in the United States and what perpetuates it today. The authors, Ebony Reed and Louise Story, will be featured panelists at Capital B Fest in […]
Posted inEducation, K-12
Georgia School Voucher Law Sparks Debate on Education Funding
A new bill signed into law in April by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is set to provide state-funded scholarships to eligible Georgia families who may be in the market for alternatives to traditional public schools. The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act, or SB 233, allows the state to set up self-directed accounts with as much as […]
Posted inEducation, K-12
APS Budget Boosts Literacy Programs, Teacher Salaries, and Nutrition Funding
Budget season is officially wrapped for Atlanta Public Schools. The Atlanta Board of Education on Monday approved a record $1.8 billion budget for the 2025 fiscal year. APS is expecting its spending to increase in the next year by about $86 million, a 7% jump from last year’s budget, primarily due to salary hikes and […]
Posted inHigher Education, Incarceration
We Need More Prison Education Programs. But Is the Money There?
When Kimberley Pugh was released after a 13-year term in Habersham County’s Lee Arrendale State Prison, her college classes were the only thing that felt “normal” about the outside world. “Everything around me was in complete chaos, but I had to focus on my reading, my writing, and make sure I had all my assignments […]
Posted inHigher Education, Politics & Policy, Religion
Black Jewish Students and the On-Campus Divide Over Gaza
Life on campus at the Atlanta University Center has been more complicated for Spelman freshman Sara Scherlinder since the Gaza humanitarian crisis began more than six months ago. In a 24-hour period earlier this month, the 19-year-old Scherlinder, a Washington, D.C., native, attended a leadership forum for students who are both Black and Jewish, which […]