Organization Supports Excellence In Atlanta Public Schools

From APS:With the Atlanta Public Schools Board contemplating the future of the school system, a group of diverse leaders and organizations is coming together as Atlantans for Excellent Schools to support a plan for a public school system rooted in excellence.

Atlantans for Excellent Schools believes that Atlanta Public Schools, in partnership with our Atlanta community, should work with urgency to create a public education system that prepares our students for future success. The coalition, which currently includes the United Negro College Fund, Grove Park Foundation, redefinED atlanta, Center for Civic Innovation, Communities In Schools of Atlanta and Reverend Dr. Charles A. Harper III seeks to voice support for a shared vision for excellence at Atlanta Public Schools. At the heart of the coalition’s effort is the belief in an Atlanta Promise: that all Atlanta students will be able to attend excellent schools.

“A shared vision for excellent schools – for Atlantans and by Atlantans – can lead to the lasting change we need and the high-quality education we promise every student,” said Justine Boyd, Regional Development Director for the Atlanta Region for the United Negro College Fund. “By working together under a shared vision, we can identify and expand school improvement approaches that work and move away from approaches that don’t result in excellent schools for Atlanta families.”

The coalition believes alignment and execution on a shared vision will help ensure that every student in Atlanta will be able to attend excellent schools, an Atlanta Promise that must be realized for all Atlanta families.

“What we’re building here is a movement to support the promise of a great public education that Atlanta has made to our students,” said Frank Brown, Chief Executive Officer, Communities In Schools of Atlanta. “Over the coming months and years, we will seek out opportunities for Atlanta families to raise their voices around what excellent schools look like for their students.”

With the Atlanta Public School Board starting the process of creating a shared vision for excellence through the Excellent Schools Framework, Atlantans for Excellent Schools seeks to ensure that Atlanta families are able to weigh-in. A shared vision for excellent schools puts into action a system that measures school quality and improvement, identifies what’s working, and outlines a plan for ensuring all families can send their students to excellent schools.

“Atlanta families are ready for proven approaches to excellent schools that put students first and ensure every student is able to attend excellent schools,” said Debra Edelson, Executive Director and Board Member at Grove Park Foundation. “By identifying what’s working in schools and improving on new ideas, we can replicate practices that work, end practices that don’t, and plan for schools that meet our promise that all students will be able to attend excellent schools within a generation.”

For more information on Atlantans for Excellent Schools, please visit www.atlantansforexcellentschools.org.

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