Focus on Atlanta Public Schools

Friday, September 28, 2007
Kathleen Pattillo, President, Atlanta Board of Education;
Emmett Johnson, Vice President, Atlanta Board of Education
Robert Atterbury, Associate Superintendent, High School Transformation (GA)
Charlotte Spann, Program Administrator, High School Transformation (GA)

Atlanta has made some progressive changes in recent years and has created clear goals for their students, especially those in high school.

With a current graduation rate of 68% and in response to community, parent and student concerns, the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) has adopted a secondary school reform initiative that creates clear goals for their students, makes changes to the curriculum and facilities, and targets of a 90% graduation rate from high school.  The ultimate goal is to make the Atlanta Public Schools a world class system that leads the nation in preparing students for college.  To accomplish this goal, APS is also working to create smaller personalized learning centers instead of maintaining large comprehensive high schools, allowing the schools to be more manageable and responsive to student needs.