Atlanta Public Schools and the Atlanta Board of Education have earned the equivalent of the “Triple Crown,” achieving three of the nation’s most prestigious education honors for 2009.
This achievement culminated last night (Thursday, Oct. 29) with Atlanta Board of Education Member Emmett Johnson capturing the Richard R. Green Award, the nation’s highest honor for urban education leadership, at the Council of the Great City Schools Fall conference in Portland, Ore. The Council represents 66 of the largest urban school districts in the nation, educating 7.1 million students.
Throughout his 12-year tenure with the Atlanta Board of Education, Johnson has played a leading role in strengthening the relationship between the school board and the superintendent. His efforts laid the groundwork for Atlanta’s transformation to a high performing school district and a national model for urban school reform.
Just a month earlier, the Atlanta Board of Education won the Council of Urban School Boards of Education (CUBE) 2009 annual award of Urban School Board Excellence. This prestigious award honors urban school districts that demonstrate progress in educating children and serve as role models in school board governance. CUBE represents 115 school boards in 35 states and the Virgin Islands, educating more than 8 million students in more than 12,000 schools.
CUBE cited Atlanta Public Schools’ student academic achievements, operational efficiencies, strong governance structure and leadership consistency in awarding the Atlanta Board of Education its top honor.
In addition to having a nationally recognized school board, Atlanta Public Schools has the top superintendent in the country. Earlier this year, the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) named Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Beverly L. Hall the 2009 National Superintendent of the Year, the top professional honor for a K-12 school administrator. AASA represents 13,000 educational leaders throughout the United States and the world.
Dr. Hall also was named Georgia Superintendent of the Year by the Georgia Superintendents Association and one of the 100 most influential Georgians by Georgia Trend magazine.
Dr. Hall is the first Georgia superintendent to be named National Superintendent of the Year.
These accolades from prestigious education organizations celebrate nearly a decade of significant academic gains on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCTs) and consistent improvement on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests, often referred to as the Nation’s Report Card.
The district’s urban reform initiatives serve as models for the nation. Signature programs include the high school transformation, single-gender learning academies, and Project GRAD (Graduation Really Achieves Dreams) that provides intensive academic and social support services to students in kindergarten through college.
Discover more from APS Today
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
