More than 250 Atlanta business and civic leaders fanned out to public schools across the city to participate in Project for a Day (formerly Principal for a Day), hosted by the Atlanta Partners for Education (APFE).
Professionals from IBM, Gas South, The Zeist Foundation, United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, Junior Achievement, Project GRAD Atlanta, the Anti-Defamation League and other organizations spent the morning of October 24 participating in hands-on,
Partners from Atlanta Gas Light read to students in grades K-5 at Parkside Elementary. This is the 10th year of the partnership between the company and the school, located in Grant Park.
student-focused activities at APS schools. Afterward, the business and civic leaders were among an audience of approximately 550, including APS principals, to convene at the Georgia Aquarium for the Atlanta Partners for Education Celebratory Debrief Luncheon. WSB-TV anchor Jovita Moore served as the luncheon’s emcee, and board Chair Reuben McDaniel and Superintendent Erroll Davis delivered remarks.
Helping to mark the occasion were board members Byron Amos (vice chair), Cecily Harsch-Kinnane, Emmett Johnson, Nancy Meister and Brenda Muhammad. The event generated a significant increase in participation, as 65 percent more leaders volunteered this year compared to last year.
Students and partners worked on a variety of projects, including:
STEM Lab “FIZZY Drink”
Students created their own formula for a carbonated drink. This version of the fizzy drink lab was modified to be inquiry-oriented and differentiated for varying student readiness levels. APS science teachers trained volunteers and provided them with all the materials needed to conduct the activities.
Project GRAD Atlanta – College & Career Readiness
Project GRAD Atlanta hosted a College and Career Project for a Day at each of the 10 APS high schools to help 11th and 12th grade students become more college-aware, college-prepared and career-exposed. Students engaged with volunteers to develop college essays, complete college applications, gain a greater understanding of the FAFSA application process, and make critical connections between career possibilities, based upon their intended college majors or subject-area interests.
Anti-Defamation League – Read4Respect
Read4Respect, part of the No Place for Hate campaign, connected volunteers to elementary schools by engaging them in reading books that promote respect. Read4Respect helped students learn an essential “4th R”–Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic and Respect.
Junior Achievement of Georgia – Career Success project (8th grade)
JA It’s My Future provided practical information to eighth grade students, preparing them for the working world. Students explored potential careers, discovered how to plan for a job, and learned how to keep it. They will also developed personal-branding and job-hunting tools for earning a job.
Atlanta Partners for Education is a partnership between the Metro Atlanta Chamber (MAC) and the Atlanta Public Schools (APS)
Activites for the day ended with a luncheon at the Georgia Aquarium. Partners, principals, teachers and students shared lessons learned from their projects and activities.
dedicated to serving APS students by providing opportunities for the Atlanta community to become involved in public education. The APFE program, a 501 (c) 3, was founded in 1981 by then Atlanta School Superintendent Alonzo Crim. The program is based on the belief that businesses and communities that are actively involved in the school system gain a deeper understanding of what is needed in order to make a positive difference in the lives of Atlanta’s school children.
