On her third day as the Interim Superintendent for Atlanta Public Schools (APS), Dr. Danielle S. Battle was on a school bus making the rounds to reconnect with APS schools.
An early morning greeting from the Douglass High School drum line and cheerleaders welcomed her and the new members of the district’s senior leadership team before touring the campus.
“We are super excited about this journey, the school year, especially with her having the foresight, knowledge and all that she beings having been a previous APS employee and now coming back,” Douglass High School principal Forrestella Taylor said.
Dr. Battle also visited the Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy, E. Rivers Elementary School, Sutton Middle School and Pheonix Academy on her first day of school visits.
During the tours, she introduced herself to students, engaged with them during classroom visits and even joined the Sutton Middle School students for lunch in their cafeteria.
“I’m here because this is what it’s all about,” Dr. Battle said. “I’m going to the schools to see what support they need, what’s going on and how we can impact instruction and student outcomes for our students.”
“There’s a lot of great things happening at our schools,” she added. “It’s not about being in some office. It’s about being in the schools because that’s where it’s happening.”
The four-day, 19-school tour concluded on Monday with a visit to Michael R. Hollis Innovation Academy and a media roundtable session.
Dr. Battle has spent 19 years in APS as a Principal and Associate Superintendent. Now as interim superintendent, she has laid out a vision for focusing on what matters most to the district: Literacy, Resources, Transparency, Staffing and Accountability.
“This administration will be grounded in the theme ‘Leading forward with C.A.R.E.’ That stands for Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Empathy,” Dr. Battle said. “As we do the hard work and the heart work of public education, every part of our stakeholder community will hear and feel from us that we are Compassionate, Accountable, Respectful and Empathetic to them.”
