Atlanta Public Schools (APS) continued to show overall improvement on the College and Career Readiness Index (CCRPI), according to the 2025 CCRPI data, released by the Georgia Department of Education.
The CCRPI includes five components: Content Mastery, Progress, Closing Gaps, Readiness, and – for high schools – Graduation Rate. APS scored 100 on the Closing Gaps component in elementary schools and improved Readiness and Content Mastery scores at all grade bands. Additionally, students with disabilities and who are economically disadvantaged made gains in 11 of 12 areas.
Principal Dr. Robin Christian details how Barack and Michelle Obama Academy (BAMO) achieved its gains:
Q: What specific strategies or initiatives did your school implement that you believe contributed most to the CCRPI improvement?
A: At BAMO, we took an “all hands-on deck” approach to supporting every learner. Working closely with the APS Data Dig team, we were very intentional in our use of various data metrics to guide which supports students would receive. We also tailored the support by leveraging the strengths of our teachers and support staff to work with aligned student groups.
BAMO leadership also ensured that every teacher and support staff member who worked directly with students in 3rd-5th grade had a deep understanding of all that CCRPI encompasses.
Additionally, the BAMO administrative and support staff team attended training to determine how CCRPI components would be measured.
Q: Can you share examples of how your teachers are driving student growth and achievement, and any practices that have been particularly effective?
A: BAMO has a growth-oriented mindset. Teachers and staff are particularly proud of the 100 on progress as that is aligned directly to how our instructional delivery model was created last year and this school year. For example, we tailored students’ predicted achievement level bands to an “owner” of that group of students. These “owners” delivered tailored instruction daily as an additional opportunity to work with students who may need foundational support or high-level enrichment and acceleration.
These owners included school leadership, including the principal and the assistant principal, as well as instructional coaches, MTSS specialists, and EELT’s, in addition to teacher tutors and classroom teachers. Every student had an additional support plan and supplemental time to work on what they needed to move along the Georgia Milestones Assessment System Achievement Level Bands.
Q: What is something impactful/innovative happening in the area of teaching and learning at your school that sets your school apart?
A: What sets BAMO apart is our approach to using additional support staff, classroom tutors, volunteers, partners, and external agencies to add value to what is already happening in the classrooms with our amazing teachers. For a classroom teacher to be expected to do this work alone is almost unrealistic when serving a wide range of students, especially when you are passionate about moving all students and improving student growth. This is why, at BAMO, we believe in pushing into the classroom to support and utilize all committed adults in the building to have an “in the trenches” mindset that we are all accountable for improving student achievement.
Q: What are your hopes or expectations for student achievement moving forward, and how do you plan to build on this recent success?
A: Our collective hopes and expectations for moving the work forward at BAMO are that we will maintain our 100 in progress while getting back to our 100 in closing gaps related to CCRPI.
Our overall focus is on improving our levels of proficiency and content mastery. We plan to do this by continuing our “all hands-on deck” approach to owning every student’s growth in the school.
We have additionally added an extended learning day for identified students on Mondays and Thursdays for two additional hours of instruction focusing on literacy and mathematics, serving over 50 students. This accompanies our focus on high-quality teaching and learning throughout the academic day.