Benjamin E. Mays High School Literacy Night

Benjamin E. Mays High School kicked off assessment season by flexing its superpowers on Literacy Night.

Mays High School was recognized earlier this year as a Literacy Leader school by the Georgia Department of Education, and the second annual Literacy Night is one of the many ways the school is leading the charge in literacy.

“Literacy is our superpower,” Mays High School media specialist Annette Smith said. “We’re focused on ensuring that all students, staff, and community members showcase literacy and all the great initiatives at Mays High School and APS.”

Students and staff really got into the theme this year, wearing hero masks and capes. They also created their own superhero avatars using AI.

Before getting to the main event of the evening, the school highlighted a few of its student authors and guest author NAKO to read an excerpt from her book “Daughter of a Don II”.

After a few games, students and families transitioned to the gymnasium for the Literacy Expo, where they went station to station to pick up valuable literacy resources and engage in interactive games. Each station connected literacy to the different courses and subjects taught at the school. The Career Technical & Agriculture Education (CTAE) team even brought out its robot dog, Bolt.

“We had a great time kicking off the season and showcasing literacy from the lens of every department and every community resource,” Smith said. Atlanta Public Schools (APS) is going “Back to the Basics”, and improving literacy across the district is one of the school district’s top strategic goals. By 2030, APS will increase the percentage of third-grade students scoring proficient or above in ELA on the Georgia Milestones by 20 percentage points.