Arlena Edmonds, graduation coach at Maynard H. Jackson High School. Photo credit: Allison M. Slocum, APS ©
At Maynard Jackson High School, the path to graduation is rarely a straight line. For many students, it is a series of detours that can threaten to pull them off course. Arlena Edmonds has made it her life’s work to guide them back.
Edmonds, Maynard Jackson’s sole full-time graduation coach, supports a student body of more than 1,600, tracking progress, identifying risks, and intervening early. What distinguishes her work is the persistence cultivated over decades in Atlanta Public Schools and more than 20 years in service to the Jackson cluster community.
“I am an advocate, mentor, strategist, and data puller. I am a one-stop shop,” Edmonds said. “I’m the person who makes sure that from the beginning to the end, our students are finishing school.”
Her role begins with data. At the start of senior year, students should have 18 credits, and those who fall short are immediately flagged. However, Edmonds often knows long before then who may be at risk. Working alongside counselors, social workers, speech pathologists, the restorative activist, and Social Emotional Learning staff, she helps design individualized plans that account for both academic performance and life events.
“If something has taken place in a student’s life, like the loss of a parent or a tragedy, it’s going to interrupt their learning,” Edmonds said.
That recognition reinforces a broader, districtwide emphasis on the “whole child,” an approach that blends academic monitoring with social and emotional support. Weekly meetings collaborating with student support teams allow Edmonds to connect patterns in student data with lived experiences, ensuring interventions are timely and tailored to each student.
For students who have fallen significantly off track, Edmonds formulates what she calls a roadmap, guiding students through benchmarks one step at a time.
“You have to go one, two, three,” Edmonds said while punctuating each word with her hands. “But if you decide to go from one to four, you’re missing a step in the process. You are going to have an issue getting to where you need to be.”
Those steps are not always traditional. Some students recover credits through online coursework or Maynard Jackson’s Edgenuity summer learning; others transition to smaller, more flexible environments such as Phoenix Academy, a blended learning program designed to support students facing academic or personal challenges.
“When we send students to Phoenix, we’ve sent them without a worry because they are the best partnership in the world,” Edmonds said.
Even then, Edmonds is clear: the goal does not change. Whether students graduate in May, June, or December, they remain part of the Maynard Jackson community, and they will walk across the graduation stage with their peers in crimson and gold.
Arlena Edmonds poses next to a poster honoring her son, Francis Jamaal Edmonds. Photo credit: Allison M. Slocum, APS ©
That unwavering expectation is matched by equally consistent follow-through. Edmonds estimates that half her day is spent checking in with students and maintaining communication with families. Over time, those efforts have built a network of trust that now spans generations.
“The advantage that I have at Maynard Jackson is that I am now teaching the children of the kids I taught before,” Edmonds said. “So more than anything else, I tell anybody that establishing trust is key.”
Her approach is deeply personal, informed by her own life story. It’s the driving force behind why she does this work.
“I’m a product of being in an orphanage and was raised by a granddad and granduncle,” Edmonds said. “I use my story as an example to never allow your environment or your surroundings to dictate your success.”
That perspective shapes how she meets students where they are, whether they are navigating attention disorders, mental health challenges, or circumstances beyond their control.
“You have kids with ADHD,” Edmonds said. “You have kids who are going through depression, or you may have kids who are going through other challenges. But to meet them where they are and help them get to the end is rewarding.”
Maynard H. Jackson High School’s Four-Year Cohort Graduation Rate (2016 to 2025). Source: Atlanta Public Schools Data and Information Group
The results are measurable. Over the past decade, Maynard Jackson’s graduation rate has climbed from 76.1 percent to 90.9 percent in 2025; a shift that reflects both systemic support and sustained, individual intervention.
Edmonds defines success in ways that go beyond data. In 2016, she launched the Wings of Love luncheon to honor students who have lost a parent. Inspired by the death of her son, Jamaal, the annual event provides students with resources and support to aid in their grief journey, as well as a white cord to wear at graduation in remembrance of their loved one.
Beyond graduation, Edmonds is equally focused on what comes next. She works to connect students with opportunities in higher education, the military, and the workforce, often forging partnerships herself, including walking into local businesses, advocating for her students, and opening doors where she can.
On May 22, 2026, 417 seniors are expected to graduate from Maynard Jackson High School. Many will arrive at that moment through paths that were anything but certain. Luckily for them, it’s the uncertainty that shapes the way in which Edmonds approaches every student.
“You can’t come into this work thinking that every student is going to be the same,” Edmonds said. “Every day will be different, and every student is different. You must be a team player. You can’t do this work by yourself. You will need help.”
After decades in the profession, through shifting leadership and changing student needs, her commitment has remained constant.
“I just love what I do,” Edmonds said.