Every spring, graduation stages across Atlanta Public Schools (APS) fill with celebration. Diplomas are handed over. Tassels flip. Futures feel wide open.
But for too long, the story has quietly ended there.
In 2015, Achieve Atlanta was founded on a bold and urgent question that still challenges traditional thinking about postsecondary readiness: What happens to students after they walk off the stage?
“At that time, there was a great need to ensure that Atlanta Public Schools students not only got into college but graduated,” said Dr. Cheryl Watson-Harris, President and Executive Director of Achieve Atlanta and former Superintendent of DeKalb County Schools. “Getting in wasn’t the finish line. Completing a degree was.”
That insight helped reshape the definition of college readiness for APS and for the city of Atlanta.
Achieve Atlanta emerged as a community solution to a persistent problem. While APS students were qualifying for college at increasing rates, barriers like affordability, limited advising, food and housing insecurity, and lack of career exposure threatened their ability to persist once enrolled.
“The vision was simple but ambitious,” Dr. Watson-Harris said. “That Atlanta would be a city where race and income no longer predict postsecondary success and upward mobility.”
From the beginning, Achieve Atlanta operated on a belief that APS students were fully capable. The challenge wasn’t aptitude, it was access.
So, the organization went to work filling gaps that schools alone could not close.
Today, Achieve Atlanta supports 100 percent of APS high schools, embedding itself into the fabric of the district. It funds College Advising Corps advisors, supports FAFSA completion, college matching, and application strategies, and offers training and capacity-building for school counselors year-round.
This isn’t parallel programming the district.. It’s partnership with APS.
“Your board goals are our goals,” Dr. Watson-Harris said. “Your superintendent’s vision is our vision. We don’t operate separately.”
A Scholarship That Comes With a Promise
For roughly one-third of APS graduates each year, that partnership deepens through the Achieve Atlanta Scholarship, a $5,000 annual award renewable through college completion.
But the scholarship is only one piece of a much larger commitment.
Achieve Atlanta stays with students from 11th grade through college graduation, whether they pursue a two-year credential or a four-year degree. Scholars receive one-to-one coaching, ongoing advising, need-based emergency grants, and structured connections to their college’s success offices.
To date, Achieve Atlanta has provided more than $65 million in scholarships to APS students and invests over $2 million annually in college access coaching for APS counselors.
The results speak volumes.
An external evaluation of Achieve Atlanta’s early cohorts found that 96 percent of Achieve Atlanta scholars were Pell Grant-eligible, and 92 percent were students of color— and that these scholars persisted and graduated at the same rate as their non-Pell Grant-–eligible peers within the University System of Georgia.
“That’s the impact of removing barriers,” Dr. Watson-Harris said. “When you level the playing field, our students thrive.”
Watching Students Become Who They’re Meant to Be
If one were to ask Dr. Watson-Harris what success looks like, she won’t start with spreadsheets. She’ll tell you about Jacquez.
An APS alumnus, Clayton State University student, and Achieve Atlanta scholar, Jacquez arrived on campus not just prepared but empowered. With financial stability and consistent mentoring, he had room to lead. He helped launch a campus chapter of 100 Black Men, ran for student government, pledged a fraternity, and excelled academically.
“He arrived expecting to be a leader,” Dr. Watson-Harris said. “Because he didn’t have to spend his time just surviving.”
Across campuses nationwide, including more than 400 partner institutions, students share that same sentiment. Scholars talk about resume support, mock interviews, internships aligned to their majors, and, perhaps most importantly, the relief of knowing someone is still checking in.
One graduate summed it up simply: Achieve Atlanta gave her “the ability to spend more time actually being a young person.”
Postsecondary Readiness Means Career Readiness, Too
As Achieve Atlanta grew, so did its understanding of what students needed after high school.
The result: a strategic expansion into career awareness and career experience—internships, apprenticeships, and fellowships tied directly to students’ academic pathways.
“College without career connection doesn’t guarantee upward mobility,” Dr. Watson-Harris said. “We learned that from our students.”
Today, those conversations begin earlier in high school and extend through college, positioning APS graduates not just for degrees, but for long-term success.
Now entering its second decade, Achieve Atlanta is expanding beyond APS into neighboring districts, including Fulton County Schools—growth made possible by the proven strength of its partnership with Atlanta Public Schools.
At its core, the model works because of shared responsibility.
“Schools can’t do everything alone,” Dr. Watson-Harris said. “Our success comes from letting partners in, trusting one another, sharing data, and holding ourselves to excellence.”
For her, the work is deeply personal. A Pell Grant recipient herself, Dr. Watson-Harris sees Achieve Atlanta as a promise kept to students, families, and a city that believes in its young people.
“When I used to hand students their diplomas as a superintendent, I’d wonder, ‘Did we do enough?’” she said. “Now, I know we’re walking with them long after they leave the stage.”
And that may be the most powerful measure of postsecondary readiness of all: not just helping students get to college—but making sure they make it through.