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District honors

Atlanta Public Schools awarded for environmentally clean bus fleet

by talkupaps 27 Aug 2014

written by talkupaps

Stacy Allman of Georgia's DNR with Larry Hoskins, APS Chief of Operations, William Cook of Georgia's DNR and John Franklin, APS Executive Director of Transportation.

Wiliam Cook of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division presents the Blue Sky Award to John Franklin, APS Executive Director of Transportation

The Atlanta Public Schools Transportation Department accepted Georgia’s Blue Sky Award on Monday August 25, 2014 for its outstanding work in reducing emissions.

“There isn’t anything more that we can do to help you guys to get cleaner buses. You’ve got the cleanest on the road today,” said William Cook, Engines & Fuels Unit Manager in the Air Protection Branch of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

Only two other school systems in the state, Henry and Newton County schools, received the honor.

The award recognizes districts that have retrofitted or reduced emission in 75 percent or more of its school bus fleet. Atlanta Public Schools reduced emission in 100 percent of its buses.

APS Chief Operating Officer Larry Hoskins and Executive Director of Transportation John Franklin accepted the award at the district’s Metropolitan Parkway bus depot. “I am pleased to represent the Transportation Department in receiving the Blue Sky award GAEPD. The award is a reflection of the district’s commitment to green energy and student health by maintaining a fleet that maintains a 75 percent or better compliance rate with new clean diesel technology,” said Franklin.

The district accomplished this feat over the last ten years, with the help of grants, by removing or replacing buses or by using emission control devices.

“From a tailpipe perspective there just isn’t much more that you can do,” said Cook. “We’re very proud of what you’ve done in reducing those emissions. 100 percent.”

The Georgia Diesel Emissions Reduction Program also presents a Gold award for districts that reduce emission by 25 to 75 percent. A Green award goes to districts that reduce emission 25 percent or lower.

Atlanta Public Schools operates 402 buses. Its fleet travels approximately 25,000 miles a day transporting 22,000 students.

27 Aug 2014 0 comment

Seven APS Schools Awarded GraduateFIRST Grants

by talkupaps 30 Apr 2013

written by talkupaps

Students at Miles Elementary School will benefit from the GraduateFIRST grant from the Georgia Department of Education

Seven APS schools were recently awarded a federally funded grant through the Georgia Department of Education and GraduateFIRST that will be used to help increase the district’s graduation rate and close the achievement gap for students with disabilities.

Congratulations to:

Deerwood Academy Elementary
Heritage Elementary
Miles Elementary
Bunche Middle School
King Middle School
Price Middle School and
Grady High School

Georgia’s GraduateFIRST program has redefined the state’s approach to raising graduation rates for students with disabilities with dramatic results-an increase of 37 percent in four years.

The program has worked successfully throughout Georgia with middle and high schools for the last six years, as well as with elementary schools during the current school year. Administration and faculty, with support from a Collaboration Coach through the local Georgia Learning Resource System, are provided with training and support in order to implement strategies to meet students’ needs in the areas of academic performance, behavior, and attendance effectively.

30 Apr 2013 0 comment

Douglass High School senior named to State School Superintendent’s student advisory panel

by talkupaps 19 Oct 2011

written by talkupaps

ATLANTA – Jasmine Davis, a senior at Frederick Douglass High School, has been named to State School Superintendent Dr. John D. Barge’s 2011-12 Student Advisory Council.

Davis is among fifty students from across the state appointed to the council, scheduled to meet twice throughout the school year to advise Dr. Barge and the Georgia Department of Education on how state policies are impacting the classroom.

More than 700 students applied to be members of the council by filling out an application and drafting a response to an essay question. Students were selected for the panel based on their responses, as well as their school and community involvement.

The first meeting of the council is Tuesday, November 1, 2011 at the Georgia Department of Education in Atlanta.

19 Oct 2011 3 comments

Grady Stadium earns Award of Excellence from Atlanta Urban Design Commission

by talkupaps 20 Jun 2011

written by talkupaps

Grady Stadium earns Award of Excellence from Atlanta Urban Design Commission

Grady Stadium has become the fourth APS project in the past several years to receive an Award of Excellence from the Atlanta Urban Design Commission. The other APS projects earning the award recently are Springdale Park Elementary School (2010), Grady High School (2006) and Long Middle School (2007).

The award ceremony, hosted last week by Mayor Kasim Reed, was held in the council chambers at Atlanta City Hall, where the award plaque was presented to APS officials.

The award recognizes creative and unique architectural design concepts associated with new and refurbished construction and landscaping in Atlanta’s historic urban setting. (Photos by Scott King, APS)

20 Jun 2011 0 comment

Eighth Graders Make Significant Gains on the 21st Century Skills Assessment

by talkupaps 18 Jun 2011

written by talkupaps

As of 2008, all 50 states were required to report to the U.S. Department of Education on technology literacy, using information and communication technology (ICT) standards based on the National Education Technology Standards (NETS) for Students (International Society for Technology in Education [ISTE], 2007).

As a district, our 8^th grade students made significant gains from the administration of the pre and post 21^st Century Skills Assessment. This is the first year our 8^th grade students have been assessed using the state sponsored 21^st Century Skills Assessment; therefore the results are providing baseline data. Since the implementation of Technology Awareness for Global Citizens (TAGC), 8^th grade students have demonstrated gains in the area of mastering the National Educational Technology Standards for Students.

The 8^th Grade 21^st Century Skills Assessment was administered in February 2011. This assessment uses a blend of interactive, multiple choice, performance-based and knowledge-based questions to measure and report technology literacy. The assessment is administered online and questions are randomly assigned to students.

We congratulate the following students for being the 2010-2011 top district performers on the 8^th Grade 21^st Century Skills Assessment:

Jefferson Martin
Jokull Reynisson
Lena Adams
Nicholas Caamano

18 Jun 2011 0 comment

A Record 24 Media Centers Received $5,000 Grants From the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries

by talkupaps 21 May 2011

written by talkupaps

Parkside Elementary students enjoy their school's award winning library led by Media Specialist, Tommy Clay.

A record 23 Atlanta Public Schools media centers received $5,000 grants from the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries on May 5th, by far the most of any school district in the nation. The grants are awarded to help media specialists expand, update, and diversify their library book collections. APS represented almost ten percent of the 241 school libraries that were selected throughout the nation (earning a total of $1,086,926 in grant money). Last year 15 of the 188 libraries selected were from APS.

According to APS Media Services Coordinator Warren Goetzel, funding for book collections has never been more important. Right now the elementary schools get $15.31 per student per year in state funding, while middle schools and high schools get $13.03 per student per year. “And that’s for all media materials, not just books,” said Goetzel, who made a strong push for his media specialists to apply for the grant this year. ”The average cost of a book is $25. Books become obsolete pretty rapidly these days, and they don’t have the money to update them.” He added that the average usable life of a non-fiction is about five years due to rapid changes in science and technology. “Consider that Pluto’s not a planet anymore,” he said. “Any time there are those changes, you have to discard the book and start over.”

Goetzel and Andrea Waters-Winston, Director for Learning Technologies, were particularly proud of the media specialists for rising to the challenge and taking advantage of this crucial funding opportunity: “External funding is critical to build and maintain balanced book collections. Our media specialists are so dedicated to their staff and students to make sure they have the most updated resources availability.”

Below is the list of the grant-winning APS media centers and their media specialists:

Beecher Hills Elementary School – Kristie Stargell
BEST Academy High School – Kesha Legagneur
BEST Academy Middle School – Bruce Williams
Boyd Elementary School – Charlotte Davidson
Capitol View Elementary School – Wilma Brightharp
Carter G. Woodson Elementary School – Melanie Ellis
Charles L. Gideons Elementary School – Alice Daniels
D. H. Stanton Elementary School – Brenda Street
East Lake Elementary School – Renee Withers
Fickett Elementary School – Veronica Miller
Hope-Hill Elementary School – Lisa Carter
J. E. Brown Middle School Atlanta – Jami Pettway
John F. Kennedy Middle School Atlanta – Nikki Bivins
L. J. Price Middle School – Tammy Rosado
Leonora Precious Miles Elementary School – Reginald Ponder
Margaret Fain Elementary School – LaToya West
Parkside Elementary School – Tommy Clay
Perkerson Elementary School – Gloria Wright
South Atlanta School of Computer Animation and Design – Tiffonia Lamar
The New Schools @ Carver – Kathryn Weaver
Thomasville Heights Elementary School – Imogene Mackey
Whitefoord Elementary School – Mileeka Frank
William J. Scott Elementary School – Anja Tigges
William M. Finch Elementary School – Verble Alexander

(photo courtesy of Parkside Elementary PTA)

21 May 2011 0 comment

APS eighth-graders excel on 2011 state writing test

by talkupaps 11 Mar 2011

written by talkupaps

Atlanta Public Schools students improved their performance by four percentage points and eliminated the achievement gap between the district and students around the state on the new Georgia Grade 8 Writing Assessment in 2011. Also, 83 percent of APS eighth-graders scored at “meets” or “exceeds” standards levels.

The results indicate steady improvement by APS students to the point where they are on par with their counterparts throughout the state, who also averaged 83 percent meeting or exceeding standards on the 2011 writing assessment.

A total of 3,093 APS students took the state writing test. The results indicate that APS students improved their performance from 79 percent meeting or exceeding standards last year to 83 percent scoring in those categories on the 2011 results.

The new Georgia Grade 8 Writing Assessment was administered for the first time in 2007. The purpose of the assessment is to assess student achievement on the Georgia Performance Standards in writing and to improve writing and writing instruction. Students are required to respond to writing prompts on either an expository or persuasive writing topic.

“Consistent, incremental improvement over time constitutes positive proof that our reform programs implemented over the past decade are effective in escalating student academic performance,” said Superintendent Dr. Beverly L. Hall. “I congratulate our teachers and school-based staff and administrators for their dedication and hard work to achieve these very positive results.”

11 Mar 2011 1 comment

APS’ award-winning Homework Hotline answers students’ questions

by talkupaps 25 Jan 2011

written by talkupaps

We took some time to watch the award-winning tutors of Atlanta Public Schools’ Homework Hotline as they took calls from students. A unique partnership between Atlanta metro school districts and Public Broadcasting Atlanta’s (PBA) E-Learning/Cyber Center, the Homework Hotline is served by diverse mix of retired and active APS educators, as well as Georgia Tech students. These talented tutors take on all comers, addressing topics such as math and science, foreign language, English/language arts, history/social studies — you name it. They’ve also become an asset as students prepare for the upcoming CRCTs.

We interviewed two seasoned veterans — retired APS teachers Willie Mae McLeod and Glenn Randall — and Georgia Tech senior Steve Iarocci as they walked us through the process of staffing the hotline. Download this flyer to keep at hand for easy reference. You can read our Atlanta Educator article about the Homework Hotline, which last year was honored with a My Source Community Impact Award for Education by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The staff also includes APS teachers Julio Blanco (foreign language), Marcia Jackson (English/language arts) and Kevin Wright (social studies).

More information about the Homework Hotline after the jump …

25 Jan 2011 0 comment

11 APS schools earn 13 outstanding achievement awards from the state

by talkupaps 5 Jan 2011

written by talkupaps

A total of 11 APS schools earned 13 outstanding achievement awards from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) for their academic achievement during the 2009-10 school year. The schools are being recognized under Georgia’s Single Statewide Accountability System (SSAS), which awards schools based on their performance on state curriculum exams and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status. The schools receive awards on four levels – platinum, gold, silver and bronze – and in two categories – greatest gains and highest performance, based on students’ results on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). The School of the Arts at Carver and Carver Early College high schools were recognized in both categories. (Here’s the AJC article.)

APS schools recognized by the state this year among the greatest gain winners include:
Cleveland Elementary School
The School of the Arts at Carver High School
Carver Early College High School
Neighborhood Charter School
Charles R. Drew Charter School

APS schools recognized among the highest performance winners include:
Mary Lin Elementary School – Bronze
Sarah Smith Elementary School – Bronze
Morris Brandon Elementary School – Gold
Morningside Elementary School — Gold
Early College High School at Carver – Platinum
Warren T. Jackson Elementary School – Platinum
Springdale Park Elementary School – Platinum
The School of the Arts at Carver – Silver

The awards were announced today as part of the release of the 2009-2010 K-12 Public Schools Scoreboard and Report Card. The recognized schools receive a congratulatory letter from the state.

5 Jan 2011 0 comment

APS earns national financial reporting award

by talkupaps 21 Dec 2010

written by talkupaps

Atlanta Public Schools won the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA).

The award reflects the commitment of APS and its staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting, according to GFOA. To achieve the award, APS’ budget documents were rated “proficient” in all four categories, including development of an effective policy document, financial plan, operations guide and a communications device. APS also had to achieve proficiency in 14 mandatory criteria within the four categories to receive the award.

Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America, according to GFOA.

“We are very proud to have earned this national recognition from such a prestigious organization,” said Charles Burbridge, chief financial officer for Atlanta Public Schools. “We work hard every day to manage the school district’s financial resources with the view in mind of providing maximum support for our students to facilitate their continued academic achievement.”

APS earned GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award last year. APS also earned the Meritorious Budget Award from the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO) for its 2009-2010 annual budget.

GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving more than 17,600 government finance professionals throughout North America.

21 Dec 2010 0 comment

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District honors

Atlanta Public Schools awarded for environmentally clean bus fleet

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Seven APS Schools Awarded GraduateFIRST Grants

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Douglass High School senior named to State School Superintendent’s student advisory panel

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Grady Stadium earns Award of Excellence from Atlanta Urban Design Commission

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Eighth Graders Make Significant Gains on the 21st Century Skills Assessment

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A Record 24 Media Centers Received $5,000 Grants From the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries

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APS eighth-graders excel on 2011 state writing test

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APS’ award-winning Homework Hotline answers students’ questions

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11 APS schools earn 13 outstanding achievement awards from the state

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APS earns national financial reporting award

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