Atlanta Public School scholars received free eye exams at Deerwood Academy thanks to partners like Georgia Lions Club Lighthouse Foundation. Scholars who need them will also receive free eye glasses!
Celebration of the financial literacy partnership between Greenlight and David T. Howard Middle School.
Alyssa Marino, a producer for USA Today’s Humankind, films Fred A. Toomer Elementary School kindergarten student Bowie Danner and her classmates on the school’s new inclusive playground.
Word is spreading fast about the new inclusive playground at Fred A. Toomer Elementary School
The unique activity space makes it possible for students with special needs or mobility issues to play alongside their able-bodied classmates. It has already been featured in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and soon it will grace the pages of USA Today’s online section, Humankind, which features uplifting stories about kindness and the human spirit. A short video feature on the playground is already posted on the Humankind Facebook page.
USA Today online producers Alyssa Marino and Sheeka Sanahori visited Toomer to film and interview students and kindergarten teacher Emily Max, who brought the playground to Toomer. Max was one of six nationwide winners of the Farmers Insurance® Dream Big Teacher Challenge in 2015. Max began thinking about an inclusive space when she noticed that the school’s large playground was not completely accessible to all of the students at Toomer. For example, the area’s floor of soft wood chips made it extremely difficult for students with wheelchairs or other mobility issues to move around freely.
Now Max’s vision of more interactivity among all students has become a reality and is garnering a lot of attention.
“One of our co-workers heard about the story on [National Public Radio], and we thought it would be perfect for Humankind,” Sanahori said. Her post on the Humankind Facebook page had more than 5,400 views by Tuesday afternoon. “We focus on positive, uplifting stories, and this certainly is one.”
Look for the full feature on the Toomer playground to be posted on USA Today’s Humankind in about two weeks.
Chief Schools Officer Dr. Donyall D. Dickey addresses attendees at the Aspiring Assistant Principal Reception, held May 23 on the 18th floor of the Nelson Mullins Building in Atlantic Station.
NOTE: There was a ton of activity throughout the district to close out the school year. We shine a light on a number of those events, initiatives and accomplishments in a series of Talk Ups titled “Finishing APStrong.”
A strong school system needs strong school leaders, and Atlanta Public Schools has brought back an initiative designed to discover and nurture leaders from within.
Dr. Dickey personally spoke with a number of attendees at the Aspiring Assistant Principal Reception.
On Monday, May 23, the district held an Aspiring Assistant Principal Reception at the offices of community partner Nelson Mullins in Atlantic Station. The event was hosted by Chief Schools Officer Dr. Donyall D. Dickey, who was told by a veteran APS principal that it had been 30 years since the district staged such an event.
But Dr. Dickey, who was assisted by Deputy Chief Human Resources Officer Skye Duckett, plans to make the Aspiring Assistant Principal Reception an annual event. It is designed to help educators in the district discover the vision for the assistant principal position in APS, develop a career path to becoming an assistant principal, and decide if it is the best career choice. Nearly 200 educators attended the event.
Deputy Chief Human Resources Officer Skye Duckett (left) spoke with several attendees at the Aspiring Assistant Principal Reception.
“We hope that this event will inspire teachers and teacher leaders to seek leadership opportunities right here in APS and ultimately view their district as a place where their talents and skills are nurtured, celebrated, and rewarded,” Dr. Dickey said.