Las escuelas chárter son escuelas públicas gratuitas que operan bajo contrato con un autorizador local como Atlanta Public Schools y ofrecen los mismos servicios de educación especial y ESOL que las escuelas administradas por el distrito.
Are you looking for a spot at an Atlanta Public Schools charter school for the next school year? Charter school applications for the 2021-2022 school year opened January 1, 2021!
“Last year, we developed and implemented a new more centralized system that allows for more equitable access to school choice options for families and makes the whole process of charter school enrollment in APS more efficient and transparent,” said Matt Underwood, executive director of the APS Office of Innovation. “As a result, the District has better data about charter school applications and enrollment patterns.”
Families can find information for all APS charter schools and apply to multiple charter schools with just one application. Applications will be accepted through March 1, 2021. Learn more and apply today at ApplyAPSCharter.org.
As KIPP STRIVE and KIPP VISION teacher Amber Stewart stayed up Monday night preparing for what her principal referred to as a meeting with a concerned parent, representatives from the Atlanta Families’ Award for Educational Excellence (AFAEE) were finalizing a secret plan to surprise her at work the next day to announce that she was a 2013 AFAEE winner. The next morning, while Stewart waited to meet with the fictitious parent, the action unfolded.
“I was just kind of waiting for the parent to come, and there was some kind of ceremony in the background, but I didn’t pay attention to it,” said Stewart. “Then, I heard my name – I was really shocked. I had no idea what was going on.”
As an AFAEE winner, Stewart received a goodie bag, t-shirts for her students and a check for $7,500.
The surprise announcement and subsequent celebration played out at nine other Atlanta Public Schools (APS) locations in a span of about six hours. Some winners were surprised by a knock at the door in the middle of a lesson; some had lunch brought in by Chick-fil-A and others were summoned to a last minute “meeting.” Celebrations for the winners included balloons, an over-sized check, gifts for students and special guests.The AFAEE recognizes and honors outstanding APS teachers and school leaders for their commitment to excellence, and it creates a platform to further award winners’ success, retain motivated educators and attract like-minded individuals to the district.
Stewart received a goodie bag, gifts for her students, a framed letter from Mayor Kasim Reed, a framed proclamation from the Atlanta City Council and a $7,500 check, which includes: $1,500 to fund a professional development opportunity, a $2,500 personal stipend and $3,500 to fund a classroom project.
Stewart’s project, Increasing Civic Engagement through Student Media, will help students use media publications to become more informed about the world around them, and enable them to distribute information via unbiased writing and speaking skills. She believes this will improve their communications skills, and open the door to careers in journalism.
Stewart graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in broadcast journalism. During her senior year of college, she says she felt a calling to work in a career that served a deeper purpose than sports journalism. So she joined the Teach for America program, moved from Chicago to Atlanta, and began her career in education. Stewart says she has found her calling, and she believes teaching is what she was created to do.
Stewart said Tuesday’s events left her feeling overjoyed, honored and blessed.
“I just received the shock of a lifetime,” she said. “You work really hard — not necessarily to get anything, but because you care about your students. So this just feels like an added bonus – it’s kind of the icing
on the cake to get recognition for the work that you do.”
Stewart received a framed letter from Mayor Kasim Reed congratulating her on her achievement, and a framed proclamation from the Atlanta City Council.
The AFAEE will formally celebrate the 2013 winners on Nov. 21 at an awards ceremony at The Carter Center.
The Intown Academy, a Kindergarten-8th grade Atlanta Public Schools (APS) charter school in the Old Fourth Ward, dedicated a peace garden on Friday, September 20th, to commemorate the United Nations International Day of Peace observed on September 21, 2013.
Students recited a peace pledge and listened to fellow students sing “Let There Be Peace on Earth.” The peace garden includes a peace pole inscribed with the words “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in English, French, Spanish, and Chinese.
“As a school, one of our goals is to be an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School,” said Dr. Alieka Anderson, assistant principal of The Intown Academy. “The peace pole is a tool that our students can use to communicate our emerging love and understanding for all children around the world regardless of race, religion, and national origin. As a community, our goal is to promote peace and nonviolence among our students and families and to teach our students better ways of solving problems through peace in their neighborhoods and the Old Fourth Ward.”
The peace garden is a National Wildlife Federation (NWF) certified schoolyard habitat with a bat house, bird bath, bird feeders, bird houses, and pollinator plants. The Peace Garden installation was part of a larger community service day at the school whereby parents, students, and over 30 volunteers from Ernst &Young spread playground mulch, painted classrooms and hallways, and installed the peace garden. The Ernst &Young volunteers selected the school as one of many projects across the city as part of its national Connect Day of Community Service.
University Community Academy, a charter school within APS, earned a $1 million grant for afterschool care, the AJC reported Monday. The grant will be spread out over three years to manage child care before and after school at the Learning Village, according to Georgia Department of Education spokesman Matt Cardoza. The funding for the final two years of the program will be contingent on the successful and effectiveness of the program’s first year. Registration will begin Aug. 9 at the school’s campus, located at 2050 Tiger Flowers Drive. (See map here). University Community Academy serves pre-K through eighth grade.
Read the full story here.