Douglass High School’s 2024 Valedictorian, Dontavious Blount Jr., gives advice to future students.
The baseball and softball players at Frederick Douglass High School have new uniforms, a covered batting cage and new equipment thanks to their hometown team, the Atlanta Braves.
On a windy Wednesday morning, the student-athletes cut the ribbon with representatives from APS, the Atlanta Braves and Truist Bank and thanked them for the generous gift.
“This means a lot to my players because they see that outside of me and my assistant coach, people really care about them and want to see them do good in life,” Douglass High School head baseball coach Henry Culberson Jr. said. “They redid everything from the batting cages to the bullpens, dugouts, field, and they have more to come. I’m really appreciative of what they’re doing.”
The Atlanta Braves Foundation adopted Frederick Douglass High School as one of its Hank Aaron All-star schools back in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted plans to revitalize the school’s facilities.
But the Braves kept the Douglass Astros on their minds and maintained their commitment to the school.
“This is such an important anchor in our community,” Atlanta Braves vice president of community affairs and executive director of the Atlanta Braves Foundation. “Not just for the athletes here at Frederick Douglass High School, but for other programs like L.E.A.D. that uses this space, our RBI program, to really bring athletes and community together around the sport of baseball and softball.”
The players, dressed in their new Nike jerseys, were grateful and excited for all the upgrades now available to them. Darien Harden, a senior who pitches and plays third base for Douglass, will get to finish out the season with the upgrades and is glad they will be available to future student-athletes at Douglass.
“Even though I’m a senior, I would still like to thank the Braves for this,” he said. ” We love the new uniforms and equipment. The batting cage, bullpen and dugout come in clutch, and I just love it.”
APS’ partnership with the Atlanta Braves has not only benefited Douglass High School, but also Booker T. Washington High School. Field maintenance and facility upgrades have helped provide resources to help APS athletic programs be more competitive.
“We always want to figure out ways to improve the resources for our student-athletes, and there’s no better way for baseball and softball than to get it from the professional home team, the Atlanta Braves,” APS director of athletics Corrie Collier said. “We are so thankful for the Atlanta Braves and Truist. Rendell Jackson played a major role in this project with the Braves, and we’re just happy that our student-athletes and our coaches get an opportunity to experience the resources that have been afforded to them by the Braves.”
Atlanta Public Schools is all over the GHSA football state playoff brackets with a district record eight teams reaching the postseason.
North Atlanta (9-1), Therrell (9-1) and Mays (6-4) all finished second in their respective regions and earned the right to host their opening round playoff matchups.
North Atlanta continues to build on their historic program run. They not only posted their best regular season record, again, this year, but it will also be the first time the Warriors have ever finished second in the region and hosted a playoff game.
Therrell, South Atlanta (5-5), and Washington (3-7) all clinched a playoff spot from AA-Region 6.
The Douglass Astros (6-4) finished in third place in AAA-Region 5, which was two spots ahead of Carver (2-7).
Last, but not least, Jackson (5-5) finished in fourth place in AAAAA-Region 5, two spots behind Mays.
Here’s the schedule for this weekend’s APS playoff matchups:
Friday, Nov. 10
Mays vs. Loganville, 7:30 p.m. at Lakewood Stadium
North Atlanta vs. Houston County, 7:30 p.m at Henderson Stadium
Carver vs. Stephens County, 7:30 p.m at Stephens County HS
Douglass vs. Oconee County, 7:30 p.m at Oconee County HS
Maynard Jackson vs. Jefferson, 7:30 p.m at Jefferson HS
Saturday, Nov. 11
Therrell vs. Model, 1 p.m. at Lakewood Stadium
South Atlanta vs. North Murray, TBA at North Murray HS
Washington vs. Rockmart, TBA at Rockmart HS
For the full GHSA state football playoff brackets, click here.
The Therrell Panthers came out on top after an exciting day at the second annual APS Flag Football Invitational tournament. Ten APS flag football programs competed in a bracket-style, win and advance tournament over the weekend at Carver High School and Lakewood Stadium. Several of the fast-paced games came down to the final possession. Click through the photos for a peak into Saturday’s exciting action.
Atlanta Public Schools is celebrating the graduating Class of 2023, which raised the bar and achieved the district’s all-time highest graduation rate.
That’s right! APS achieved an 86.6 percent graduation rate for cohort 2023, according to graduation data released today by the Georgia Department of Education. By achieving its all-time high graduation rate, APS also exceeded the state graduation rate of 84.4 percent by 2.2 percentage points.
“I am incredibly proud of the graduating Class of 2023,” APS Interim Superintendent Dr. Danielle Battle said. “We are simply elated to celebrate another historic accomplishment! Our students and staff have worked extremely hard to increase our graduation rate and for our results to surpass the state average is truly a testament to the tremendous efforts of everyone in Atlanta Public Schools. We plan to continue building on this momentum by amplifying the work we’re currently doing.”
Frederick Douglass High School Class of 2023 
Frederick Douglass High School Class of 2023 
Jackson High School Class of 2023 
Jackson High School Class of 2023 
North Atlanta High School Class of 2023 
North Atlanta High School Class of 2023 
Midtown High School Class of 2023 
KIPP Atlanta Collegiate Class of 2023 
KIPP Atlanta Collegiate Class of 2023 
Carver STEAM and Carver Early College High School Class of 2023 
Carver STEAM and Carver Early College High School Class of 2023 
Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy Class of 2023 
Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy and BEST Academy Class of 2023 
Benjamin E. Mays High School Class of 2023 
Benjamin E. Mays High School Class of 2023 
South Atlanta High School Class of 2023 
South Atlanta High School Class of 2023
A total of 2,812 students graduated on-time from APS in 2023. The percentage of students who graduated in 2023 is the highest recorded since 2012, when the state adopted the cohort graduation rate as required by federal law. This is an increase of 121 graduates from 2022. The class of 2023 included 3,247 students, 44 larger than the 2022 cohort. See Figure 1.
Figure 1: APS Graduation Rates (Graduate Counts/Cohort Sizes)
Reaching the district’s highest graduation rate culminates four years of hard work for this class. This historic class also completed half of its high school career during a pandemic, which shows that our students, schools, and staff can achieve strong outcomes even amid adversity.
Let’s look at our schools.
Of the 16 schools with graduating classes, 11 achieved percentage-point gains compared to 2022. Douglass High School led the way with the largest increase from a traditional high school and achieved a 7.2-percentage-point gain. Other traditional schools achieving gains include Mays (+5.7), Midtown (+4.9), North Atlanta (+4.5), Atlanta Classical (+3.9), South Atlanta (+3.3), Carver STEAM (+2.1), Carver Early (+1.4), KIPP Collegiate (+0.9), Jackson High School (+0.4). See Figure 2
Figure 2: 2023 APS Graduation Rates and Change from 2022
In addition, eight schools had graduation rates greater than 90%: Atlanta Classical Academy (100%), Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy (100%), Drew Secondary (98.4%), North Atlanta (94.2%), BEST (93.8%), Carver Early (93.1%), KIPP Collegiate (93.0%), and Midtown (91.3%).
With APS reaching higher numbers of total students graduating, the district must take a harder look at improving these numbers across our diverse demographics.
Let’s take a look at some other results from the latest graduation rates:
• Graduation rates for Black students (84.7%) reached an all-time high with the 2023 cohort, while the rate for Hispanic students (82.3%) and White students (96.7%) were higher than the cohort 2022 rates. See Figure 3.
• Nearly 12 percentage points separated the graduation rates of Black students and White students. This is one percentage point lower than the cohort 2022 difference.
• Graduation rates for students with disabilities (76.2%) reached an all-time high with a four-percentage point increase over 2022.
• The 2023 graduation rate for English learners (65.7%) was lower than the 2022 graduation rate of 76.1%, a difference of 10.4 percentage points.
• Graduation rates for Economically Disadvantaged students (82.8%) reached an all-time high with a 2.5 percentage point increase over 2022.
Figure 3: APS Graduation Rates by Race
“We recognize that gaps in achievement persist among our students, so we are continuing to implement strategies for increasing achievement across all student groups,” Dr. Battle said. “These strategies include cultivating a district of readers, shifting resources toward the classroom, operating with openness and collaboration, empowering our educators, and making a personal commitment to excellence. This formula, in conjunction with the availability of ongoing wraparound services, will not only increase student achievement but will benefit the whole child and will allow more to cross the finish line.”
Together, our entire team is responsible for these record-setting gains! Thank you for your ongoing commitment to Atlanta Public Schools.
Note: Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate
Georgia has calculated an adjusted cohort graduation rate as required by federal law since 2012, and this calculation has not changed over this period. APS only reports the official state graduation rate. The four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate is the number of students who graduate in four years with a regular high school diploma divided by the number of students who form the adjusted cohort for the graduating class. From the beginning of ninth grade, students who are entering that grade for the first time form a cohort that is subsequently “adjusted” by adding any students who transfer into the cohort during the next four years and subtracting any students who transfer out. Students who drop out remain in the four-year adjusted cohort.
The ladies of fall are ready to get back on the gridiron this weekend at the second annual APS Flag Football Invitational.
Several high school programs participating in the invitational got the chance to hype up their program at the first APS flag football media day.
Players and coaches from each team took the stage to talk about their goals and what makes their team special heading into the season.
“I enjoyed media day. Being able to hear from every school and their perspective on the sport made me feel good,” Booker T. Washington senior multi-sport athlete Brooke Shelton said. “Hearing from other coaches, especially from teams that are more successful like North Atlanta or schools that win more than Washington does, it really inspires me to see like ‘Hey, I see what you’re doing.’”
The talking will be over Saturday, and the young ladies will hit the field at Carver High School and Lakewood Stadium for the APS Flag Football Invitational.
“We wanted to get this thing started off right before COVID hit, and COVID kind of put a damper on the numbers,” APS assistant athletic director Corrie Collier said. “But now that we’ve moved on a few years later, the numbers are starting to grow more and more. That’s why we’re having things like the media day and next week the invitational just to make sure that we show our young ladies that we support them, we’re proud of them and we’re going to do whatever we can to showcase them.”
Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy Flag Football 
Douglass Flag Football 
Jackson Flag Football 
North Atlanta Flag Football 
Mays Flag Football 
Therrell Flag Football 
Washington Flag Football 
Washington Flag Football letterman patch. 
APS Flag Football 
APS Assistant Director of Athletics Corrie Collier 
Panther Records. 
Therrell Flag Football and APS Flag Football media day host Elise Rankins.
Make sure to mark your calendars for Saturday, October 7, and support these great athletes.
The seeding for the APS Flag Football Invitational tournament bracket was selected at random and split between the two locations. Here is the tournament schedule:
Lakewood Stadium
Mays vs. Therrell, 9 a.m.
South Atlanta vs. KIPP, 10 a.m.
Jackson vs. Mays/ Therrell, 11 a.m.
Semifinal, 1 p.m.
Championship game, 3 p.m.
Carver High School
CSK vs. North Atlanta, 9 a.m.
Washington vs. Douglass, 10 a.m.
Carver vs. CSK/ North Atlanta 11 a.m.
Semifinal, 1 p.m.
Atlanta Public Schools’ top senior baseball players took the field Tuesday afternoon for an exciting matchup versus DeKalb County’s top players for the 2023 APS vs. Dekalb All-Star Classic at Gresham Park.
The DeKalb All-Stars won 14-3, but players from both teams showcased why they were selected to represent their schools in the All-Star game.
“We just wanted an opportunity to highlight our student-athletes and show them that baseball in the metro area is still strong,” APS Assistant Athletic Director Rendell Jackson said. “We want to show our kids that we have a caring culture that is equitable, diverse and presents opportunities where kids can work together to make big things happen.”
This year, student-athletes from seven APS schools made the All-Star team, and Maynard Jackson High School had the most players selected (6). Mays (4), Carver (3), North Atlanta (2), Douglass (2), Drew Charter and KIPP were all represented. Athletes were nominated by their coaches and selected based on stats and region honors.
Therrell High School head coach Ryan Christian, who was named the Region 6-AA Coach of the Year, was the APS All-Star head coach. Maynard Jackson High School head coach Desmond Stegall and Mays High School head coach Jason Anderson rounded out the APS All-Star coaching staff.
“It’s always an honor to be out here as a representative of APS,” Christian said. “The kids played hard. They had a good time. They had some good competition from DeKalb County, so its been a blessing.”
The potential for APS baseball players has continued to improve. Xzavion Curry, who graduated from Mays High School, was the first African American to start as a freshman for Georgia Tech on Opening Day. Termarr Johnson, who was drafted fourth overall in the 2022 MLB Draft, also graduated from Mays High School.
This year’s APS MVP of the All-Star game was Jaylen Woods from Mays. Even though runs were tough to come across, Woods was able to drive one in for the APS team.
“He’s been doing that all year,” Mays head coach Jason Anderson said. “He got a hit and an RBI today, and that pretty much locked it up for him as the MVP. “It’s good to see one of my guys get the MVP today.”
The players from Mays High School wore jerseys honoring former Mays baseball coach Mike “Big Mike” Jennings, who passed away March 30, 2023.
“He’s been a pillar of the community for boys and girls,” Anderson said. “They’re adults now, and they remember all the things Coach Mike did to help them with baseball and softball. Having those jerseys on means a lot to the players.”
The All-Star game drew a supportive crowd to Hank Aaron Field, and the All-Stars put on a thrilling show. Clutch hits, close plays at the plate and a lot of stolen bases kept everyone entertained for all seven innings.
It was a fun evening for the All-Stars and the fans. Hopefully, next year’s APS All-Stars will come out with the win.
“We have a lot of talented people coming up for next year,” Christian said. “We had a lot of talented people this year, so I’m excited to see the future of APS baseball. We’re just letting everybody know baseball is alive in the city.”
2023 APS All-Star Roster
• Anthony Bivens, Mays
• Jerimiah Carroll, Mays
• Jaylen Woods, Mays
• Jerimiah Woody, Mays
• Kaleb Bodeman, Maynard Jackson
• Jay Wilcox, Maynard Jackson
• Zack Kelley, Maynard Jackson
• Dakota Frady, Maynard Jackson
• Eli Mulino, Maynard Jackson
• Gio D’alesio, Maynard Jackson
• Jayden Daniels, Drew Charter
• Keymon Usher, KIPP
• Lamariyea Williams, Carver
• Malik Harris, Carver
• Devin Meadows, Carver
• Antonio Anderson, North Atlanta
• Isaiah Drake, North Atlanta
• Deion Jones, Douglass
• Kaleb Garrett, Douglass
Douglass High School senior Juan Powell will lead the Astros into their first round playoff game against Pepperell, Friday, at Lakewood Stadium.
Douglass High School leads a group of six Atlanta Public Schools high schools with football teams that have advanced to the Georgia High Schools Association playoffs, beginning Friday.
The Astros finished the regular season 9-1, good enough for the No. 2 seed from Region 6 of Class AA. The nine wins is the most for Douglass since 2004. The team is led by senior Juan Powell, one of the state’s top athletes. He is committed to East Carolina University.
Douglass will host Pepperell (Floyd County), the No. 3 seed from Region 7, Friday at 7:30 p.m., at Lakewood Stadium. This is the third consecutive season the Astros have advanced to the state playoffs.
“In a season filled with many ups and downs for our programs, I am proud to announce that we have six teams that have advanced to the first round of the GHSA state playoffs,” said APS Director of Athletics Jasper Jewell. “This has been without a doubt one of the best coaching performances of all high schools this year. Last year produced a lot of seniors who graduated and are now student-athletes on the collegiate level. I am extremely proud of this group of awesome men who lead our [teams] into battle each and every week.”
Here is the full list of APS teams in the state playoffs (all start times are 7:30 p.m.):
Carver at Kell (Cobb County), C.J. Kell Stadium in Marietta
Carver finished the season 5-5 and is the No. 3 seed from Region 6, Class AAAAA. Kell is 8-2, the No. 2 seed from Region 7.
Maynard Jackson at Rome (Rome City Schools), Barron Stadium in Rome
Maynard Jackson finished 6-4 and is the No. 4 seed from Region 6, Class AAAAA. Rome is 10-0, the three-time Region 7 champions and two-time Class AAAAA state champions. The Wolves have won 37 consecutive games.
Mays at Lanier (Gwinnett County), Lanier High School Stadium in Sugar Hill
Mays finished 6-4 and is the No. 3 seed from Region 5, Class AAAAAA. Lanier is 7-3 and the No. 2 seed from Region 8.
South Atlanta at Rockmart (Polk County), The Rock in Rockmart
South Atlanta finished 6-4 and is the No. 4 seed from Region 6, Class AA. Rockmart is 10-0 and the Region 7 champions.
Washington at Chattooga (Chattooga County), Little Big Horn Stadium in Summerville
Washington finished 7-3 and is the No. 3 seed from Region 6, Class AA. Chattooga is 8-2 and the No. 2 seed from Region 7.
The Douglass girls’ basketball team won the Region 6-AA championship over the weekend and will enter the state playoffs as a No. 1 seed. The Lady Astros will host Spencer of Columbus on Friday.
Atlanta Public Schools will be well represented in the Georgia High Schools Association (GHSA) state basketball playoffs this week, as 10 APS teams have advanced to three-week tournament, four as region champions.
The Douglass girls (16-6) won the Region 6-AA championship with a 59-34 win over KIPP Atlanta Collegiate last Friday night. The Lady Astros will host Spencer (Columbus-Muscogee County) at 6 p.m., Friday, in the first round of the state tournament. The Green Waves, the No. 4 seed from Region 5-AA, have a record of 7-17.
The Maynard Jackson boys (24-2) won the Region 6-AAAAA title with a 69-62 win over Riverwood (Fulton County) last Saturday. The Jaguars are currently ranked No. 10 in the Atlanta Journal Constitution Class AAAAA Top 10 poll. They will host traditional DeKalb County powerhouse Columbia (19-8), Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Eagles are the No. 4 seed from Region 5-AAAAA.
The North Atlanta boys (19-9) enter the tournament ranked No. 9 in the AJC Class AAAAAA Top 10 poll, after defeating Cambridge (Fulton County), 69-62, in the Region 7-AAAAAA title game. As the region champion and No. 1 seed, the Warriors will host Apalachee (Bartow County), the No. 4 seed from Region 8-AAAAAA, Friday at 7 p.m. The Wildcats are 11-14 this season.
The Therrell boys (18-7) defeated rival South Atlanta, 80-73, last Friday to win the Region 6-AA championship. Therrell is ranked No. 5 and South Atlanta is No. 6 in the latest AJC Class AA Top 10 poll. Therrell will host Heard County (7-19), the No. 4 seed from Region 5-AA, Saturday at 7 p.m.
Here are the other APS schools that advanced to the state tournament:
Girls
Maynard Jackson (17-6) is the No. 2 seed from Region 6-AAAAA. The Lady Jaguars will host Miller Grove (DeKalb County), the No. 3 seed from Region 5-AAAAA, Friday at 6 p.m. The Lady Wolverines are 15-11 this season.
KIPP Atlanta Collegiate (13-11) is the No. 2 seed from Region 6-AA. The Lady Warriors will host Heard County (9-14), the No. 3 seed from Region 5-AA, Friday at 6 p.m.
South Atlanta (12-11) is the No. 3 seed from Region 6-AA, and will play at Callaway (Troup County), Friday at 6 p.m. The Lady Braves are 8-12 this season.
Therrell (9-12) is the No. 4 seed from Region 6-AA. The Lady Panthers will travel to Lamar County to face the Lady Trojans (20-6), the Region 5-AA champions, Friday at 8 p.m.
Boys
KIPP Atlanta Collegiate (10-18) is the No. 3 seed from Region 6-AA. The Warriors will travel to Columbus to face Jordan (12-12), the No. 2 seed from Region 5-AA, Saturday at 5 p.m.
South Atlanta (23-4) is the No. 2 seed from Region 5-AA. The Hornets, last season’s Region 6-AA and Class AA state champions, will host Temple (Carroll County), the No. 3 seed from Region 6-AA. The Tigers are 12-12 this season.
The North Atlanta boys basketball team won the Region 7-AAAAAA championship over the weekend and will enter the state playoffs as a No. 1 seed. The Warriors will host Apalachee of Bartow County on Friday.
Mays is one of six APS high schools that has advanced to the state playoffs in football. The Raiders are region champs for the second consecutive year and will participate in the Corky Kell Classic to begin the 2018 season in August.
Six Atlanta Public Schools teams have advanced to the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) state playoffs in football and will compete in first round games this weekend. Here’s a look:
Mays
Mays finished the regular season with a record of 9-1 and won the Region 5-AAAAAA championship for the second consecutive season. The Raiders will host the No. 4 seed from Region 6-AAAAAA, Sequoyah (6-4) of Cherokee County, 7:30 p.m., Friday at Lakewood Stadium.
Mays has a combined record of 50-12 since 2012, and that sustained success has gotten the Raiders invited to participate in one of the nation’s top high school football events, the Corky Kell Classic – a series of nine games played over three days on the opening weekend of the season. Mays will face Norcross of Gwinnett County in the final game of the Corky Kell Classic at 8:45 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Be on the lookout for ticket information!
Carver
The Panthers finished the regular season with a record of 9-1 and claimed the Region 6-AAAAA championship. It is the first region title for Carver since 2007. The Panthers will host Columbia (5-5) of DeKalb County, the No. 4 seed from Region 5-AAAAA, at 7:30 p.m., Friday at Grady Stadium.
Douglass
The Astros will be the No. 3 seed from Region 6-AA, after finishing the regular season with a record of 7-3. Douglass will travel to Hogansville to face Callaway (9-1) of Troup County, the No. 2 seed from Region 5-AA, Friday at 7:30 p.m., at Callaway Stadium.
South Atlanta
The Hornets are the No. 4 seed from Region 6-AA, and will travel to Franklin to face Heard County (9-1) the champion of Region 5-AA, Friday at 7:30 pm., at Staples Stadium.
South Atlanta is in the state playoffs in football for the first time since 1994! That accomplishment has the Hornets in the running to be the WAGA-TV/High 5 Sports Team of the Week. Vote for them here: http://myfoxatlanta.secondstreetapp.com/High-5-Sports-Team-of-the-Week–7/gallery/
B.E.S.T. Academy
The Eagles finished the regular season with a record of 5-5, and will enter the playoffs as the No. 2 seed from Region 6-AA. B.E.S.T. Academy will host Temple (6-4) of Carroll County, the No. 3 seed from Region 5-AA, Saturday at 7 p.m., at Lakewood Stadium.
Maynard Jackson
The Jaguars are the No. 2 seed in Region 6-AAAAA, behind Carver, and will host a state playoff game for the first time in school history! Maynard Jackson will face Miller Grove (5-5) of DeKalb County, the No. 3 seed from Region 5-AAAAA, Saturday at 7 p.m., at Grady Stadium.
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