A new name emerges in APS school chief search: Gwinnett’s superintendent

The Atlanta school board issued a statement that said three superintendent finalists made prepared presentations to the community panel Tuesday and the panel shared feedback with the board afterward.

“We are proud to remain transparent throughout this process and confident it will allow the Atlanta Board of Education to select the best-fit leader for APS students, teachers, staff and the community,” the statement said. “Per state law, we must continue to keep all names confidential until the process has been completed to protect the candidates’ anonymity and their current employment.”

Watts landed the job as Gwinnett’s top educator in July 2021, becoming the district’s first Black superintendent. He grew up in the Seattle area and earned a bachelor’s degree at Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington, D.C., before coming to Georgia for graduate school.

Watts taught in the Seattle and Atlanta areas before taking a job as an assistant principal in Gwinnett. For 13 years, he worked as a principal, human resources director and assistant superintendent in Gwinnett. He left to become superintendent in the Kent school district, south of Seattle.

When he came to Gwinnett, Watts replaced J. Alvin Wilbanks, who had served as superintendent of Georgia’s largest school district for 25 years. In March 2023, the Gwinnett school board voted 4-1 to extend Watts’ contract for two years.

Watts’ tenure in Gwinnett has had some bumps. Board member Tarece Johnson-Morgan has complained he hasn’t done enough for schools that lack resources. Watts also faced criticism for a board-approved discipline policy some said was ineffective. Watts defended the policy, which he has said is essential work to serving students who have traditionally been marginalized. Johnson-Morgan was the only board member who voted against extending Watts’ contract.

Two of Gwinnett’s five school board seats have runoff elections next Tuesday. The elections could shift the balance of power in the school district, which could affect Watts’ contract.

During his tenure, Watts has initiated efforts to close achievement gaps, reduce class sizes and increase kindergarten readiness and literacy. The board also adopted the overarching “Blueprint for the Future” that guides many of these efforts.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta school board extended its search process in April, blaming an information breach for the setback. School boards typically decline to discuss the names of candidates in superintendent searches because it is a personnel matter. The district has officially been searching for a new leader since December 2023 after deciding the previous June not to extend former Superintendent Lisa Herring’s contract.

The board has said it hopes to announce a sole finalist for the job by this fall.

There’s some history of metro Atlanta school boards hiring superintendents from other districts. The Cherokee County school board earlier this year picked Mary Elizabeth Davis, who had been the superintendent of the Henry County school district, to be its superintendent.