Bryan Johnson, a former superintendent of the Hamilton County school district in Chattanooga, is the Atlanta school board’s sole finalist for superintendent.
The board announced Johnson as the finalist Tuesday morning at the school district’s central office in downtown Atlanta. State law requires the board to wait 14 days before taking a vote on hiring Johnson.
“This is a phenomenal opportunity,” Johnson said during the announcement. “Our goal is to be the best urban school district in the country and I firmly believe that we are positioned and poised to do just that.”
Johnson was hired to lead Hamilton County Schools in June of 2017. He resigned in August of 2021 with three years left on his contract. From there, he became chief transformation officer at trucking company U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc. Johnson currently serves as the executive vice chancellor and chief strategy officer at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC).
Credit: Bita Honarvar
Credit: Bita Honarvar
In 2021, Johnson, a Nashville native, was named Tennessee Superintendent of the Year and was a finalist for National Superintendent of the Year. He worked for 10 years in the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System, northwest of Nashville. Johnson attended Austin Peay State University, Belmont University and Trevecca Nazarene University, where he earned a doctorate in educational leadership, according to his UTC bio.
Atlanta school board Chair Erika Mitchell praised Johnson’s four-year tenure leading Hamilton County in Chattanooga. She credited Johnson with improving academic achievement, expanding broadband internet access for low-income students and increasing participation in Advanced Placement courses and dual enrollment programs, where high school students take college courses for credit.
“We found the best fit candidate for our district,” she said.
Johnson said he intends to continue the district’s plans to improve student literacy and use some of those techniques on math performance. APS students lag behind state averages in math and reading performance. Atlanta Public Schools has about 50,000 students.
Johnson, 41, said he hopes to have a long tenure in Atlanta. The average tenure of a school superintendent in Georgia is 2.8 years, slightly less than the national average, according to the Georgia School Superintendents Association.
“We’re excited to be here and we’re excited to do the work, partner with the community, working aside Atlanta’s great board,” Johnson said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We’re here as long as the board will have me.”
Atlanta Public Schools has been without a permanent leader for almost a year. Last June, board members decided not to extend then-Superintendent Lisa Herring’s contract. Longtime APS administrator Danielle Battle stepped in as interim superintendent, but said she doesn’t want the job permanently.
The Atlanta school board surveyed community members about which traits they’d like to see in the school district’s next leader. In December, the board approved a leadership profile that encompassed traits that included: a leader who is equity-driven, knows Atlanta and has leadership experience.
Credit: Bita Honarvar
Credit: Bita Honarvar
Three candidates, including Johnson, made prepared presentations last week to a community panel involved in the superintendent search process, and the panel shared feedback with the board afterward. Gwinnett County Public Schools Superintendent Calvin Watts met with the panel, but withdrew his name from consideration.
About the Author
