Bryan Johnson didn’t give a long speech during his swearing-in ceremony Monday morning as the new superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools.
“There won’t be a ton of words,” he said. “There’ll be a ton of work.”
Johnson has already been on the job. He’s been working as a consultant for the district since July 8. He stopped by the Lakewood Bus Depot and several schools to greet staff and students on the first day of school. Johnson has said he plans to visit each of Atlanta’s 87 schools within his first 100 days in office.
Johnson, who started out as a paraprofessional (teacher’s aide) and a football coach, used a sports analogy to explain why he has repeatedly said he believes Atlanta can be the best urban school system in the country.
“My coaches told me I was good before I was ever good,” he said. “You have to speak things, right? It’s a mental approach.”
Johnson served as the Hamilton County Schools superintendent in Chattanooga from 2017 to 2021 and was a finalist for National Superintendent of the Year. Johnson was most recently the executive vice chancellor and chief strategy officer at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
The search process that resulted in APS hiring Johnson took about a year. The Atlanta school board announced in June of 2023 that it wouldn’t extend then-Superintendent Lisa Herring’s contract. Soon afterward, it hired former APS administrator Danielle Battle to serve as interim superintendent. Board members teared up Monday when thanking Battle for the work she did in the past year.
Credit: Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC
Credit: Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC
“Your dedication and service to our students’ families (has been) invaluable to this district,” said school board Chair Erika Mitchell, adding that she couldn’t see what she had written through her tears.
However attached some are to Battle, there was still plenty of buzz and excitement around Johnson. Georgia Supreme Court Justice Verda Colvin swore him in, but first reminded him of notable APS graduates such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy, Maynard Jackson and herself.
“You’re coming on to an already moving train going 90 miles an hour, warp speed through time, making a difference,” she told Johnson. “So now we just expect you to do more of the same.”
Credit: Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC
Credit: Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC
About Bryan Johnson
When the Atlanta school board announced Johnson as the sole finalist in June, he was working as the executive vice chancellor and chief strategy officer at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC).
Johnson led the Hamilton County school district in Chattanooga from 2017 to 2021. He stepped down to become the chief transformation officer at logistics company U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc. He told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution it was a unique opportunity.
“We had navigated through the pandemic and had gotten to the other side,” he said. “I’ve always had a level of interest in, ‘What is the private sector?’ You know, you kind-of hear that term. Got a chance to do that.”
Ultimately, Johnson said, he missed education too much.
“This is the work that I love,” he said.
In 2021, while still leading Hamilton County Schools, Johnson was named Tennessee Superintendent of the Year and was a finalist for National Superintendent of the Year. Before his tenure in Chattanooga, he worked for 10 years in the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System, northwest of Nashville. A Nashville native, 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.
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