More than 600 people have signed a recent online petition demanding Atlanta’s school board remove its superintendent and leadership team.
The petition, on Change.org, notes issues such as the high percentage of students who fared poorly on last year’s Georgia Milestones exams in English Language Arts and math, the district has 29 schools that need additional state support to improve academically, which was more than any school district in Georgia, and what they say is a disturbing number of disciplinary incidents.
“Atlanta Public School’s senior leaders have failed our students, teachers and staff in academic achievement, operations, climate and culture, engagement, and ethics, college and career readiness since July 2020 under the leadership and guidance of Dr. Lisa Herring,” the petition, by Transparency Now, begins. “Let the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education know WE WANT NEW SENIOR LEADERSHIP — including a new superintendent and senior cabinet — to change the trajectory for our kids and implement aggressive strategies that will increase growth and help ALL students achieve. Our students’ success, achievement and futures cannot wait.”
The school district said in a statement Friday that many of the points in the petition offer an “incomplete interpretation of our student data.”
“We acknowledge that many of these post-pandemic baseline data can be sobering but they also don’t paint a complete picture of our students, their successes, and their academic trajectory,” the statement said. “We are keenly aware of the many learning and social-emotional impacts caused by the pandemic and are also evaluating some existing challenges prior to the pandemic while creating and honing solution-based approaches to meet the needs of our current and future students at APS.”
The school district’s superintendent, Lisa Herring, began her tenure in July 2020.
Credit: Miguel Martinez for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Miguel Martinez for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta officials added the coronavirus pandemic has impacted learning in the district and statewide. The statement said the district has launched a series of data-driven efforts as it implements the school board’s 2020-2025 strategic plan to improve student outcomes.
Atlanta’s school district has about 50,000 students. It has historically had lower graduation rates than other metro Atlanta districts and scored lower than other districts on statewide exams.
The Atlanta district has a 26.6% youth poverty rate, the second-highest rate in the Atlanta region. Georgia schools with higher poverty rates often have lower academic performance, research shows.
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