MLK Week “teach-ins” rescheduled for this week

MLK Week “teach-ins” around the district, originally scheduled for Jan. 10-14, have been rescheduled to this week.

“These ‘teach-in’ lecturers will deliver Dr. King’s principles of non-violence to schoolchildren by teaching them to make critical connections to real-world issues, thus equipping them with the tools necessary to champion social change issues in the 21st century,” said Samuel E. Prater, the 2011 M.L. King March Committee representative.

Here’s the schedule:
MLK Week January 31-February 04, 2011
“Teach-Ins” Schedule

DATE	SCHOOL	SETTING	CONTACT
Monday, 9 a.m.	Scott ES	School Assembly	Bonnie V. Starr 404-802-7024 bvstarr@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Monday, 12:30 p.m.	Usher-Collier Heights ES	School Assembly	Betty Barcliff 404-802-5700 ebarcliff@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Tuesday,12:30 p.m.	Miles ES	School Assembly	Joyce Hayward 404-802-5750 jhayward@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Wednesday, 9 a.m.	Grove Park ES	School Assembly	Caitlin Sims 404-802-7750 clsims@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Wednesday, 12:30 p.m.	Hope-Hill ES	School Assembly	Orlando Jennings 404-802-7450 ojennings@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Thursday, 9 a.m.	Peyton Forest ES	School Assembly	Dr. Jacquelyn F. Poindexter 404-802-7108 jpoindexter@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Thursday, 12:30 p.m.	Boyd ES	School Assembly	Tiffany Hollis 404-802-8150 thollis@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Friday, 9 a.m.	Burgess-Peterson	School Assembly	Holloway-Brown 404-802-3400 nana49@bellsouth.net
Friday, 12:30 p.m.	Connally ES	School Assembly	Wanda Williams 404-802-8450 wmwilliams@atlanta.k12.ga.us

APS basketball team earns runner-up honors at Special Olympics’ Indoor Winter Games

Atlanta Public Schools’ Warriors basketball team earned second place and a silver medal during the recent Special Olympics’ State Indoor Winter Games in Marietta. With only seven players on the roster, the Warriors didn’t have much time to rest, and yet they made it to the final round.

In that final game, against a team from DeKalb County, APS trailed by only two points for most of the game, and ended up short, 26-22. ”It was very exciting!” said Regina Gennaro, APS’ liaison for the Special Olympics out of the Program for Exceptional Children. “This was only our second year participating in a state event where we finished very quickly last year. We made a huge improvement this year!”

The APS team consists of North Atlanta High students Kirby Broughton, Carrie Crayton (the team’s only female), Travis Greene, Robert Perdue, Jermaine Russell and Aquinas Tolan, and Joe Woodward from The New Schools at Carver. (Another North Atlanta student, Mike Hightower, missed the game due to an injury.) Coaches are North Atlanta’s Lisa Oglesby and Nic Hill.

Some interesting notes from the tournament, after the jump …

In School Mentoring program challenges Washington High students

Young men in the In School Mentoring program at Booker T. Washington High participated in an Gender Specific Empowerment Forum last week designed to challenge them to be their best and set the example for their peers. The event began with a viewing of actor-director director Mario Van Peebles‘ groundbreaking documentary “Bring Your ‘A’ Game.” 

The film details strategies that have improved the lives of urban youth, and underscores how essential educational achievement and high school graduation are to survival and success in today’s world.

After the viewing, students received guidance and “keys to success” from professional mentors in fields from education to finance: Nelson Render, Ennis Harvey, Kervance Ross and Mike Vinciquerra. The group engaged in a “man-to-man” open conversation in which students discussed challenges they faced, and received support from mentors and peers on how to overcome that challenge.

Grady High art student is driving force behind Atlanta Art Throwdown 2011

Is it Atlanta’s next great sporting event — or outstanding education? Judging from the response to the first-ever Atlanta Art Throwdown, the answer is both. Although the competition is serious, camaraderie, fun and learning from each other are the real winners. The brainchild of Grady High senior Perrin Turner, the Art Throwdown brings students from high schools across Atlanta to engage in a different kind of art competition.

Similar to a competitive reality show on television, each young artist is faced with a challenge: drawing when you can’t see your hands or the paper; drawing from live models; and working with a group of artists to construct a sculpture in 30 minutes or less. Student artists worked in front of an appreciative audience for the entire evening. Nationally recognized Atlanta artist Fahamu Pecou served as the official Art Throwdown judge.

APS student-athletes welcome Atlanta Braves for ‘Caravan’ stop at The New Schools at Carver

Several schools from APS were in the audience at The New Schools at Carver as players from the Atlanta Braves players fielded questions about life in the Major Leagues. Pitchers Peter Moylan and Scott Linebrink were joined by center fielder Jordan Schafer, with WXIA/11Alive sports anchor Sam Crenshaw serving as moderator. (Crenshaw is a familiar face around APS, previously serving as keynote speaker at the 2009 Monk Jones Lecture Series.)

APS was selected as one of the sites for the annual “Braves Caravan.” Students asked questions such as the difference between playing and baseball in high school and the Major Leagues. The players also stressed the importance of being professional and consistent with everything they do.

Letter from APS Superintendent Dr. Beverly Hall

From APS Superintendent Dr. Beverly L. Hall:

I’m asking for your help on a significant collaboration between our school district and Public Broadcasting Atlanta in order to increase public awareness and prevent the prostitution of children in Atlanta. Please tune in Sunday, January 30, 2011, at 8 p.m. or 10 p.m., for the PBA30 TV broadcast, “How To Stop The Candy Shop,” a one-hour presentation about the sexual exploitation of children.

This topic aligns with the ongoing “Darkness To Light” sexual abuse training that’s offered through the Office of Student Programs and Services. Our school counselors and social workers will discuss this child safety issue in upcoming staff and PTA meetings, as well as provide additional resources to students and parents.

Thank you for supporting such an important issue and for your commitment to protecting our students. For more information, please see the attached press release. (After the break)

Beverly L. Hall, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Atlanta Public Schools

APS honors school crossing guards, students’ ‘first line of defense’

Describing them as “students’ first line of defense,” APS Superintendent Dr. Beverly L. Hall paid tribute to the district’s school crossing guards at an awards ceremony held in the Brewer building today. The event marks a weeklong celebration of National School Crossing Guard Recognition Week.

In 2008, APS became one of the first districts in the country to introduce a certified school crossing guard program. Not only do these dedicated individuals help students cross Atlanta streets safely, most also have been certified in CPR and use of an automated external defibrillator.

We thank them for their hard work on behalf of our students.

Jasmine Guy offers career advice to students from North Atlanta High’s Center for the Arts

When Jasmine Guy spoke with students from North Atlanta High‘s Center for the Arts, she was on familiar ground in more ways than one. The Atlanta stage actress and director and former star of TV’s “A Different World” and “Fame” is a proud graduate of the school when it was called Northside High.

Guy shared her experiences and life lessons from a lengthy career that has brought her back to Atlanta, whether acting with True Colors Theatre or directing the Alliance Theatre’s premiere last summer of the Martin Luther King Jr. musical “I Dream.” One of the funner moments came when a student asked her what she would do when, at an audition, she saw someone who was more talented than her perform. “I go to the bathroom,” she said as the students laughed. Then she got serious, after relating a particularly disappointing exprience: “Now, I try to use people that are good in auditions to inspire me. So I switch it around. If I see a fierce dancer in a room, I try to make it … juice me up. … You can’t let yourself get devastated.”

Guy appeared at the school at the invitation of Center for the Arts academy leader Reginald Colbert. North Atlanta and Grady High are the last of APS’ schools to convert to smaller learning schools under the High School Transformation Initiative that began in 2005 with The New Schools at Carver.

Watch the entire lecture and question-and-answer session with Jasmine Guy here.

Grady High’s Urban Couture fashion design students strut their stuff with ‘Doggies on the Catwalk’

It came a week later than expected, but the Grady High gym was packed, the spotlights were streaming, the celebrities were preening and the dogs were barking as the “Doggies on the Catwalk” fashion event celebrated the work of the Urban Couture program’s senior designers under the tutelage of art teacher Vincent Martinez.

The senior designers: Willamae Boling, Anisha Patel, Lindy Menefee, Jalesa Reid, David Bufkin, Olivia Roorbach, Becca Daniels, Rakhety Livingston, Maiya Daniels, Asha Haki-Tyler, Kayla Banes, Mary Sommerville and Timothy Bennett. The celebrities included Evelyn Mims, Elle Duncan, Brian Finneran, Coy Wire, Jenni Lubo, Marian Goldberg, Dennis Dean, Rich Eldredge, Michaeline Roland, Reginald Walker, Ellen Harden, Rashan Ali, Tammie Reed, Lisa Rayner Tush and Richelle Carey.

But then there’s our celebrity, APS Media Production Manager Scott King, who worked tirelessly to provide this insider look into the event. Check out those camera angles! Also, you can learn more about the program and how it inspires the Grady High students with coverage here, here and here. (Here’s GPB’s video of last year’s event.) Also check out Vincent Martinez’s Fashionado blog here.

The event, hosted by 98.5 FM’s Vicki Locke, also served as a fundraiser for Pets Are Loving Support (PALS). The event benefited from tons of partner support, including dog handling by Piedmont Bark. Stay tuned for coverage of the

Parent Action Day warms up the Capitol

About 100 parents, educators, students and legislators gathered for Parent Action Day on Wednesday morning in the South Atrium of the Capitol to emphasize the need for parental involvement in the education of their children. Guest speakers included State Reps. Kathy Ashe, Nan Orrock and Alisha T. Morgan, who encouraged parents to take action.

Of all the issues representatives say is the most important to them, Morgan (pictured above, bottom row, center) told the audience, “For me, it’s education. It’s what gets me up in the morning.” She also reminded them that while making sure education gets the money it needs, “It’s not just about the money; it’s about how we spend that money. When we talk about funding, let’s talk about where that funding is going.”

“I refuse to think of a world without public education,” said Ashe (pictured above, bottom row, right), who  stressed the notion that parents should feel empowered. “Be involved with your elected folks, but never think that you can’t be one of those elected folks. Don’t ever think your voice doesn’t matter!” Orrock stressed the value of education as she reminded guests about President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address the previous evening, in which he noted that in South Korea, teachers are referred to as nation builders. “He made the point that we need to show that kind of respect for our teachers and educators,” said Orrock, who noted that over the past eight years the state’s education budget had been cut by $4.2 billion.

Atlanta Public Schools was represented among exhibitors with information on the Parents as Partners Academic Center. Other orgranizations providing information included the Georgia Department of Education and the Georgia Information and Resource Center.