Georgia Department of Education has no intention of taking over APS says State Superintendent Barge

A letter today from Dr. John D. Barge, State School Superintendent, to Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Erroll Davis confirmed that contrary to previous news reports, the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) has no intention of taking over local control of any APS schools.

APS leadership has been in direct contact with their counterparts at the GaDOE this week regarding the status of five APS schools that were reclassified to the state’s ‘Needs Improvement’ category on Wednesday.  The schools are: Parks, Harper-Archer, Kennedy middle schools and Dobbs and Gideons elementary schools.  Barge called the report published earlier this week in the AJC “grossly inaccurate” saying further that it is “…unfortunate that the headline in the AJC misrepresented the facts.”

According to the letter from Barge to Davis, the GaDoe will be supporting APS by providing a School Improvement Specialist to serve each of the five schools.  These specialists will help the school develop and implement their school improvement plan and short-term action plan, provide professional learning for staff, and help facilitate best practices that will improve student achievement.

Karen Waldon, the district’s new Deputy Superintendent of Curriculum has also been in close contact with Avis King, the Georgia Department of Education Deputy Superintendent for School Improvement about the matter.  Ms. King and Ms. Waldon will work closely together and collaborate on the work that lies ahead to realize the academic improvements that will eventually result int he five schools being removed from the state’s ‘Needs Improvement’ list.

The full letter from Superintendent Barge to Superintendent Davis is below.