APS educators raise their voices in chorus for Atlanta Opera production of ‘Porgy and Bess’

Photo by Tim Wilkerson/Atlanta Opera

We couldn’t be prouder of Miles and Adamsville elementary chorus teacher Letricia Henson and Douglass High choral director Ben Polite, who currently are performing in the chorus for the Atlanta Opera‘s sold-out run of “Porgy and Bess” this week at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center. It should be noted that the opera chorus already has received rave reviews, and we’d like to think Henson and Polite are two big-voice reasons why.

And this isn’t Henson’s first rodeo with George and Ira Gerswhin‘s iconic opera, which tells the story of African Americans in Depression Era Charleston, S.C. She sang in the opera chorus for the Atlanta Opera’s first mounting of “Porgy and Bess” back in 2005, and the following year performed the opera in Paris with the same group. (It marked the first time an American opera chorus of this kind was ever invited to perform in a European music hall, Henson notes.)

Georgia-Pacific honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by donating school supplies to APS elementary schools

Georgia Pacific – One of several generous APS business partners

This just in from our good friends over at Georgia-Pacific:

Each year, continued cuts in education budgets have forced teachers to spend hundreds of their own dollars just to keep their rooms stocked with essential classroom supplies, like notebook paper, pencils, crayons, hand sanitizer and markers. This week, each of the 1,100 Atlanta Public Schools elementary classrooms is receiving a school supply care package from Georgia-Pacific employees.

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 launches 2011 MLK March Week with featured ‘teach-in’ lecture series

Atlanta Public Schools is excited to present a series of “teach-in” guest lectures for elementary school students, surrounding the 2011 MLK March Week in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., from Jan. 10-14.

“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.

The week of activities will culminate with a “Youth Conference” on Saturday, Jan. 15, from 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. at the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers (IBEW) building. All interested students should be encouraged to participate in the conference.

Franklin Lecture Series serves as inspiration for women’s history at CSKYWLA

(UPDATE: For more photos, visit Scott King’s gallery here in the Media Gallery.)

Attendees at the third-annual Shirley Clarke Franklin Lecture Series, held Friday morning at the Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy, were treated to a doubleheader of women’s history. Not only did students, faculty, staff and other guests enjoy an inspiring lecture from guest speaker Dr. Christine King Farris — the only surviving sibling of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — but they also were treated to a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the school’s new building that opened in January.

Dr. Farris told the audience she was proud “to have the opportunity to speak at a school dedicated to someone who I loved like a sister. This is the first and most significant thing that has been named after a woman who served Atlanta so well.”

King Farris challenged students to live the legacy that Coretta Scott King shared with her husband: working hard for peace, social justice and non-violence. She also made reference to March as National Women’s History Month, saying “We are truly writing women back into history!”

After her speech, Dr. Farris and Franklin fielded questions from students. CSKYWLA sixth-grader Radiant Harrison asked what advice Dr. Farris gives her Spelman College students.

“Take your work seriously, and whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability,” Dr. Farris said. “And two, remember those who made it possible for you to attend Spelman, and to give something back.” Another student asked Franklin what advice she would give her successor, newly elected Mayor Kasim Reed. Franklin repeated advice given to her by former mayors, including Andrew Young, who was in the audience with his wife. “They told me to listen to my head, and listen to my heart,” she said.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony that preceded the lecture served as a family reunion of sorts. Two of Dr. King’s children — Southern Christian Leadership Conference President-elect Bernice King and activist Martin Luther King III — and several other relatives joined in the ceremony. King III and his wife, Arndrea, helped their daughter, Yolanda Renee King, cut the ribbon as the crowd cheered.

APS Superintendent Dr. Beverly L. Hall and Atlanta Board of Education Chair LaChandra Butler Burks also spoke at the event, as well as CSKYWLA Principal Melody Morgan, Bernice King, CSKYWLA PTSA President Barbara Mobley, SRT-4 Executive Director Tamara Cotman, and Brian Newell of CD Moody Construction, which supervised construction of the school’s new building.

Dr. Hall calls for quality education at King Holiday Observance

Photos (first row, from L-R): Dr. Hall addresses the King Center audience; CSKYWLA students take the Pledge of Allegiance; Arne Duncan addresses the audience.
Photos (second row, from L-R): Special guests included State Superintendent Kathy Cox, second from left; the Rev. Al Sharpton inspires the audience; the audience listens to Rev. Sharpton.

APS Superintendent Dr. Beverly L. Hall, and hundreds of APS students, joined a roster of dignitaries including National Action Network founder the Rev. Al Sharpton and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan in commemorating the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Friday at the King Center — in advance of Monday’s national holiday. Hall reaffirmed the district’s commitment to providing a top-flight education to serve Atlanta’s young African Americans, who comprise a vast majority of the district’s student body, to honor Dr. King’s legacy.