I would say that I love them and am so proud of them. Our teachers – many of whom have children and families of their own to care for – have taken on the challenges of virtual learning and other wraparound supports in today’s COVID-19 environment with passion and compassion for our scholars and families. We are stronger and smarter as a school district for it. Our teachers are continuing the hard work of educating our beautiful and talented students while creating virtual classrooms and experimenting with new and unfamiliar methods – all in real-time. So, during National Appreciation Week, now more than ever, I am so grateful to the teachers of Atlanta Public Schools. I wrote a special message and created a special celebratory video just for our teachers on my blog at https://atlsuper.com/. In addition, we have been celebrating our teachers all week with lots of fun activities. You’ll find that schedule on my blog as well.
Bio
Meria Joel Carstarphen, Ed.D., is the superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools (APS) where she leads the district’s nearly 52,000 students, 6,000 full-time employees and 87 schools and oversees the system’s $1 billion annual budget. Prior to serving in Atlanta, she was superintendent in diverse, major metropolitan public school districts, including Austin, Texas, and Saint Paul, Minnesota. In 2014, Dr. Carstarphen was charged with leading the transformation of APS. She has worked to restore organizational integrity and create a student-focused culture not driven by adult agendas. Through her leadership, the District has moved away from an over-reliance on high-stakes testing to emphasize whole-child development.
Bio
Meria Joel Carstarphen, Ed.D., is the superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools (APS) where she leads the district’s nearly 52,000 students, 6,000 full-time employees and 87 schools and oversees the system’s $1 billion annual budget. Prior to serving in Atlanta, she was superintendent in diverse, major metropolitan public school districts, including Austin, Texas, and Saint Paul, Minnesota. In 2014, Dr. Carstarphen was charged with leading the transformation of APS. She has worked to restore organizational integrity and create a student-focused culture not driven by adult agendas. Through her leadership, the District has moved away from an over-reliance on high-stakes testing to emphasize whole-child development.