Atlanta Public Schools superintendent Meria Carstarphen will join a new national group that will explore how schools can better teach students non-academic skills, like how to work in groups or be resilient in the face of challenges.

The work of the Aspen Institute's commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development will culminate in a report that will "re-envision what constitutes success in our schools."

The 14-member group is chaired by Stanford University professor Linda Darling-Hammond; lobbyist and former Michigan governor John Engler; and Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning chairman Tim Shriver. Carstarphen is one of two current K-12 educators on the commission.

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HBCUs nationally will get $438 million, according to the UNCF, previously known as the United Negro College Fund. Georgia has 10 historically Black colleges and universities. (Daniel Varnado for the AJC)

Credit: Daniel Varnado/For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

Credit: NYT