Education
Education

Atlanta teacher visits White House leaders

By Mark Niesse
May 7, 2014

A seventh-grade social studies teacher at Mount Vernon Presbyterian School in Sandy Springs was one of 20 teachers from across the country who visited the White House on Wednesday for a Teacher Appreciation Week event.

The teacher, Alex Bragg, was participating in a conversation with administration officials including Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Jill Biden, a lifelong educator and wife of Vice President Joe Biden.

The group of teachers also was taking a tour of the White House and sharing a cup of tea with Biden.

About the Author

Mark Niesse is an enterprise reporter and covers elections and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and is considered an expert on elections and voting. Before joining the AJC, he worked for The Associated Press in Atlanta, Honolulu and Montgomery, Alabama. He also reported for The Daily Report and The Santiago Times in Chile.

Follow Mark Niesse on twitter
More Stories

Keep Reading

A woman holds a sign in protest during an Atlanta School Board meeting in Atlanta on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. APS held its final vote on school consolidation plans, approving several school closures. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com

Why the Atlanta school board voted to close and repurpose some schools

Sixteen schools will be repurposed under the APS Forward 2040 plan as enrollment falls and the district seeks better resources for students.

Atlanta board of education approves school consolidation plan

The Atlanta school board voted unanimously Wednesday night to approve a consolidation plan, which would result in some school closures in a couple of years.

Atlanta parents, residents object to plans to close some schools

Due to lower enrollment and climbing costs, 16 school buildings would be repurposed under the plan, with several schools closing and their students rezoned for other schools.

The Latest

A woman holds a sign in protest during an Atlanta School Board meeting in Atlanta on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. APS held its final vote on school consolidation plans, approving several school closures. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com

Why the Atlanta school board voted to close and repurpose some schools

Atlanta board of education approves school consolidation plan

Kennesaw State modifies operations on Marietta campus due to gas leak

Featured

Ja’Quon Stembridge, shown here in July at the Henry County Republican Party monthly meeting, recently stepped from his position with the Georgia GOP. (Jenni Girtman for the AJC)

Credit: Jenni Girtman

A viral confrontation and a sudden resignation shake up Georgia GOP

The man behind the vigilante sting operation that apparently netted a teenage GOP official says he has no regrets.

Why the Atlanta school board voted to close and repurpose some schools

Sixteen schools will be repurposed under the APS Forward 2040 plan as enrollment falls and the district seeks better resources for students.

Small-town Georgia DA brings almost as many RICO cases as Fulton’s Fani Willis

Griffin Judicial Circuit has brought 13 RICO indictments since June 2020.