Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Meria Carstarphen is using an ambitious and controversial strategy to raise performance in the city’s struggling schools.
She is turning over control of some schools to outside groups to not only run, but staff. Approved Monday, Carstarphen’s plan means 300 APS employees will have to apply to these outside management companies for jobs in the new, overhauled schools. Not all of them will get jobs.
Few superintendents in urban districts can claim comprehensive success in turning around failing schools. Will Carstarphen be among the first?
An education policy expert thinks Carstarphen has a chance. “She could have taken the easy route, adding a couple of professional development days in the summer, and avoiding any strategies that might be met with skepticism. Instead, she put forth a plan she thinks has the best chance to succeed, placing students above scoring political points,” says Jarod Apperson.
To read more about the APS turnaround plan and what it has in its favor, go to the AJC Get Schooled blog on MyAJC.com.
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