Former Georgia lawmaker Alisha Thomas Morgan has taken the top job with a charter school operation based in Gwinnett County.
Morgan started Monday as executive director of Ivy Preparatory Academy, which has three campuses in Gwinnett and DeKalb counties.
Morgan, who at 23 became the first African-American to represent Cobb County in the state House of Representatives, lost her bid for state superintendent during the Democratic primary last year. Her opponents hammered her for taking positions popular among Republicans: She supported an expansion of charter schools and of tax-funded private school scholarships.
The former lawmaker from Austell said she was drawn to charter schools after having a daughter of her own and learning about problems with traditional schools. She was also “blown away” by the efforts of teachers in charter schools.
“When you become a parent it becomes real to you,” said Morgan, now 36, and the mother of a third-grader. She’s never worked for a charter school before, but took leadership training at The Broad Academy, a well-known prep school for reform-minded educators. Former Fulton County Superintendent Robert Avossa attended Broad.
Morgan has a big job ahead. One of Ivy Prep’s three campuses, a boy’s school in DeKalb, has been failing under the state’s report card for schools, and its charter is up for renewal next year. Morgan vowed to turn the school around, after the resignations of its former principal and of Ivy Prep’s former executive director.
“We don’t have a lot of time,” she said. “My number one priority … is getting the right team in place to lead the boy’s school.”
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