New Fulton County schools chief prepares for first year

“It’s imperative to learn about the past and present to prepare for the future,” he said.

Officials say enrollment is projected to grow to 96,500 students, an increase of 800, or about 1 percent. Among the other announcements:

•Twenty-seven Fulton County schools will serve free breakfast and lunch for all their students.

•Bus drivers did a dry run of a projected 788 bus routes during the previous school year.

•Some 900 new teachers will teach their first class for the district in August.

Deputy Superintendent for Academics Rob Anderson said work will continue in identified “achievement zones” to increase academic outcomes for students in those areas. The district has paired with the University of Virginia for assistance in that effort. Fulton’s first achievement zone was established last year, the 10-school Banneker High School attendance zone in south Fulton County. The initiative includes trying to recruit and retain top teachers and encouraging research-based innovations to boost students’ learning.

“This work’s going to take some time,” he said. “There’s no easy fix.”

Rose said much time in the last few weeks has been put into learning the district’s culture and community, holding meetings and calls to bring himself up-to-date. Among his early goals are increased community engagement and making sure the district supports the individual schools.

“Schools should be able to focus on the needs of their particular students … and to do so, I think schools will need guidance and support,” he said. “I want to make sure our district is doing a good job at that.”