After weeks of surveys, focus groups and interviews by international business consultants, Atlanta Public Schools has determined that one of the top reasons Atlanta schools struggle is a lack of good teaching.
“Atlanta lacks, and I mean lacks, consistent, high-quality instruction,” Superintendent Meria Carstarphen told parents at a community meeting Tuesday night. “It’s not rocket science.”
At the meeting, Carstarphen briefed parents about specific plans for turning around the more than 40 schools at high risk of state takeover if Gov. Nathan Deal's Opportunity School District plan is approved by voters.
>>See the schools at risk of state takeover
In November 2016, voters will weigh in on a constitutional amendment that would allow control of low-performing schools to be shifted to the appointed superintendent of a new “Opportunity School District.” That would mean decisions about how students are taught and how local tax dollars are spent would no longer be solely up to locally elected officials.
APS' privately funded $500,000 engagement with management consultants Boston Consulting Group also found that Atlanta schools also struggle because they don't attract and retain strong principals and because students face all kinds of problems outside of school.
Carstarphen responded strongly to attendees who criticized the lack of details on school improvement plans, telling them the Atlanta school system is too dysfunctional to sustain any kind of conspiracy.
But APS must move quickly to improve schools, both to avoid state takeover and to do the right thing for students and families, Carstarphen said.
“I have seen what has happened to our children and I can’t stand it,” she said. Carstarphen has said public education can be a vital force for improving the lives of African-Americans especially, but Atlanta schools are falling short. She said Tuesday, “We cannot do this to our black community.”
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