Atlanta superintendent commits to Common Core
Atlanta Superintendent Erroll Davis on Tuesday said “there will be no retreat” from uniform standards that aim to improve academic achievement, and he acknowledged that the public school system isn’t doing enough to prepare students.
Delivering his last State of the Schools address before retirement, Davis said Common Core standards aren’t a “communist plot.” Instead, he said they challenge students to think critically and prove their knowledge.
Davis said Atlanta Public Schools must focus on improving its 51 percent four-year graduation rate and reducing the number of students who need remedial help when they go to college.
Davis took over as superintendent in 2011 to lead the school system following revelations of widespread cheating by educators to inflate standardized test scores.
A nationwide superintendent search is seeking to find his replacement by January.
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.
