With one in three Atlanta Public Schools students failing to graduate within four years, interim Superintendent Errol Davis on Tuesday made a personal plea to some of the city’s most vulnerable, and capable, students, encouraging them to succeed.
Davis, one of the keynote speakers at a Youth Justice Summit at Georgia State University, addressed students from Therrell, Grady and Washington high schools. Some students hailed from crime-ridden and violent neighborhoods, among them the English Avenue and Vine City corridors.
Davis described Vine City as a drug haven, with a high murder rate, but also a place with a history of activism and civil rights, and home to some of the city’s top students.
“My question is on what side of that story is your life going to unfold?” Davis said. “It is going to be a good Vine City story or another disastrous Vine City story?"
The summit was organized by U.S. Attorney Sally Yates, who represents Atlanta, and the Atlanta Police Department and APS. Students also heard from an APD homicide detective, participated in a mock trail with GSU law students, and sang along with music producer Khao Cates, who provided positive raps.
“I strongly believe that our job is not just to put people in jail; we are not going to jail our way into a strong community,” Yates said. “I want kids to have a positive interaction with law enforcement. Hopefully, we can have a small impact on their decisions and careers.”
Nearly all of the students from the three high schools raised their hands when asked if they had known victims of a violent crime.
“This is showing me how I can be better,” said Erica Kimbro, 17, a senior at Therrell, who regularly has witnessed fights. “It has always been easy for me to make good decisions, because I didn’t want to end up like my parents.”
That pattern is all too familiar with Davis, who has promised reform since becoming the interim superintendent of the scandal-ridden APS.
Only 66 percent of APS students graduate within four years, Davis said. Another 10 percent will drop out, and, for the rest, it will take longer than four years to graduate or they move away.
“More has to be done as educators, but you have to do more as students,” Davis said. “It is hard at times. If it was easy, anybody could do it and we wouldn’t have one in three dropping out.”
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