In describing the grit it takes to transform a struggling school, new Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Meria Carstarphen recounted the experience of a celebrated turnaround principal in her former district of Austin.
A finalist for 16 principal posts and always rejected, the woman was finally hired to lead a failed Austin high school facing state takeover. She arrived amid great doubts about her abilities — so much so that someone threw a dead fish at her during her first staff meeting, said Carstarphen.
“She caught it,” marveled Carstarphen. “And she told her staff, ‘Dead fish, dead school — this is going to stop now.’”
No one is tossing any fish at Carstarphen, unless you count the smoked salmon she is undoubtedly being served at the many “get to know us” fetes in the Commerce Club and paneled dining rooms of downtown hotels.
Unlike that principal in Austin, Carstarphen is not swimming against the tide in Atlanta. The 44-year-old faces an opposite and perhaps riskier situation: being greeted as a savior. APS board members practically swoon when they talk about her. Private donations are underwriting her salary during a two-month transition.
In an hour-long conversation last week, Carstarphen demonstrated the passion, energy and quickness that has convinced board members and business leaders alike she can rewire and revive APS. Our meeting was one of several Carstarphen crammed into a hectic daily schedule being managed with the help of her new press officer and an aide. (She’s also looking for a place to live that suits her and her husband, who works in Houston.)
Youthful and forceful, Carstarphen follows the unflappable Erroll Davis, the former University System of Georgia chancellor brought aboard to sanitize and stabilize the tainted district after the nation’s largest school cheating scandal.
