The leader of Atlanta Public Schools will have a formal say in Georgia’s new turnaround effort for low-performing schools.
Rep. David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, on Wednesday named APS Superintendent Meria J. Carstarphen to the state’s new Education Turnaround Advisory Council.
The group meets for the first time Thursday with the Georgia Board of Education to begin the process of hiring a Chief Turnaround Officer, the new position established by The First Priority Act.
The new law details how low-performing schools can be taken over by non-profit managers or converted to charter schools. In a controversial move, Carstarphen and her school board have already turned over some of Atlanta's lowest-performing schools to charter managers.
Ralston, the speaker of the House, got two appointments to the council, as did Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle. The seven other members are representatives of teacher and school leader advocacy groups.
>> Read more about the Turnaround Advisory Council and the turnaround process here, at www.ajc.com.
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