As we move into the 2017-2018 school year, Atlanta Public Schools (APS) continues its journey of transformation into a culture with a child-centered mission and vision. More than ever, we need a deeper connection with our students, parents, caregivers—the entire family!
Just as our teachers, principals and staff focus on preparing every single student for college and career, we need all of our APS families to continuously strive for that mission. It starts with getting students to attend school on the first day and every day of the school year. Each day is a day of instruction, an opportunity to learn.
Research clearly states that absences hurt achievement. One report traces students’ struggles to master reading in the third grade to missed days in kindergarten. Another study shows students’ chances of graduating high school are severely limited by days missed in middle school. Simply put, every school day counts.
Behavior also matters on the journey. Many of our students don’t come to school with the skills to set goals, overcome obstacles, develop healthy relationships and self-monitor behavior—necessary abilities for success in school, work and life. By concentrating on development of the whole child, with a focus on social emotional learning skills, our kids will have the smarts as well as the hearts to be better people than we can imagine.
Most importantly, the education of our children matters as they obtain the academics needed to remain on their graduation course.
For the journey, we have made school-based decision-making, flexibility and engagement a priority especially as we work within our new charter system operating model. And as we continue on this journey together, we pledge to continue to do our part to work diligently to foster a transparent, collaborative environment for our families and stakeholders.
Again, as APS families, you play a critical part in this journey, and we have adopted a district-wide strategy to empower you to become even more engaged in your children’s
