Mission and Vision Statements Mission Statement
The mission of Atlanta Public Schools is to
educate all students through academic
excellence, preparing them for success in life, service and leadership.
Fast Facts About Atlanta Public Schools 2012-2013 Student enrollment
50,000
Elementary schools
50
Middle schools
15
approx.
Single-gender academies High schools
4 21
Nontraditional programs Charter schools
2 13
Evening school programs
2
Total APS learning sites
103
Vision Statement
The vision of Atlanta Public Schools is to be a student-centered, high-
performing urban school district where all students become
successful life-long learners and leaders.
Ethnic Distribution of Students African-American
78%
Caucasian
13%
Hispanic
6%
Multiracial
2%
Asian/American Indian/ Alaskan/Other
1%
Students eligible for free and reduced priced meals 74.76%
Number of 2012 graduates
2,093
Scholarships offered to class of 2012 $87 million Number of Title I Schools FY13 General Fund Budget
95
$574 million
Atlanta Public Schools
Atlanta Board of Education Brenda J. Muhammad
Nancy M. Meister
Courtney D. English
Byron D. Amos Vice Chair
LaChandra Butler Burks
Reuben R. McDaniel, III Chair
District 1
District 2
Cecily Harsch-Kinnane District 3
District 4 District 5
Yolanda K. Johnson District 6
At-Large Seat 7
At-Large Seat 8
Emmett D. Johnson At-Large Seat 9
130 Trinity Avenue, S.W. Atlanta, Georgia 30303 404.802.3500
Strategic Plan 2012-2017 “Strategic Leadership … The Road to Excellence”
www.atlantapublicschools.us/strategicplan
About Atlanta Public Schools
A
tlanta Public Schools (APS) is one of the largest districts in the state of Georgia, serving approximately 50,000 students in 103 learning facilities throughout the city of Atlanta. APS schools are organized into nine K-12 clusters which provide a quality education for our students. The cluster model provides greater access to a more equitable distribution of resources and multiple layers of support.
3
We believe that community is critical. We are committed to engaging our community with the goal of creating and sustaining strong relationships.
4
We believe all students should be fully prepared and inspired to graduate from high school ready for college and/or careers. We are committed to fully preparing and inspiring all students to graduate ready for college and/or careers.
5
We believe that students should be lifelong learners. We are committed to developing students who will become lifelong learners that will make significant contributions to society.
Students, Stakeholders and the Learning Environment (1.0) Leadership and Talent Development (2.0) Financial and Operational Systems and Support (3.0)
We believe that teachers matter. We are committed to creating and supporting effective teachers and leaders for APS students.
Perspectives
2
Implementing the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards will ensure a new standard of academic excellence in every school. The standards outline high expectations for what students need to know to be ready for 21st century colleges and careers anywhere in the world.
Improve student achievement (1.1)
Core Beliefs and Commitments
1
Excellence… in everything we do
Strategic Objectives
APS has adopted Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS), which outline high expectations for what students should know in the 21st century and make the district part of the nation-wide initiative to standardize instruction.
We believe that all children can learn. We are committed to developing students who are critical thinkers, and we are committed to creating safe school environments that best meet the social, emotional and cognitive needs of individual students.
Guiding Principles
Strategy Map
Equity… in the distribution of district resources Improve teacher and leader effectiveness (1.2)
Implement rigorous and relevant curriculum (1.3)
Increase employee capacity and leadership (2.1)
Ensure fiscal responsibility and stability (3.1)
Increase student, parent and community engagement (1.4)
Improve recruitment, selection and retention of highly effective staff (2.2)
Improve efficiency, service levels and effectiveness of district operations and business processes (3.2)
Ensure safe and supportive learning environments (1.5)
Promote a culture of alignment, ethics and accountability (2.3)
Strategically manage and leverage technology (3.3)
Through redistricting, APS created a new regional and cluster model to replace the school reform team structure. Under the cluster model, resources are to be allocated to fully staff and provide more support, more opportunities and more equity to the schools.
Ethics… to protect our integrity APS will continue stronger testing security measures and mandated annual ethics training for every employee. In addition, every school will have two ethics advocates who will act as resources for ethical decision-making. Advocates will also infuse ethical principles and character education throughout the curriculum, as well as through teacher and leader actions.
Engagement… with our community APS created the Office of External Affairs which is devoted to community outreach, corporate and foundation relations, constituent services and open records requests. APS is working diligently districtwide to become more engaged and transparent with the community.