10 Local Educators Awarded $7500 Surprise from Local Nonprofit, AFAEE

On October 29, Atlanta Families’ Awards for Excellence in Education (AFAEE) surprised 10 Atlanta Public Schools (APS) educators with $7,500 awards including funds for innovative classroom projects, professional development and a personal stipend.  

AFAEE awarded $75,000 to support APS in one day!  

Educators from Douglass High, KIPP WAYS Academy, Washington High, and KIPP STRIVE, were all just one of ten given the surprise honor and awarded for their work in their respective schools.

The following educators were named 2013 AFAEE winners:

Jennifer Hall – Joseph E. Brown Middle School, seventh & eighth grades gifted language arts teacher

Corendis Hardy– Frederick Douglass High School, French and world literature teacher

Dwight Ho-Sang – KIPP WAYS Academy, principal

Jenny Lockwood – Springdale Park Elementary, fourth grade teacher

Kelly Petrello – Garden Hills Elementary, fifth grade teacher

Tiffany Stembridge-Taylor – Booker T. Washington High School, math teacher

Amber Stewart – KIPP STRIVE and KIPP Vision Academies, gifted education teacher

Brianne Turgeon – Springdale Park Elementary, music & chorus teacher

Haena Yoo – Charles L. Gideons Elementary, first grade teacher

Alison Shelton, Centennial Place Elementary, principal

AFAEE has granted over a million and a half dollars to APS educators, their classrooms and schools over the last eight years.

Each winner was awarded $7,500, which includes funding for a school project of the winner’s choice ($3,500), funding for a professional development opportunity to increase the winner’s effectiveness in the school or classroom ($1,500) and a personal stipend ($2,500).

Some were surprised by a knock at their door in the middle of a lesson, some had lunch brought in by Chick-fil-A and others were summoned to a last minute “meeting.”  Winners were celebrated with balloons, over-sized checks, t-shirts for their students, and special guests. 

“The Atlanta Families’ board and selection committee were blown away by the commitment, talent, creativity and passion of these 10 educators,” said Katie McDowell, co-founder and president of AFAEE. “We look forward to watching how these grant dollars will be used by the winners to make a long-term positive impact on the lives of their students while strengthening Atlanta Public Schools from the inside out.”