Welcome Back to School - Meet Your B.E.S.T Academy High School Principal

Atlanta Public School students returned back to school on a dark and rainy Wednesday morning, August 7th.  The following is a profile of Dr. Timothy Jones of B.E.S.T Academy High School courtesy of the APS Blog, Talk Up APS.

Dr. Jones brings a significant background in education serving as an elementary school assistant principal, an elementary school principal, a middle school principal, a director of curriculum and instruction, an adjunct professor and a school improvement director.  Throughout the course of his career, Dr. Jones has been instrumental in furthering school and system improvement efforts as well as driving and sustaining strategic change resulting in marked student achievement gains.

The crux of Dr. Jones’s work centers upon his efforts to support school communities as they meet the demands associated with the implementation of new programs, enhanced instructional practices, technology infusion and focused initiatives resulting in improved student outcomes. Dr. Jones’s strong commitment to positive, dynamic relationships with the community, parents, students, and school personnel has enabled him to successfully assist schools in the attainment of their vision.

“This year B.E.S.T. Academy High School is committed to exceeding expectations and achieving higher standards. The entire staff is focused on providing rigorous learning opportunities for our young men. We will strive to learn and master the most effective gender-based instructional methods and deliver the most relevant and specialized curriculum possible. We will invest professional learning time educating ourselves and learning new strategies to help our students meet and exceed the elevated standards which are expected of them,” says Principal Jones.

Dr. Jones looks forward to engaging parents throughout the school year.  ”Parents and stakeholders can expect 100% effort from us. We are asking our parents to  join us in an equal partnership to help all students thrive in our school. It will require creating additional learning opportunities that may cut across traditional lines of thinking. It is a great challenge but the time to begin is now. Simply put; we must innovate or we will fall behind,” Jones told Talk Up APS.  ”I am pleased, honored and blessed to be the principal of your child’s school. I desire to be one of the very BEST examples in your child’s life and in the lives of our faculty, staff and stakeholders.”

Through the single-gender structure, B.E.S.T. Academy High School at Ben S. Carson strives  to significantly shape its students into well-rounded young men who are prepared to meet current and future demands in an ever-changing global society.  As one of the first single-gender high schools, coupled with the small learning communities environment design, B.E.S.T. is designed to be more effective in preparing students for post-secondary opportunities.

B.E.S.T. Academy High School was orginally formed as a part of APS’  Middle School Transformation Initiative that included single-gender academies.  B.E.S.T. and the all-female Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy (CSKYWLA) each opened in 2010.  Both B.E.S.T. and C.S.K.Y.W.L.A. will graduate their first senior classes this school year.