"One System with Different Schools"

In recent years the Atlanta Public School system has drawn much attention and critiscim regarding the way in which it continues to be governed. Not only has the governance been focused on but also the inequalities that exist within the system itself and the performance of employees. Once looked upon as one of the model districts in the nation it continues to befalled with blemish after blemish that ultimately affects people dedicated to their professions and most importantly the students that public education is designed to help however they are hurt.  These blemishes have come about in my opinion as a result of upper level management and administrators who do not have at heart the best interest of students and the communities that public education are supposed to serve.

The most infamous stain in recent years continue to be that of the notorious cheating scandal that even today is slowly making its way through the legal system and court of public opinion. Marred by corruption, it was birthed out of performance based pay incentives to create a positive perception again of upper level management and administrators to the detriment of some of the most dedicated educators in their profession. It was created from its inception in my opinion to mask the inequalities of education within the Atlanta Public School System.

From the beginning since being formed, the Atlanta Public School system has systemically been separated along socio-economic and racial lines. The schools on the more affluent north side of Atlanta have been afforded significantly more resources that those on the less affluent south side of Atlanta.  I maintain that the only thing that has been consistent is the curriculum that is standard across the board. However, while the curriculum has been common the tools necessary for educators to carry out such continues to vary again based on socio-economics and race to say the least. The schools on the northern side have modern facilities, advance technology, up to date teaching materials and community support that is second to none. Atlanta and the officials that paint the picture of an international city has too much to lose in the way that we are treating our young people and their public education.

To illustrate the aforementioned points, we currently find a number of schools again on the south side of town are reeking with hazardous mold in addition to rodent infestation. Not only does such filth have an adverse effect on ones learning environment but it likewise has an adverse effect on everyone’s overall health faculty, staff and students alike. When questioned the response from the superintendent has been the cause of the mold was because of excess rain over the summer months. I maintain however that the same rain that fell on the southern quadrant of Atlanta was the same rain that fell on the Northern quadrant.

It is my position that the Atlanta Public School system and its superintendent owes a tangible explanation to our board of education, our student’s ,faculty and staff as well as the constituents that it was chartered to represent. Furthermore,  not only is an explanation owed and should be demanded but a solution to the public at large of a city once described as, “the city to busy to hate!”

The Reverend Douglas Demetrius Prather, a noted social justice and civil rights activist is the Senior Pastor of the Greater Mountain Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia