First Lady Deal Spends Time with the Kindergarten Class at Perkerson Elementary

Georgia's First Lady, Sandra Deal visited the students of Perkerson Elementary this month.

Georgia's First Lady, Sandra Deal, is a former school teacher herself and must have felt right at home visiting the kindergarten class of Perkerson Elementary, who were excited to host the Governor's wife. Mrs. Deal, according to Talk Up APS, "read a poem (Learning to Read) and a book (Who I’d Like to Be) to the attentive and active kindergarteners at Perkerson Elementary on February 7th."  Mrs. Deal who spent her years as a teacher with middle schoolers told the students it had been a while since she taught, but she loves whenever she has a chance to be back in the classroom. Literacy was the big focus of the First Lady's visit. According to the APS blog she said, “your teachers are helping you everyday to learn the skill of reading …

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SNAPPS Hosts Meeting on Charter Schools Amendment Ballot Question, October 22nd

Southwest and Northwest Parents and Partners for Schools (SNAPPS) will host a meeting on Monday to discuss the Charter Schools Amendment question that is on November's Ballot.

Southwest and Northwest Parents and Partners for Schools (SNAPPS) invites everyone in SW Atlanta to a panel discussion with elected officials Senator Vincent Fort and House Representative Alisha Morgan and current APS parents on the Constitutional Amendment Ballot Question.  The panel will be moderated by Donna Lowery of 11Alive News. MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2012, 6PM, 98 ANDERSON AVE., NW ATLANTA, GA 30314. Additionally, Board Chair Reuben McDaniel, Vice-Chair Byron Amos and At-Large member Courtney English will discuss APS’ upcoming decision to become IE2, Status Quo or Charter System, in an effort to bridge the gap between traditional public schools and public Charter Schools. “The time is now for APS to decide what type of a system we will…

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PatchCast: The Week in Review

The week's top stories from October 31-November 4, 2011

Atlanta Public Schools Come Off Probation. Protestors Blocked On March To Atlantic Station. Smyrna-Vinings-Cumberland Area Allegedly Suggested For Ricin Attack. Fire Destroys Apartments Near Piedmont Park. Burrell Ellis Hosts Town Hall Meeting In Tucker. Wal-Mart Developers Meet With Medlock, Decatur Residents. APD Seeks Sexual Aggressor Against Women. Two More South Cobb Schools Make AYP. Bookhaven, Chambele Schools Hit, Miss On AYP. All Three Fulton Schools In Cascade Make AYP. Most Buckhead Schools Make AYP Standard. Three Sandy Springs Schools Did Not Make AYP. Grady, Inman Students Meet AYP.

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Daily PatchCast: APS Probation Ends, Occupy Atlanta Plans Return, Hollywood In Brookhaven

The day's top headlines for Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Atlanta Public Schools Come Off Probation. Occupy Atlanta: 'We Are The New World' Occupy Atlanta Plans To Re-Occupy Woodruff Park. Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn Movie Films In Brookhaven. Coyotes Spotted In Briarcliff Area. Trunk Or Treat In Stone Mountain. Halloween Night In Avondale Estates. Trick Or Treaters In Dunwoody's Briers North.

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More Than 100 Attend SNAPPS Meeting to Address APS Concerns

Slate of school board candidates, school board recommendations in the pipeline for Southwest & Northwest Atlanta Parents & Partners for Schools (SNAPPS).

More than 100 advocates of children in the Atlanta Public Schools gathered Thursday evening at Cascade United Methodist Church to review an initial list of "demands" members of a parents' group plans to present to the city's school board. Among the ideas proposed were a new "task force or oversight plan" to track the 58 APS schools accused of cheating on standardized tests, a superintendent search committee that represents "all communities in APS," and the enforcement of a May 1 deadline for school board members to satisfy the recommendation of a probation review board. (see attached Power Point pdf). The meeting, organized by Southwest & Northwest Parents & Partners for Schools (SNAPPS), also served as a makeshift platform for potential …

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Group Mobilizing Westside Parents Thursday to Respond to APS Challenges (Updated)

Southwest and Northwest Atlanta Parents and Partners for Schools (SNAPPS) meeting Feb. 17 at Cascade United Methodist to discuss "action plan" for probation, new superintendent search.

An organization of southwest and near northwest Atlanta parents is set to present plans tonight for responding to a range of issues facing the Atlanta Public School board. Members of the Southwest and Northwest Atlanta Parents and Partners for Schools (SNAPPS)  will host the meeting at 7 p.m. at Cascade United Methodist Church, 3144 Cascade Rd.  According to SNAPPS president Shawnna Hayes-Tavares the purpose of the meeting is "to collaborate with the community on behalf of our schools." "Our advocacy is necessary to ensure that schools on the northwest and southwest are being represented with a collective voice," said  Hayes-Tavares, a southwest Atlanta resident and mother of students at Peyton Forest, Inman Middle and Benjamin E. Mays …

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Cascade Talks

Neighborhood-Based Math Competitions May Be One Solution to Achievement Gaps, APS Probation

Neighborhood Mathematica, and programs like it, could help improve the quality of Atlanta's public schools

As the Atlanta Public Schools forge a new path towards academic improvement under its new probation status, the focus on Monday's Martin Luther King celebration shifts. Instead of viewing MLK day solely as a celebration of one mighty man's achievement, we should also consider it as a reminder of what remains undone in manifesting the dream of true equality for all. Called, by some, "The Last Civil Rights Frontier," the academic achievement gap is the next big generator of inequality to bump off our collective to-do list. But much like the original U.S. Civil Rights Movement, this challenge will require people from all walks of life to get out and change a fundamental aspect of society, for the achievement gap is mean and stubborn. Despite …

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Kwanza Fisher

3:45 pm on Friday, January 21, 2011

Thank you, Yolande. You're right; Students can't be expected to do well in algebra if they don't know the basics. I really believe we should focus more on rigor in math at earlier ages. My nephew can't call his 6 and up time tables and he's in his second semester of 4th grade...and he doesn't really care to change that. While I can't blame a child for not understanding why this is so important …   more ›

Atlanta Public Schools on Probation; Southwest Atlanta Parents"Concerned," "Staying Faithful"

Accrediting body gives APS nine months to address concerns; Cascade parents are cautiously optimistic about system's future

Vickie Chennault, mother of a Mays High School senior, listened attentively Tuesday as the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) announced plans to place the Atlanta Public Schools on probation. Though school board officials assured parents and community leaders that the probation status “has nothing to do with the strength and quality of the district's program,” Chennault said she was not totally convinced. “I am leaving here even more concerned,” said Chennault. “It should have never [gotten] to this level. They know how crucial this is to our children, our schools, and our communities.”. One of the main concerns associated with loss of accreditation, say parents like Chennault, is the potential decrease in property values…

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