The Best of 2011

Posted on December 29, 2011 by chill

What a year 2011 has been!  It began clouded by uncertainty.  Would the APS School Board work through challenges to retain accreditation?  Who would lead the district as the new superintendent? Would metro-Atlanta stakeholders trust again in the district’s ability to serve students?

Many agree the school board’s hiring of Superintendent Erroll B. Davis, Jr. along with its ability to keep school accreditation provided clear evidence that the Atlanta Public Schools system was back on track.  Students, parents and the community at large understand that Atlanta’s success depends greatly on the success of APS.  For us at the AFAEE, though 2011 was a year of transition, it was also a year to reaffirm our commitment to quality teachers and school leaders across the district.

Over the next several posts, we will introduce you to the best of 2011: teachers and principals who won the Atlanta Families’ Awards for Excellence in Education.  They represent the many educators in APS who work tirelessly for Atlanta’s children.  We thank them all for their important work.

We hope that lessons learned in 2011 will inform 2012.  For APS, it’s sure to be another year of big transition, a la a huge school redistricting initiative.  Without a doubt, our collective strength lies in our ability to remain focused on what’s best for Atlanta’s children and doing the most good.

Happy New Year!

Cescely Hill- Cescely Hill, executive director – AFAEE

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Ten Surprise Parties in One Day!

Posted on November 29, 2011 by chill

That’s right, today we awarded 10 deserving educators from nine schools across the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) system with $7,500 grants that will help fund innovative classroom and school-wide projects. The surprise announcements were met with jaw-dropping looks, screams, tears and of course, hundreds of ecstatic children!

Thanks to Councilman Kwanza Hall, the Chick-fil-A cow, the Atlanta Falcons players and cheerleaders and Superintendent Erroll Davis for helping us surprise AFAEE’s 2011 award winners.

Without further ado, congratulations to the following winners! We can’t wait to watch as these winners use their grants to make a lasting impact on the lives of their students and strengthen APS.

Mr. Ed Chang – KIPP STRIVE Academy, principal
Ms. Nieves Corrales – Centennial Place Elementary School, Spanish teacher
Ms. Naja Freeman – Bunche Middle School, seventh grade teacher
Mr. Kenny Kraus – Sarah Smith Elementary School, kindergarten teacher
Dr. Brian Mitchell – Mary Lin Elementary, principal
Ms. Alicia Pagan – Drew Charter School, first grade
Ms. Robin Robbins – Burgess-Peterson Academy, principal
Mr. Mike Stewart – KIPP STRIVE Academy, fifth grade
Ms. Shenise Shorter – Springdale Park Elementary School, first grade
Ms. Sarah Visel – Morris Brandon Elementary

Stay tuned to our blog to learn more about each winner and their project. Use the comment box below to join us in congratulating these outstanding educators!

Cescely Hill- Cescely Hill, executive director

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Be Thankful for Educators

Posted on November 21, 2011 by marlaj

Studies have consistently proven that teachers have a significant impact on student achievement.  At Atlanta Families, we love hearing personal stories of how a single educator has had a profound impact on a student’s life – inspiring a child to attend college or unlocking a love of reading.

This Thanksgiving, we thought we’d share some quotations from our favorite celebrities about why they are thankful for that special teacher that guided them along the way.  When you finish reading, leave us a comment and tell us about an educator who changed your life!

Warm Thanksgiving wishes from all of us at AFAEE!

Oprah Winfrey
Teacher: Ms. Mary Duncan
Wharton Elementary School, East Nashville, TN
“Teachers are often the people who inspire us the most. I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Duncan. She so believed in me, and for the first time, made me embrace the idea of learning. I learned to love learning because of Mrs. Duncan.”

Georgia Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.
Teacher: Mr. Lester Rutland
Central High School, Mobile, AL
“Mr. Rutland encouraged and inspired [me] to become involved in student government and eventually run for school, district, and state Student Council President positions.”

Patti LaBelle
Teacher: Ms. Eileen Brown
John Bartram High School, Philadelphia, PA
“Ms. Brown was very special because she was my mentor. She was very helpful to my family and me. She and I became close friends and are good friends.  After so many years, we still spend time talking on the phone.”

Georgia Congressman Jack Kingston
Teacher: Mr. John Townsend
Clark Junior High School, Athens, GA
“Through Mr. Townsend, [I] learned that civics and politics was ‘cool.’”

Megan Mullally, “Will and Grace ”
Teacher: Mr. Steven C. Surbeck
Casady School, Oklahoma City, OK
“My high school English teacher, who for some reason assigned me the role of Portia in The Merchant of Venice when we read it aloud in class—it was the first time I’d ever done anything remotely like acting, and I thought, hmmmmm… ”

Marla Johnson- Marla Johnson, teacher-in-residence

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Stay Tuned for the 2011 Winners!

Posted on November 7, 2011 by chill

Each year, Atlanta Families’ Awards winners are determined by a rigorous selection process.  There’s no doubt that our award recipients are superstars!  They submit a robust application, invite the AFAEE team into their classrooms for observations, and meet with the Atlanta Families for interviews.  We’ve now completed the 2011 selection process and can’t wait to reveal this year’s winners!  Stay tuned…

Check out our awards teaser here.

- Cescely Hill Cescely Hill, executive director – AFAEE

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Some Good News for APS!

Posted on November 4, 2011 by chill

Atlanta Public SchoolsOn Tuesday, the Atlanta Families’ for Excellence in Education’s partners and staff were pleased to learn that the Southern Associations of Colleges and Schools (SACS), one of the nation’s top accrediting agencies, took the Atlanta Public School system (APS) off probation.  APS was downgraded to “advisement” status as it continues to make positive progress following the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) cheating scandal.

Click here to read the good news in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Over the past few troubling months, AFAEE has remained committed to rewarding and supporting educators with a combination of passion, ethics and creativity to ensure a bright future for all APS students.  We have an outstanding batch of nominees for the 2011 Awards and we look forward to awarding the district’s best and brightest with grants in the months to come!

Let’s keep the good news coming!

- Cescely HillCescely Hill, executive director – AFAEE

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Using Halloween to Spark Imagination in the Classroom

Posted on October 28, 2011 by marlaj

Let me guess.  Your students are squirmy, excited and dreaming about a great big sugar high around Halloween?  It’s easy for the trick-or-treaters sitting in your classroom to get easily distracted around this spooktacular holiday, so why not use October 31 as an opportunity to teach important lessons to the ghosts and goblins in your classroom?

Many of your students will dress up as their favorite hero or heroine this Halloween.  Child development experts note that donning costumes is an important act of individualism and encourages children to use their imaginations.

“Children use make-believe to conquer their fears and explore their hopes and dreams,” says Susan Linn, author of The Case for Make Believe: Saving Play in a Commercialized World.  “It’s a safe haven for honest self-expression.”

Depending on your school district’s policy, invite your students to wear their costumes (or a portion of their costume, such as a hat) to school one day this week.  Or have them dress as a character from their favorite book.  It might just encourage them to write and think more creatively.

You also can use the children’s costumes as a learning opportunity.  For example, you can ask each student to share or present the origin of his/her costume.  If a child comes dressed as Toy Story’s Buzz Lightyear, he could tell his classmates that his character was inspired by Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin.  You could help him tie it to a current event since Toy Story is a Pixar film and Steve Jobs was actually the film’s executive producer.

Of course, be sure to share Halloween safety tips with your students.  The Centers for Disease Control actually has a great set of tips on its website.  Check it out.

And Halloween isn’t just for kids. We’d love to see pictures of you and your students all dressed up and learning.  Post your pictures anytime between now and midnight, October 31st!

Happy Halloween and Happy Teaching!

Marla Johnson- Marla Johnson, teacher-in-residence, AFAEE

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PAST WINNER SPOTLIGHT: Dr. Miller-Ashley

Posted on October 26, 2011 by chill

As we prepare to announce the 2011 AFAEE award winners, we wanted to spotlight a past winner to showcase the passion our winners have for classroom innovation.

Dr. Miller-AshleyDr. Cassandra Miller-Ashley has been the principal of John Hope – Charles Walter Hill Elementary School since 2007.  In 2010, AFAEE awarded a grant to Dr. Miller-Ashley to fund her fifth grade college tour program.

The Education Research Center found that 42 percent of Georgia students don’t graduate from high school; and, the likelihood that an American student who enters high school will be enrolled in college four years later is less than 40 percent.

To help change these statistics, Dr. Miller-Ashley created a college tour for Hope-Hill Elementary School’s fifth-grade class.  Students visited Emory University, Clayton State University, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Morehouse College, Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University. After compiling research, interviews and pictures, students documented and shared their experiences by creating podcasts as a culminating project.

Dr. Miller-Ashley believes that such college bound experiences support the need for children to see themselves as future professionals. The families of the students who participated in the program saw the value as well.

“I am so thankful to have this experience with my grandson,” said Ms. Bryant, grandmother of student DeVontae Bryant.  “When I first heard about the tours, I thought it would be great for him. By the second school, it became life changing for me!”

AFAEE is proud to sponsor Dr. Miller-Ashley’s innovative program that encourages students to advance their education after high school.  What projects will we fund this year?  Stay tuned…2011 winners will be announced next month!

-Cescely Hill Cescely Hill, executive director – AFAEE

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Atlanta’s Next Top Educators

Posted on October 12, 2011 by chill

This fall, the Atlanta Families’ Awards for Excellence in Education (AFAEE) is pleased to select its sixth cohort of outstanding educators in Atlanta Public Schools (APS).  Among the 3,000+ teachers and school leaders within APS, there are so many worthy of recognition.

We spent the summer and early weeks of fall planning  and meeting with district officials in preparation for the 2011-2012 awards season.  In every effort, our goal was to remain true to our mission of supporting APS educators and students – even in the midst of the CRCT cheating scandal.  Our thanks go out to all applicants who waited patiently as we determined the overall direction of the program.

In light of investigations regarding testing and related matters in the district, a few updates were made to this year’s program:

  • Because of ongoing and constantly evolving investigations and an internal audit of all high schools, the AFAEE made the difficult decision to follow district recommendations of removing from the 2011-2012 awards process all applicants from high schools and schools that are not on the district’s list of cleared schools.
  • Due to continued concern about the validity of state-mandated test scores, the AFAEE has elected to temporarily suspend consideration of the GKIDS, CRCT and EOCT assessments in our selection of 2011-2012 AFAEE winners.

Despite this year’s circumstances, the Atlanta Families, along with the district, remain committed to highlighting the important work of APS educators and their students who diligently in classrooms everyday, all across the district.  Sustaining our organization’s mission means that the 2011-2012 awards program will move ahead!

Classroom observations and principal visits are scheduled from October 11th – 20th.  At the end of the month, finalists will interview with the Atlanta Families and past winners. Award recipients will be notified by December 9th.

We look forward to sharing these amazing educators with the Atlanta community.  Thanks to everyone who continues to believe that every child in Atlanta deserves the benefit of an excellent teacher!  Follow our journey with the 2011-2102 winners here on our new blog and on our Facebook page at facebook.com/atlantafamilies.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 Cescely Hill, Atlanta Families’ Awards for Excellence in Education

 

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