Peach Bowl, Inc. and the College Football Playoff (CFP) Foundation together have provided Atlanta Public Schools (APS) with a $200,000 grant the district will use to bolster its commitment to the success of its students. APS will utilize the funding to purchase the Goalbook Toolkit, an intuitive, easy-to-use online tool that will help educators working with specialized student populations support and foster their growth.

The online resource will provide significant assistance for APS educators, giving them the ability to:

Provide assessments and performance tools to help identify areas of regression and urgent needs for skill recoupment, including in essential standard areas.
Support the development of skills-based and standards-aligned Individual Education Plan (IEP) goals that support both recoupment and growth.
Deliver classroom-ready resources and strategies that support planning and the delivery of specially designed instruction in both classroom and remote environments.

The Goalbook Toolkit will be activated to begin helping 336 APS special education teachers this academic semester.

This new funding initiative adds to the Peach Bowl’s legacy of support for Atlanta Public Schools. Peach Bowl, Inc. currently operates an endowed scholarship program called the John Lewis Legacy of Courage Scholarship that prioritizes awarding scholarship dollars to students graduating from Title 1 APS high schools. The program is endowed with $8.5 million in donations and provides scholarships each year. This academic year, 39 students received $303,283 in scholarships.

“We remain dedicated to the short and long term success of Atlanta Public Schools and are always looking for significant and meaningful ways to help APS – whatever the need may be,” said Gary Stokan, Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO and president. “Since 2007, we have provided APS more than $3.5 million in donations for education projects, and we will continue to partner with APS going forward.”

Peach Bowl, Inc. also manages an academic mentoring program in all 11 APS high schools that provides student-athletes with an academic coach who works to help improve student grade point averages, prepare for SAT and ACT tests, and apply and transition to college.

Previously, Peach Bowl, Inc. and the CFP Foundation partnered to fund a major literacy initiative for kindergarten through fifth grade students to improve early childhood literacy rates. The $2 million Orton-Gillingham program, implemented districtwide, provided 1,500 teachers with phonics-based reading instruction methods to help improve reading proficiency.

“We’re thrilled to be able to continue supporting teachers in Atlanta Public Schools in partnership with the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl,” said CFP Foundation Executive Director Britton Banowsky. “Providing resources and tools for teachers is a top priority which helps them better educate our children. APS has shown significant improvement over the last few years, and we are pleased to be part of that positive momentum.”

“We are honored that once again the Peach Bowl and College Football Playoff Foundation have shown their commitment to Atlanta Public Schools and our students and educators,” said APS Superintendent Dr. Lisa Herring. “We value this partnership more than words can express. We look forward to even more collaborative efforts in the name of ensuring that our district continues to provide all of our students with a quality education that will be the foundation for a life filled with boundless choices and opportunities.”