Atlanta Public Schools was awarded a three-year $500,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to implement research-based literacy training for K-3 teachers and to expand the district’s Social and Emotional Learning curriculum and professional development programming.
 
The Rollins Center at the Atlanta Speech School for Language and Literacy will train more than 200 APS K-3educators in the Frederick Douglass High School cluster and other APS elementary teachers throughout the district in building language, vocabulary, critical thinking skills and world knowledge. The training will occur onsite and through the Center’s online campus.

The Rollins Center provides professional development and programming to Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, Sheltering Arms, YMCA and EduCare, which will help create further alignment between early childcare providers and early literacy learning in APS. 

Additionally, the award will be shared equally with the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning to continue the district’s partnership to provide social and emotional learning professional development, technical assistance, implementation and curriculum. Social and emotional learning involves the processes through which children, adolescents and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills in five areas: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
 
“APS is excited about receiving this grant to help us equip our teachers with important research-based content knowledge and high-quality instructional interventions and strategies for literacy and language for our early learners,” said APS Superintendent Meria J. Carstarphen, Ed.D. “These funds will also allow us to expand our implementation of social and emotional learning throughout the district to focus on building cultures of caring in our schools and promote academic success.”
 
“We are excited about the work that APS will carry out with this grant,” said Felicia DeHaney, director of Education and Learning at the Kellogg Foundation. “Expansion of the SEL curriculum will provide teachers with the professional development and training they need to deliver high-quality education to help children succeed.”
 
APS will implement the Foundation grant from January 15, 2016 through December 31, 2018.