The district learned that 16 APS schools are on the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement new Turnaround Eligible Schools list.  The schools on this list have a three-year (2015, 2016, 2017) CCRPI average below 54.0, which is the bottom five percent for the state.  Last year Georgia passed new legislation to create a focus on turnaround. This legislation included establishing the new role of a Chief Turnaround Officer as well as a new process for underperforming schools to receive state issued interventions.

Over the last three years, Atlanta Public Schools has taken several proactive measures to address underperforming schools within the district through the APS School Turnaround Strategy. All of the APS schools that are on the GOSA Turnaround Eligible list have already received additional individualized support and significant resources.  As a result many of these schools have demonstrated promising academic growth and progress since these initiatives have been implemented.  For example, 15 of the 16 schools that received the deepest level of targeted interventions through the Turnaround Strategy achieved gains across all subject areas on the 2017 GA Milestones assessment.  

The APS Turnaround Strategy focuses on the district’s lowest-performing schools and includes education partnerships, operating-model changes, high-impact tutoring, math and reading specialists to directly support students, recruitment of respected turnaround school leaders, targeted professional learning for teachers, and an accelerated roll-out of social emotional learning in schools. These investments provided individualized support for students, teachers, and leadership teams focused on school improvement.  Attached is a detailed chart that shows which schools implemented which investments.  

The district has seen a decrease in the number of schools identified for potential state intervention.  Last January, 23 APS schools were placed on GOSA’s Chronically Failing Schools List based on 3 consecutive years of CCRPI scores below 60. “We believe that we have demonstrated capacity and the will to improve many of our low performing schools by implementing bold approaches to increase student achievement,” said Meria J. Carstarphen, Superintendent. “We just need more time to fully implement these successful strategies and initiatives.”

“Since the beginning of this administration, we have been focused on improving instruction in our most challenged schools, making deep investments into the schools that need the most support, and extending more support to targeted schools so our students have a better chance to graduate from APS ready for college and careers. We have clearly demonstrated a willingness to take bold actions on behalf of our students, and given our progress to date, we remain confident that APS is strongly positioned to turn around our lowest performing schools.”

Over the next few years, the district plans to continue the work focused on the APS Turnaround Strategy as a part of the Journey for Transformation. APS schools identified on the GOSA Turnaround Eligible Schools List will continue to receive intensive support from the district. More information is available at www.atlantapublicschools.us/turnaround.