Atlanta Public Schools (APS) has announced the appointment of two important senior administrators who will lead the District’s academic and equity and social justice efforts. 

Tauheedah Baker-Jones has been named the District’s Chief Equity and Social Justice Officer (CESJO) and Yolonda Brown is the new Chief Academics Officer (CAO). The Atlanta Board of Education approved both promotions at the Board’s monthly administrative meeting, Monday evening.

Chief Equity and Social Justice Officer (CESJO)

As data indicates, APS has some work to do with regard to addressing inequities in all areas of district functioning, including academic performance, culture and climate, talent management, stakeholder engagement, operations, and finance. To begin addressing these challenges, the Board in 2019 approved an equity policy, and a key part of the District’s five-year strategic plan is to close these opportunity gaps where they exist. The hiring of a Chief Equity and Social Justice Officer (CESJO) is one of the first steps in this effort.

Currently, Baker-Jones serves as the District’s Senior Strategic Advisor, as part of her residency for completing her doctoral studies in Harvard’s Doctor of Education Leadership Program. In her role as the APS's first Chief Equity and Social Justice Officer, Baker-Jones will lead the District’s efforts to build a culture of equity and inclusion for all students, families, employees, and community. Included in this work is the development of an overarching vision and strategy for APS to become a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization in its administration, departments, and across the District’s network of schools. 

Baker-Jones will focus on data-driven results, relentlessly pursuing the improvement of central office performance and school leadership, instruction, and operations, and is driven by a desire to produce quantifiable student gains, with a focus on creating programs and policies that support historically underserved students.

The position of Chief Equity and Social Justice Officer is being supported in partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation as part of their longstanding work to promote anti-racist agendas, equity, and inclusion and with support from the Kendeda Fund and redefinED Atlanta. The District’s Office of Partnership and Development helped secure funding and support.  

“I want to congratulate Tauheedah Baker-Jones on the appointment to Chief Equity and Social Justice Officer. During the interview process, she clearly articulated her vision for bringing her commitment to equity, social justice, and excellence to her work here at APS, which included her vision to build an APS Center for Equity and Social Justice,” said APS Superintendent Dr. Lisa Herring. “This is not just about equity. While we have not only seen these cracks in our instructional foundation and supports, we have heard the cries for social justice. As such, we really need to have a senior leader and a division strongly focused on the dual challenges of equity and social justice if we are going to see real movement toward a more equitable system of public education in Atlanta. I truly believe we have that person in Mrs. Baker-Jones.”

Baker-Jones has an extensive background in equity and urban education. She holds a Master’s degree in Urban Education and Social Justice Pedagogy from UCLA. She worked as a classroom teacher in the Newark Public Schools, where she was asked to re-write the district’s K-12 social studies curriculum to infuse more culturally responsive content, and served as a founding principal, and later area superintendent, of a social justice-themed high school. In her most recent roles, she served as an adjunct professor and teaching fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she taught a course on diverse learners, supported the development and instruction of a course on equity in action in school systems, and serves on President Lawrence Bacows’ Diversity, Inclusion and Belongingness Strategic Planning Advisory Council.

In each of these roles, Ms. Baker-Jones has led with distinction. Her work in education equity and social justice has been featured in the New York Times and on the CBS Early Show. She has also received numerous awards and recognitions. Including a recognition by President Barack Obama as a White House Community Leader in Education and her selection as the 2020 recipient of the Harvard University Afolabi Award for Commitment to Educational Justice.

Baker-Jones completed her general studies at Howard University and earned a bachelor’s degree in history, with a minor in near-Eastern languages and culture from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She also earned a master’s degree in urban education and social justice pedagogy from UCLA, and a master’s degree in non-profit management from Rutgers University. She is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in education leadership at Harvard University.

Chief Academic Officer (CAO)

As CAO, Brown will work with the Academic Division to set the strategic vision and direction for the instructional framework and academic approach to the District’s academic programs and work with other District leaders to accomplish the District’s academic goals in alignment with the strategic plan. Her office will develop the short- and long-term instructional vision for the District and will work to establish a culture of high expectations and shared responsibility for equitable access to high-quality and culturally relevant instruction. 

She will work to create authentic partnerships between district offices and schools to ensure closer alignment of District resources with school needs, in order to implement an instructional plan for the District that ensures effective teaching in every classroom and to create conditions that ensure the systemic improvement of practice over time in every classroom. Brown is responsible for all instructional functions including K-12 curriculum and instruction, professional development, student services, special education, social and emotional learning, gifted and talented, fine arts, and college and career readiness. 

Brown has spent her entire professional career serving students and families in APS. She began as a middle school teacher and was selected as the District’s Middle School Teacher of the Year in 1999. Brown went on to serve as a model teacher leader, principal of C.W. Hill Elementary School, and then founding principal of Springdale Park Elementary School before assuming her current position of associate superintendent of K-8 schools in the Carver, Grady, and Washington clusters. 

She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Clemson University, a master’s in middle grades education from Mercer University, an instructional supervision endorsement and educational leadership certification from Clark-Atlanta University, and a certification of completion from the Harvard Institute for School Leadership. 

“Throughout the interview process, Ms. Brown impressed us with her leadership experience, her deep and long-lasting commitment to APS, as well as her track record of success throughout her career as a teacher, model teacher leader, principal, and Associate Superintendent in the district,” Dr. Herring said. “Ms. Brown remains committed to continuing to support her schools until we secure her replacement. 

Both Baker-Jones and Brown are beginning the process of transitioning into their new roles this week.