THANK YOU ATLANTA

Six years ago, I was honored to accept the role of Atlanta Public Schools’ superintendent. It remains and always will be a privilege to have been entrusted with leading, serving and representing our City in education.

Today, every single one of us in our communities and across the country are feeling the challenge of this moment in our nation, and in our history. While I acknowledge that we are all dealing with our own reflections and struggles — strife, pain, violence, injustice, disease — there is one overriding feeling I want to take this opportunity to express: my heartfelt gratitude for the grit, resilience and pride I have seen from Atlanta in my time here.

THANK YOU to those who believed in me, brought me here and supported our district through our darkest days. That started with the Board of Education that hired me, and especially with the leadership of then-Chair Courtney English and Vice Chair Nancy Meister, who bridged this City’s historic South-North divide and modeled the spirit of collaboration that guided me and us throughout my tenure.

Before arriving in Atlanta, I had heard of the light in this City, but I had also heard of the shadows—the cheating scandal, the corruption, the ruptures of trust. Overcoming that darkness and changing our culture was key to changing outcomes for children. I am deeply proud of the work we have done together to emerge from scandal to have six years of balanced budgets, pay parity for teachers and staff and an equity-based facilities plan resulting in 17 new or renovated schools. That rebuilds trust.

But trust is not just institutional. It is individual. It radiates from the people working with our 52,000 students every day and the families who entrust us with the gift of their children.

THANK YOU Team APS, the 6,000 resolute leaders, educators and support professionals dedicated to the mission that every student graduates ready for college, career and life. Your tireless efforts consistently motivated me, and witnessing your heroic efforts these past couple of months only reinforced why I’m so proud to have been on this team.

THANK YOU parents, partners, community members, voters and taxpayers who supported us in our journey of transformation and fought alongside us to put children first and invest in their futures unapologetically. Your commitment to cooperation not only brought 350 partners back into the fold, who collectively contributed $72 million to our shared mission, but also generated billions through property taxes and E-SPLOST to support public schools and our economy. I will be forever grateful for that investment.

THANK YOU our tens of thousands of students who constantly amazed, achieved and awed—and inspired me every step of the way. I loved every minute playing football and water polo with you, cheering you on to national championships, basking in the talent I saw shine in your arts performances. But the ultimate highlight for me every year was celebrating graduation alongside you and your families.

I would be remiss if I did not highlight the class of 2018 that brought us to an all-time high graduation rate of 79.9% while the Class of 2020, with more than 2,500 graduates, looks to be the largest in decades! You are the loves of my APS life, taking us from heartbreak to joy, from challenge to achievement, from despair to hope.

And THANK YOU to each of you in Atlanta whom I have had the pleasure to meet and work alongside these past six years. I am so grateful, not only for the partnership and service in our mission to build Atlanta’s next generation, but also for the ongoing faith you offer me that, when we work together, we can continue to rise above the challenges of the past and present for a better future.

THANK YOU!

Much love and (air) hugs,