These five values – Wholeness, Excellence, Ownership, Learning, and Community – are more than just words. They are the foundation of our culture, the lens through which we make decisions, and the compass that guides our work. Each value aligns with the goals outlined in our strategic plan, reinforcing our commitment to student success, staff growth, and stronger school communities.

These new core values reflect the heart of our mission and the ambition of our strategic plan. As we move into this next chapter, we invite our students, staff, families, and partners to live these values with us. On purpose.

Together, we鈥檙e building a future where every child can thrive.

鈥淥ne of the phenomenal things about working at 黑瓜吃料网 is the opportunity to collaborate with organizations and do innovative things you might not see in a traditional public school,鈥� said Jovan Miles, principal of Slater Elementary School. 鈥淚 want every kid in this building to become an independent, confident reader. It鈥檚 phenomenal to know we have people here who can provide the exact support our students need.鈥�

ReadSource provides targeted reading interventions, helping students build critical literacy skills that lead to measurable academic gains. The impact of ReadSource is already evident:

• At Slater Elementary, students receiving ReadSource services outgrow their peers in reading achievement by an average of 8 percentage points.
• At Price Middle School, that number rises to 9 percentage points.
• In 7th grade, ReadSource students outgrow their peers by 17 percentage points.
• In 3rd grade, the difference is even more pronounced at 22 percentage points.

“Reading is another form of liberation,” explained Natasha Hogan-Mahan, principal of Price Middle School. “When a child tackles learning with confidence, the world truly unfolds before them. We are immensely thankful for our partnership with ReadSource and for the incredible opportunities it has brought to our Price students.”

Atlanta has one of the largest populations of food insecure people in the country, and the south Atlanta community served by 黑瓜吃料网 Built Schools has experienced this for decades.

To help ensure no student arrives to school hungry, 黑瓜吃料网 Built Schools partners with several organizations to increase food security in south Atlanta. We caught up with Javan Wyche, School Engagement Manager at Carver STEAM, to see how the THES Farm impacts the community.

At the tragic cost of many lives, 2020 shined a harsh spotlight on how systemic racism permeates America.

Our goal at 黑瓜吃料网 Built Schools is to create life-changing opportunities for students and families. We do that by explicitly identifying and dismantling the systems of racism that are barriers to those life-changing opportunities. That approach informs our long-term strategy and daily work.

The visible 鈥� and not so visible 鈥� systems of racism in our schools

In America, Black students are more likely to be suspended or expelled from school, but less likely to be enrolled in gifted enrichment programs.

Many schools serving predominantly Black students experience higher transiency rates, disrupting the long-term secure adult relationships at the heart of learning.

Many of us applaud schools that make a difference with low-income, minority students by concentrating solely on reading and math 鈥� all at the expense of the enrichment opportunities that middle and upper class families expect and demand in their schools.

The very curriculum taught to Black students reflects generations of systemic bias and racism. For example, one part of Georgia鈥檚 K-5 state standards requires knowledge of 70 historical figures 鈥� only 18 of whom are people of color.

Many believe that Black students in inner city schools must be silent and obedient in order to succeed, while schools in white communities give freedom, voice, and choice to students.

Schools serving low-income families can be unwelcoming and intimidating to caregivers, subtly discouraging parental involvement.

What is the cumulative impact of this systemic racism in our schools? On average, Black and Latino high school seniors perform math and read at the same level as 13-year-old white students. The high school graduation rate for Black Americans is lower than their white peers in every state. And in our four schools at 黑瓜吃料网 Built Schools, when we began our partnership with Atlanta Public Schools three of the schools were in the bottom 4 percent of all Georgia schools as ranked by student achievement.

We believe we can remove these systems of racism from schools. It鈥檚 already working at 黑瓜吃料网 Built Schools. We have seen significant, sometimes unexpected, gains across a multitude of important metrics.

In less than five years, across four schools that comprise the lowest income feeder pattern in Georgia and that serve a population that is 100 percent students of color, we have reduced suspensions by 40 percent, lowered transiency by one fifth, and increased caregiver attendance at parent-teacher conferences by 17 percent. It鈥檚 no accident that at the same time three of our four schools have increased student achievement by more than 93 percent of all schools in Georgia.

We know that we are at the beginning of a long journey, and even with our initial successes, we don鈥檛 expect sustainable change to happen overnight.

We also understand that we鈥檙e just four schools in a massive educational system built on systemic racism. But the important work of addressing these systems plays out daily in the way Black students and families experience the educational system through their neighborhood school. And we can start doing something about it right now.

We know our students are born with the same potential as any child. We just have to give them that chance.

At age 22, I was handed my birth certificate, social security card and passport and told I had 10 days to leave my home.

My nightmare was coming true. My Haitian parents had finally discovered my secret:

I am gay.

I was no longer welcome. I was being discarded. I tried to be perfect but 鈥減erfectionism鈥� was not enough.

When the day came, my mom berated me as I made my exit. My dad had no words for me. My heart was broken. My legs buckled as I walked out of the threshold of my childhood home.

Who was I?

I came face to face with who I was during the next two years. I discovered that I am resilient.

My story is important because I represent so many of our LGBTQ students: discarded by loved ones, lacking security and scared of what the future holds.

LGBTQ students deserve to pursue education in an environment where they are loved, accepted and supported. They deserve the same access to opportunities as their peers.

Homophobia runs rampant in schools across America–including our schools. Not only from our students, but from some faculty and staff, as well. We must do better. We owe it to our LGBTQ students.

If it’s in the world then it is in our schools.

Every educator has a student like me in their classroom. They may seem shy or eccentric or eager to please, but that鈥檚 because they just want to know their life matters. They need you to help them know that.

Here are steps you can take to promote equity for LGBTQ students:

• Language matters. If you hear a student or colleague using inappropriate language that can harm the LGBTQ community, speak up and correct them.
• ALL Black lives matter. Even the LGBTQ ones. If you are marching for George Floyd, march also for the Black trans women who have been murdered. The LGBTQ community needs justice, too.
• Model being inclusive. It should be reflected in the information you present to your class 鈥� videos, books, etc.

We aren鈥檛 free until we are all free.

What are you doing to elevate the voices of LGBTQ students? Please join me in making our schools safer for all students and ensuring that we value the experiences of people in our buildings.

This time last year, I was presented with Carver STEAM鈥檚 Teacher of the Year award. The entire Carver family cheered and celebrated my accomplishment as we gathered in our usual meeting space. We laughed, hugged, reflected on the year, but most importantly, we were all together.

Little did we know that a year later we would be adapting to social distancing protocols and online learning.

Although we have been apart, I鈥檝e actually felt more connected to colleagues and the 黑瓜吃料网 community. From check-in phone calls to heartfelt email exchanges, I choose purpose because of the consistent love and support from my school鈥檚 faculty and staff. It is an honor to work amongst leaders who are able to support our students and be there for each other.

I am also proud of my students who have developed the skills of self-advocacy in order to be sure they receive the resources they need in order to be safe, healthy, and academically successful during this time.

I choose purpose because this organization has not only been supportive, but proactive and responsive to the current pandemic. I鈥檓 continually impressed by my colleague鈥檚 ability to rise under pressure and I believe 黑瓜吃料网 is guided by knowledge, experience, and courage for the greater good.

When I think of 黑瓜吃料网, I think of opportunity. As I delighted in the glory of being honored as Teacher of the Year, I also considered how I can continue to make an impact as a teacher leader.

Educating youth with sufficient resources and facilitating a safe and conducive environment for learning is my priority. With the support of an organization that values leadership, I will continue support to my students鈥� hopes and dreams. Serving as an educator with 黑瓜吃料网 reminds me that high-quality education matters, every day and we are making progress together. What鈥檚 your purpose?

Given the national conversation around the failures of our country鈥檚 system of education, this may sound a little bit crazy, but I am deeply hopeful about the future of our schools.

We are gradually seeing schools embrace authentic and inquiry-based models of instruction like project-based learning.

We are learning about how to create trauma-informed schools, while maintaining high expectations.

We are hearing teachers lift their voices to be a part of a national conversation, not just about compensation, but about the critical supports our students need and the funding structures that must change to make this possible.

We know that we have an immense amount of work to do, but researchers and practitioners are asking the right questions to make the right changes. We are working harder than we ever have, we are reflecting and adjusting our mindsets, and we are finding the right tools; but there is a dark truth:

Our schools are not equitable.

As a new principal, I have learned that there are many things I don鈥檛 have control over. School leaders can鈥檛 teach every lesson, call every parent, calm every child, or celebrate every success. We control school budgets, but not school funding structures. We adhere to educational laws, but we don鈥檛 write the laws. We teach standards, but we don鈥檛 write them.

Still, there is so much we can do to move the school forward until our dream of equity is realized. We aren鈥檛 omnipotent, but we are powerful.

INEQUITY IN EDUCATION

After nearly 20 years in education, I have observed that there is one word that can instantly trigger any group of people at any level: equity. Most people would agree that we want to achieve equity in our schools, but educators can feel defeated and attacked, because the minefield of external factors that teachers are expected to navigate becomes more and more difficult each year, especially when you鈥檙e expected to produce the same results as any other school no matter how many explosives are planted in your field.

Have you ever looked at the Georgia Social Studies Standards we are required to teach? In grades K-5, there are 46 different white men named, while there are only nine black men named. The inequity doesn鈥檛 stop there. There are six white women and four black women named. Only one Latino male is named and zero Latino women. Two Native American men are named and one woman. One Asian male is named but there are zero Asian women and zero Pacific East Islanders, male or female.

When we examine the clear imbalance in our standards, either we believe that contributions important enough to study are predominantly white, or we must admit that this is inequitable. Our standards drive everything we teach and how success is publicly measured, so if we only follow these standards, we are promoting inequity.

This inequity reaches far beyond standards. Although some may assume that high-poverty schools receive more funding than others, a U.S. Department of Education study of nearly 83,000 schools found this to be false. This study determined that 鈥渇rom 42 percent to 46 percent of Title I schools (depending on school grade level) had per-pupil personnel expenditure levels that were below their district鈥檚 average for non鈥揟itle I schools at the same grade level, and from 19 percent to 24 percent were more than 10 percent below the non鈥揟itle I school average鈥� (Heuer & Stullich, 2011).

Additionally, Title I schools are spending more. This study also found that 鈥�54 percent to 58 percent of Title I schools had expenditures that were above the non鈥揟itle I school average, and 29 percent to 39 percent were more than 10 percent above the non鈥揟itle I school average鈥� (Heuer & Stullich, 2011).

The challenges facing our students are real, deeply rooted in the soil of our entire world, and reach far beyond the walls of our schools. The amount of challenges we face, their depth and their severity can be overwhelming for anyone. Educators sacrifice themselves on the front lines of the fight for social justice every day, wondering if we ever really make a difference, if it鈥檚 even possible to make a difference.

FIGHTING FOR EQUITY IN TURNAROUND SCHOOLS

In turnaround schools, principals spend a great deal of time with evaluation. You evaluate instruction, protocols, culture, discipline, engagement, partnership, and spending. You know that you must 鈥渋nspect what you expect.鈥� But this inspection should be centered on a strategic plan to promote and achieve equity.

You evaluate whether a reading curriculum is followed, but don鈥檛 spend so much time questioning the diversity and cultural relevance of the texts and instructional tasks. You make sure that lesson plans are turned in, but not necessarily whether cultural relevance is meaningfully and purposefully integrated.

I propose that we consider equity an objective that is just as important to achieve as standardized test scores (actually, it鈥檚 much more important).

You have power over resources, both time and money. In turnaround schools, are you using this power effectively?

• How much energy do you put into finding and developing equitable curriculum, especially with the knowledge that standards are clearly unbalanced?
• How much time do you spend addressing the root causes of inequity, as opposed to bandages that never heal?
• How do you engage parents?
• Do you plan events for the convenience of staff, or based on the needs of the community you serve?
• Do you ever ask the community how to best engage with them?
• Do you approach them with respect and dignity, or do you condescend to them, creating an adversarial relationship?

Who do you hire? Who do you choose as leaders? Do you even consider equity and diversity as a worthwhile goal in and of itself?

The National Equity Project asserts that 鈥渢o achieve equity in education we must develop leaders who can transform our institutions by eliminating inequitable practices and cultivate the unique gifts, talents, and interests of every child so that success and failure are no longer predictable by student identity 鈥� racial, cultural, economic, or any other social factor鈥� (National Equity Project, 2020).

Bibliography

Heuer, R., & Stullich, S. (2011).
Comparability of State and Local Expenditures Among Schools Within Districts: A Report From the Study of School-Level Expenditures. Alexandria, VA: U.S. Department of Education.

National Equity Project. (2020, February).
.

Atlanta is my hometown. I grew up here, I鈥檝e raised my family here, and I suspect I鈥檒l always live here. I love pretty much everything about Atlanta: our neighborhoods, the parks, the restaurants, the Braves. It鈥檚 always been a place of economic opportunity, too, and as someone who has worked in Atlanta鈥檚 city government, community development, and education for 30 years, it鈥檚 been a joy to watch this city become more dynamic, more diverse and more livable.

But that opportunity doesn鈥檛 apply to everyone.

Because Atlanta is also a place where the circumstances you are born into鈥攖he neighborhood you live in or the level of education your parents have鈥攃an predetermine your fate like no other city in America. At various times over the last five years, Atlanta has had the country鈥檚 highest level of income inequality and the lowest level of social mobility, a perfect storm that seals the fate of so many young people.

And the one thing we count on to level the playing field 鈥� quality public education 鈥� is not the great equalizer we all hope it will be. Education is part of the systemic problem that has been plaguing our city for half a century. Because not all schools are equal. You don鈥檛 need to look further than school rankings based on student achievement data to see just how deeply rooted this reality is.

Despite countless reform efforts, history indicates that low-performing schools will, with few exceptions, stay low-performing. In 2011 about 60 elementary schools were ranked in the bottom five percent of Georgia elementary schools. Eight years later only one of those schools had moved out of the bottom 25 percent.

Every Thursday at 8:05 a.m., right after two young students lead Slater Elementary in the Pledge of Allegiance and 鈥淟ift Every Voice and Sing,鈥� I sit down with 4th grader Khamari to read in Slater鈥檚 media center. This year we鈥檝e read two Dogman books, Captain Underpants, and we鈥檙e now tackling the 400+ pages of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky. Khamari is one of the smartest and most engaging young people I鈥檝e ever met. But Khamari is caught up in this systemic problem, and Slater is one of those 60 schools.

In 2016, Atlanta Public Schools and 黑瓜吃料网 decided to tackle this problem head-on and teamed up as part of the district鈥檚 effort to reform this system that could fail Khamari. It is our mission at 黑瓜吃料网 Built Schools to make sure Slater 鈥� along with three other 黑瓜吃料网 Built Schools 鈥� changes the narrative and outcomes for schools in Georgia鈥檚 lowest-income communities. And it鈥檚 our mission to make sure Khamari 鈥� along with 1,649 of his fellow 黑瓜吃料网 Built Schools students 鈥� is given the opportunity to thrive and reach his full potential.