Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Finalist Holding Series of Town Halls with Parents, Students

Atlanta, Ga. – June 25, 2024

Parents will get another chance to see if the Atlanta Public Schools’ superintendent finalist has what it takes to lead the district.

Parents in Atlanta will have an opportunity to meet the Atlanta Public Schools’ sole finalist for superintendent at a town hall Tuesday night. This will be the second in a series of meetings. On Monday, Dr. Bryan Johnson was at Midtown High School speaking with parents, answering questions, and introducing himself. He’ll do the same thing Tuesday night at The New Schools at Carver.

Tuesday’s meeting is one of six town halls where the community can get to know Dr. Johnson and see why he’s been tapped as the top candidate for the job. Dr. Johnson has been selected as the sole finalist as the school system is seeing a drop in enrollment by 2,000 students, according to data from last school year. Johnson is currently the executive vice chancellor and chief strategy officer at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and he was previously the superintendent of the Hamilton School District. In 2020, Johnson was named Tennessee’s Superintendent of the Year for the 2021 school year.

Community Engagement

At Monday night’s town hall, Johnson spoke about why he’s ready for the job. “And so, I’m standing right here right now because I’ve pressed myself to discomfort, right. I’ve pressed myself to challenge to serve children really exceptionally well,” said Dr. Bryan Johnson, APS superintendent sole finalist.

On Tuesday, Atlanta News First spoke with some parents about what they would like to see different with new leadership. “Well, I think it needs to be more interaction. I think with that the parents and students need to come together on certain issues and make things be known, instead of just talking about it,” said Sonya Stewart, a grandmother to two students in Atlanta Public Schools. “I think they should go into the schools and see what needs to be done, instead of just in the room, in a meeting. I think it would be good if they go in the schools and see what needs to be done. What needs to be changed,” she said.

Focus on Education and Safety

Last Tuesday, when the district announced Dr. Johnson as the finalist, he spoke about being out in the community if he is tapped as the leader. “Anytime you come into a new community, you understand that you’re the change. So, I want to listen and understand what the challenges are, and you only get that listening by being on the ground. So, we’ll be on the grounds. We’ll be in schools. We’ll be in the community,” Dr. Johnson said.

Stewart also said she would like to see a big focus on quality education. She also wants something to be done to curb violence in schools. “With all of the violence in the schools particularly, and you hear a lot of complaints about the work and how the teachers are teaching. I don’t think that every student is on the same level, so I think it need to be something done about that as well,” Stewart said.

Addressing School Violence

Johnson recently addressed violence in schools at a news conference. “I think firstly when we talk about violence, it’s important to understand that this board, and I told the board this, a budget is a statement of what you value, and what this board voted on in the last budget cycle that just passed were more supports for social and emotional learning,” Johnson said. “Understanding the mental health complexities that exist in students are real. The pandemic probably exacerbated some of those things, and so that’s the first step,” he said. “The second step is to have really qualified security and police force like we do,” Johnson said. He also said “it’s understanding where children are and trying to serve them. Obviously, we know that we want the environment to be safe. We want to support teachers with classroom management and such, but we really want to create an environment where children feel safe. Adults feel safe and that it’s conducive for learning,” Johnson said.

Next Steps

Due to state laws, the board is required to wait at least 14 days before making Johnson the official superintendent. After that, there is a board vote that we’re told will take place on July 8.

The following is a full list of town halls:

• June 24 at Midtown High School, 929 Charles Allen Dr NE, Atlanta, GA 30309
• June 25 at The New Schools at Carver, Carver Early College Campus, 55 McDonough Blvd SE, Atlanta, GA 30315
• June 27 at Benjamin E. Mays High School, 3450 Benjamin E Mays Dr SW, Atlanta, GA 30331
• July 2 at Willis A. Sutton Middle School, 2875 Northside Dr NW, Atlanta, GA 30305
• July 3 at Daniel M. Therrell High School, 3099 Panther Trail SW, Atlanta, GA 30311
• July 5 at Booker T. Washington High School, 45 Whitehouse Dr SW, Atlanta, GA 30314

Each town hall will take place from 6-7 p.m. and can be viewed virtually here.

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