Patch Voices

The Jackson High School Cluster: A Year in Review

What Atlanta Public Schools needs to do to show its commitment to the children of Southeast Atlanta.

Dear Atlanta Public School Board and Leadership: As we near the end of the school year, we find ourselves reflecting on the progress made this year in the Jackson Cluster. We thought it would be especially important for you to understand what accomplishments have been made and what challenges remain in the schools you represent, and remind you that your decisions, your ability to work together and think creatively about things like the budget can have an immediate positive impact on 50,000 students. For many families, this was the first year in new schools and a new cluster after redistricting. In our schools, we found some amazing teachers and leaders helping our children learn and grow. In our cluster, we found a rich and complex …

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Jackson High is Changing; New Principal Will Show You How

'Those, like me, who have been here for decades remember when couples who had children had to move when a kid turned four, because they had to live in an area that had good, decent schools.'

Another meeting? Although I go to a lot of 'em — SAND, NPU, PTSA, LSC, etc. etc. etc. — I am not a "meetings" person. I rarely see the significance, certainly not the amount of time spent talking rather than doing, although I understand communicating and planning are important. That said, there is an incredibly important 7 p.m. meeting coming up Thursday, March 21, at Maynard H. Jackson High School (at the temporary location: Coan Middle School, 1550 Hosea Williams Drive), organized by the Southeast Communities for Schools (http://seacs.weebly.com/): "SEACS is delighted to announce a very special meeting. Join us as Jackson's visionary new principal Stephanie Johnson gives her vision for the future. This meeting is for anyone whose child …

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SEACS Brings Together Schools and Community to Increase Student Attendance

'Truancy is just one symptom of larger problems.'

The Southeast Atlanta Communities for Schools met with representatives from the Edgewood community to address chronic truancy issues at Jackson, Coan Middle, and Whitefoord Elementary schools on Nov. 26, 2012. Jackson Principal Stephanie Johnson, Whitefoord Principal Timmy Foster and Coan Principal Betsy Bockman asked SEACS to bring together community partners in Edgewood to address the short and long term attendance issues in the schools. We have three passionate hard working principals who have high expectations for their students and staff and we want to make sure the community is supporting them at every step. In addition to SEACS and Atlanta Public Schools, representatives from Atlanta's corpoprate, municipal and community sectors …

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Southeast Atlanta Communities for Schools Hosts Meeting On Jackson High School Improvements

Ask questions and view a presentation of the planned $40 million project.

The Southeast Atlanta Communities for Schools is hosting a meeting today with the architects behind the $40 million planned renovation of Jackson High School in Grant Park. SEACS, which advocates for and seeks to improve the quality of education in the institutions that comprise the Jackson High School Cluster, is hosting the 6:30 p.m. meeting at Burgess-Peterson Academy, 480 Clifton St. SE. SEACS also will take nominations for its governing board. Atlanta Public Schools hired architectural firm Perkins+Will — which is behind the $2.8 billion Atlanta BeltLine project — to lead the Jackson renovations. APS projects the Jackson refurbishments, slated to begin at the end of this school year, will be complete by the start of the 2013-14 …

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APS Redistricting: SEACS Asks For Geographically Defined Cluster

'In a fixed cluster, inequity becomes conspicuous and success common purpose.'

Editor's note: On Monday, more than a dozen parents from Grant Park, Ormewood Park, Cabbagetown, Kirkwood, Summerhill and East Atlanta met to do discuss what the ideal feeder cluster to Jackson High School would look like and the tools Atlanta Public Schools could give to make the schools  in the city's southeastern quadrant successful. The parents who represented public and charter schools and whose children ranged in age from still-expecting to high school, discussed and debated ideas for more than four hours at the Grant Park Recreation Center. That work resulted in a letter submitted Feb. 23 to Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Erroll B. Davis Jr. from the Southeast Atlanta Communities for Schools, which advocates for the children …

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