Atlanta School Daze

Yesterday I met with administrators at the Atlanta Public Schools Office of High Schools located in the Kirkwood district of Atlanta. My 10th-grade Son had recently received a form letter from the APS district offices explaining that he was being removed from an Accelerated Mathematics class.

The letter opened with "Dear Perspective (sic) Student..." and further repeated the misuse of perspective.

My meeting was a failure, as I unsuccessfully appealed the Administration's decision to pull Sam out of the class. I argued that my Son demonstrated exceptional aptitudes for the subject and should receive instruction commensurate with his abilities. The administrator countered that they have no way of doing so that would not jeopardize his qualifications for High School graduation.

I felt let down by the APS, a feeling which has persisted for many years based on school officials' sloppy handling of their work, disinclination to challenge my son, and comfort with "good enough" performance on their part and the part of my son.

The APS' Office of High Schools is a shared facility with the Crim "Open Campus" High School. On my way to the meeting I pedaled by three young men playing dice on the front steps of an abandoned house a block away from the School. At the corner of Clifton and Memorial, a group of students shared a joint in plain view of the School. As I left the meeting, the same group of students had doubled in size, and the sidewalk was littered with what appeared to be a stack of loose leaf papers.

Such is the story of the Atlanta Public Schools: with a student population beleaguered by drugs and poverty, APS officials are preoccupied with efforts to graduate as many students as possible. Based on my Son's experience this preoccupation comes at the expense of academic excellence, and we would be more likely to find a greater emphasis on academic performance in suburban school districts.

I have two pieces of advice for students and parents of middle and high school students in the APS system:

1. Advocate for yourself and DO NOT expect your counselors to give you useful advice on what classes to take and what programs to join
2. Take EVERY honors and AP class you can. Classes in core subjects such as language arts, science, math and social studies that do not have an honors or AP designation are likely to contain troubled students who will distract the teacher and detract from the academic progress of the class.

Unfortunately in the APS, there are two worlds, and if you care about your education you will want place yourself in the right one.