The month of July marked a new chapter for the 142 year-old Atlanta Public Schools (APS) as it welcomed Dr. Meria Carstarphen as its nineteenth superintendent. Georgia Tech has historically worked with individual schools throughout the district through the Center for Education Integrating Science Mathematics and Computing (CEISMC), the various colleges at Tech, and more recently adding the Center for Enhanced Teaching and Learning (CETL), and Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI).  But with a new superintendent comes new opportunity to increase our level of engagement.  Historically the APS system has not yielded large numbers of students to Georgia Tech, and while many variables may attribute to this fact, the Institute is committed to redefining its relationship with the schools in its own backyard, the APS district.

This is obvious with the integral role Tech is playing with the city’s newest charter school, Centennial Academy (formerly Centennial Place Elementary School). Centennial Academy is practically on campus, located about 200 yards from Tech Tower. Tech is involved with every aspect of the school operation, which is particularly relevant as it evolves from a traditional K-5 school to a conversion charter middle school incorporating grades 6 to 8.

Highlights of Georgia Tech’s involvement with Atlanta Public Schools include:

INTERNSHIPS FOR APS STUDENTS

• Project ENGAGES employs 12 students from BEST Academy and Coretta Scott King Young Women's Leadership Academy in an intense, year-long research internship in the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioscience and Bioengineering

TEACHER DEVELOPMENT

• Georgia Intern Fellowships for Teachers (GIFT) provides hands on STEM experiences to teachers. Seven APS teachers from all three school levels are participating this summer.

INTERNSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS FOR GEORGIA TECH STUDENTS

• The pre-teaching internship program places students each year at Centennial Academy and Grady High School.
• Similarly, our graduate student teaching fellows are working at Maynard Jackson High School for this upcoming academic year. 

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION

• Through Race to the Top (RT3) funding, CEISMC and the Georgia State University School of Music have partnered with Drew Charter to create innovative STEAM curricula and expand pre-K-8 STEAM curricula to grades 9-12 for cradle-to-college pipeline. The team also is helping teachers incorporate design into their lesson planning. 

ENRICHMENT

• The I3 after school computing enrichment program draws students from Carver High School, Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy, Usher Park Elementary School, and Grove Park Elementary School. The program continues to grow, reaching additional schools.
• Georgia Tech administers one of five Horizons programs in Atlanta for summer remediation and enrichment. Horizons is a non-profit aimed at providing academic enrichment to children from lower income household in the city of Atlanta. The program emphasizes academics, arts, sports, and social growth.
• In addition to 75 summer STEM camps that offer financial aid as available, Georgia Tech offers the Saturday K.I.D.S. Club throughout the year for elementary age students and their parents. More than 125 students from APS enroll in our programs each year.

MENTORING AND TUTORING

• Last year, more than 50 Georgia Tech students served as tutors for Centennial Academy children through student volunteerism organization, MOVE.
• Formal and informal mentoring abounds between Georgia Tech and APS students. The AmeriCorps Pathways into STEM Program places volunteers at several APS schools for 8- or 10-month appointments, and the HTS 3008 Near Peer Mentoring course provides a semester long mentoring platform to explore major/career interests and navigate the college application process.
• Our Westside Communities Alliance collaborates with nonprofit organizations Raising Expectations and InGirls to provide tutoring and mentoring to Washington Cluster students.

 Stay tuned for more as we partner with APS in our surrounding communities.