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February 20, 2009
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APS Superintendent Dr. Beverly L. Hall
named 2009 National Superintendent of the Year
SAN FRANCISCO -- The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) Friday named APS Superintendent Dr. Beverly L. Hall the 2009 National Superintendent of the Year, the top professional honor for a K-12 school administrator.
{Dr. Hall with check}
APS Superintendent Dr. Beverly L. Hall (center, in red) named 2009 National Superintendent of the Year by American Association of School Administrators (AASA), with other finalists for the honor and AASA officials.
The announcement at the AASA’s National Conference on Education in San Francisco, capped a year of high-level honors for Hall, who was named Georgia Superintendent of the Year in December by the Georgia School Superintendents Association and one of the 100 most influential Georgians by Georgia Trend magazine. (Photo Gallery)
"Beverly Hall is an outstanding superintendent whose leadership has
turned Atlanta into a model of urban school reform," said AASA
Executive Director Dan Domenech in announcing the award. "Throughout her long and successful
tenure in Atlanta, Hall has accomplished significant gains in student
achievement. She has demonstrated a commitment to setting high
standards for students and school personnel, working collaboratively
with the school board, and meeting the needs of the local community.
AASA is proud to bestow this national honor on Hall."
Hall is the first Georgia superintendent to be named National Superintendent of the Year.
Congratulations began pouring into Hall's office within minutes of the announcement. Georgia Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox was among the first to cheer the news.
"I want to congratulate my friend and colleague, Beverly Hall, on being named the National Superintendent of the Year," Cox said. "Dr. Hall's entire professional career has been dedicated to improving education for students in urban districts across the country and nowhere has the dedication been seen more clearly than over the past decade in Atlanta. Beverly is a change agent who does not back down from a challenge and is not afraid to be held accountable for the results. She has forged strong ties to the business community and has made improving education in the city of Atlanta a community effort, not just a school effort. Atlanta has seen significant gains in student achievement over the past 10 years and I know those gains will continue thanks to Dr. Hall's leadership and vision."
LaChandra Butler Burks, chair of the Atlanta Board of Education, said the ABE "is extremely proud of Dr. Beverly L. Hall for her latest accomplishment. It speaks to her dedication to recruiting quality staff and maintaining high standards for the students, teachers and administrators of Atlanta Public Schools. This award serves as a reminder of Dr. Hall's commitment to ensuring that Atlanta Public Schools will always serve as a model for urban school districts across the country, and that our students graduate ready to compete in college and the global workforce."
Sam Williams, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce was also effusive in his praise. "Our community is very fortunate to have Dr. Beverly L. Hall, one of the nation’s longest serving urban superintendents, at the helm of Atlanta Public Schools," said Williams. "Under her leadership, Atlanta Public Schools will be one of the first urban systems to fully reform its K-12 system, and has made incredible gains in graduation rates and test scores as a result. Her outstanding contributions to our quality of education and the quality of our workforce have been rightly recognized nationally by this highest honor."
APS Teacher of the Year Charon Kirkland says one reason Hall has been so successful is that she believes in her teachers and students. "The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do is teach," Kirkland says, "and if you’re working in what’s considered inner-city schools, there’s this perception that it’s not very good. But if you have the resources and the willingness, you believe in the system, and you believe in the students, you can succeed."
"Dr. Hall believes in the system and the students," Kirkland adds. "This honor provides other school systems examples of what they can implement (in order to help their students achieve at the highest levels)."
The selection of National Superintendent of the Year was based on four primary criteria:
-- creativity in successfully meeting the needs of students in the school system
-- strength in both personal and organizational communication
-- constant improvement of administrative knowledge and skills, while providing professional development opportunities and motivation to others on the education team
-- active participation in local community activities and an understanding of regional, national and international issues
Hall was one of four finalists selected by AASA judges from the 49 state-level and overseas candidates. The other three finalists were Dr. Suzanne Freeman of Trussville,
Alabama City Schools; Dr. Eugene G. White of Indianapolis Public
Schools; and Dr. Stu Silberman of Fayette County, Kentucky Public
Schools.
In addition to this national recognition, a $10,000 scholarship will be presented to a high school student in Hall’s name; she and the three runners-up will be invited to participate next October in the AASA State Superintendents of the Year Forum to discuss pertinent education issues; and she will receive a jacket emblazoned with the National Superintendent of the Year emblem.
When she became the 15th appointed superintendent of the Atlanta Public Schools in July 1999, Hall promised to transform the district into a world-class school system.
Under her leadership, standardized test scores have risen, aging facilities have been renovated and a new blueprint for business operations is being implemented. Hall's vision is that APS will be recognized as one of the nation's highest-performing urban school systems, where 90 percent of the district’s ninth-graders graduate from high school in four years, ready for success in college or career.
In addition to setting an aggressive reform agenda to accelerate student achievement, Hall has worked actively with the community to gain support for public education in Atlanta. She has developed relationships with the business community, civic organizations, nonprofits and government leaders. As a result, APS has an extensive network of partners who donate time, resources and volunteers to help individual schools.
Among Hall's many awards and recognitions are the Council of the Great City Schools' National Urban School Superintendent of the Year, the Institute for Student Achievement Distinguished Leadership Award, the Effie H. Jones Humanitarian Award from the American American of School Administrators and the Superintendent of the Year Award from the National alliance of Black School Educators.
She also was chosen as the inaugural Administrator of the Year by the Atlanta Urban Debate League and has won the Concerned Black Clergy Education Award, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference Ground Crew Service Award for Education and the Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta Legacy Award.
The Carnegie Corporation saluted Hall, who was born in Jamaica, as an immigrant who represents the 'pride of America.' In addition, she has been inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame by the Atlanta Business League; named as one of 100 most influential Georgians in 2007, 2008 and 2009 by Georgia Trend magazine, and one of the 100 Most Influential Atlantans in 2007 and 2008 by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Hall also serves on the board of the new private, nonprofit Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation in Atlanta.
A nationally recognized educator, Hall chairs Harvard University's Urban Superintendents Program Advisory Board, where she mentors participants in the doctoral program. She serves on the board of the U.S. Department of Education Urban Education Research Task Force. In September, Hall was tapped for the International Benchmarking Advisory Group, which works to ensure that all American students receive a world-class education.
As a member of the Teaching Commission, Hall helped develop policy recommendations to address the teaching crisis in America.
Hall frequently speaks to local, statewide and national organizations about the importance of improving public education, particularly in urban areas. She has presented to many prominent groups, including the Aspen Institute’s National Education Summit, a UNITY '08 Convention panel, the Central Atlanta Progress Board, Concerned Black Clergy, the Buckhead Coalition, the Friendship Baptist Church Forum, The Conference Board’s Business/Education Council, the National Summit on America’s Silent Epidemic, and 100 Black Men of Atlanta.
Hall testified before the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee last July about the problems of urban education.
Prior to her post in Atlanta, Hall was state district superintendent of the Newark Public Schools, the largest school district in the state of New Jersey. She also has served as deputy chancellor for instruction of the New York City Public Schools; superintendent, Community School District 27, Queens, New York; and principal, Junior High School 113 and Public School 282, Brooklyn, New York.
Born in Jamaica, West Indies, Hall immigrated to the United States upon completion of her high school education. She received her Doctor of Education from Fordham University and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Oglethorpe University.
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