• History of Beecher Hills Elementary School

     

    Beecher Hills Elementary School was erected in 1958 under the superintendence of Dr. Ira Jarrell. The school is located at 2257 Bollingbrook Drive in Southwest Atlanta and was built to accommodate 500 students in grades K-7. In the 1980s, the configuration of Beecher Hills was changed from K-7 to PK-5. The original building has been expanded to include an upper and lower cluster. 

     

    In its 56-year existence, only ten principals have administered Beecher Hills. The first principal was Miss Henrietta Starke (September, 1959-June, 1968). She was followed by Miss Regina Stern (September, 1968-June 1973) and Dr. Gwendolyn Howard (September 1973- June 1978). The fourth administrator was Dr. Henry M. Harris III (September, 1978- February 1991). Dr. Gwendolyn W. Garrison came on board as acting principal on February 12, 1991. She retired at the end of the 1991-92 school year. The sixth principal was Dr. Gretchen B. Bess (August 1992- June 1998). The seventh principal was Carter E. Coleman, Jr. who was appointed in 1998 and served until 2005. The eighth principal, Dr. Robin Hall was appointed in 2005 and served until her promotion to Executive Director of School Reform Team 3 in 2009. Our ninth Principal, Crystal M. Jones, was appointed in (2009) after serving as a teacher and Instructional Liaison Specialist at Beecher. In August (2011), under the leadership of Principal Jones, Beecher Hills was authorized as an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme World School. She was promoted to the CAHN Fellowship program (2023), where she mentors Principals to improve their practice in the school. 

     

    In 2023, Dr. Tiffany Franklin was appointed our 10th and current School Leader.