9.28 APS to Host Ribbon Cutting on David T. Howard Middle School Facility

ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Office of Communications and Public Engagement
130 Trinity Avenue SW | Atlanta, Georgia 30303

 

Seth Coleman, Director of Media Relations & Television Broadcast

404-802-2891, office
404-406-5570, cell
seth.coleman@atlanta.k12.ga.us

   

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                     

September 28, 2021

 

APS to Host Ribbon Cutting on

David T. Howard Middle School Facility

 

Former high school produced some of the city’s most iconic figures

 

ATLANTA - Atlanta Public Schools will host a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the “official” re-opening of the historic David T. Howard High School (551 John Wesley Dobbs Avenue) building as a middle school, serving students in grades six through eight in the Grady High School Cluster.

 

A $52 million renovation and expansion of the campus was completed last fall. However, the ribbon cutting event was postponed until this school year as APS has returned to in-person instruction with strict adherence to COVID-19 mitigation protocols – such as mandatory masks for all students, employees and visitors on district campuses, and mandatory surveillance testing for all employees, twice a week.

 

Before it closed in 1976, Howard High School produced several prominent graduates including Walt “Clyde” Frazier, NBA Hall of Fame member; Maynard H. Jackson, Jr., Atlanta’s first black mayor; Vernon Jordan, a successful businessman and former advisor to U.S. President Jimmy Carter; and Mildred McDaniel Singleton, the only woman to win a gold medal at the 1956 Olympics in track and field (high jump). Also, famed civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. attended Howard when it was an elementary school.

 

The new building and campus layout was designed by architects Stevens & Wilkinson, Inc.

 

What:           Ribbon-cutting ceremony for David T. Howard Middle School, formerly a famous high school facility that closed in 1976 and has undergone a $52 million campus renovation. It serves the Grady High School Cluster in Midtown Atlanta.

 

When:           Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021, 10 a.m.

 

Where:          David T. Howard Middle School
551 John Wesley Dobbs Avenue, NE

Atlanta, GA 30312

 

Who:            Those available for interviews include:

  • Lisa Herring, Superintendent, Atlanta Public Schools
  • David T. Howard High School alumni
  • David T. Howard Middle School students

 

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About Atlanta Public Schools

Atlanta Public Schools is one of the largest school districts in the state of Georgia, serving approximately 51,000 students across 87 schools and five programs. The District is organized into nine K-12 clusters with 64 traditional schools, 19 charter schools, six partner schools, two alternative schools and five alternative programs. To learn more about Atlanta Public Schools, follow us on social media – Twitter (@apsupdate), Facebook (Atlanta Public Schools), and Instagram (apsupdate) – or visit us online at www.atlantapublicschools.us.