11.30 Weekly News Tip Sheet (Week of November 30, 2020)

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

 

Ian Smith, Executive Director
404-802-2855, office
404-603-6934, cell

ian.smith@atlanta.k12.ga.us

 

Seth Coleman, Media Relations Manager
404-802-2891, office
404-406-5570, cell
seth.coleman@atlanta.k12.ga.us

   

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                     

November 30, 2020

 

Atlanta Public Schools Weekly News Tip Sheet (November 30 – December 5)

Editors/Producers/Reporters: The following is a list of events, programs, accomplishments and/or initiatives occurring in Atlanta Public Schools (APS) this week. Please use it as a guide as you develop your coverage plans.

Members of the media are invited to attend all events on the Weekly APS News Tip Sheet. If you have an interest in these stories, please contact Seth Coleman, Media Relations Manager.  Thank you for your interest in Atlanta Public Schools!

 

APS to Host Virtual Town Hall to Discuss Phased-In Return in January 2021, Thursday

Atlanta Public Schools will host a virtual town hall to discuss the District’s proposed plan for a phased-in return to face-to-face instruction in January, Thursday at 6 PM on APS Facebook Live. The session will feature Superintendent Dr. Lisa Herring and other school administrators, and will cover the choice of instructional models offered, the intent to return declaration form, and much more.

 

Grady Debaters Place in Top Five at International Competition

 

George Lefkowicz and Griffin Richie, both members of the Grady High School debate team, placed fifth in the Chengdu (China) Youth Debate Challenge. The duo went undefeated in the preliminary rounds and was one of just two teams from the United States to place in the top eight of the China-U.S. competition, which was held virtually during the Thanksgiving break.

 

APS Partners with Nearpod as District Prioritizes Engaging, Innovative Digital Instruction
Partnership is a first-of-its-kind districtwide technology adoption for APS, bringing Nearpod’s interactive instructional platform to all teachers

Nearpod, the interactive, instructional platform that merges formative assessment and dynamic media to create engaging learning experiences, has announced a partnership with Atlanta Public Schools, marking the first time the District has ever adopted a universal technology solution. 

APS will gain access to over 8,500 standards-aligned lessons, including Nearpod’s interactive video content. With Nearpod, educators can also upload their own content and embed the platform’s interactive features such as Quizzes, Polls and Virtual Reality Field Trips into the lesson. The ability to customize content was critical to APS in this decision, as the district searched for a solution that could enable the district to meet the Georgia Department of Education Standards. With the partnership, APS also gains access to Nearpod for English Learners, which provides access to rigorous, grade-level and research-based learning experiences and language instruction.

“Student engagement is a top priority for our teachers and our community. As we looked for a solution to support this priority in distance learning, teachers overwhelmingly pointed us to Nearpod,” said Aleigha Henderson-Rosser, Executive Director, Department of Instructional Technology for APS. “Nearpod is a game-changer for our district, and even as we look to return to the classroom, we know Nearpod will remain a critical component to our students’ learning experience.” 

Unique to Nearpod, which works with any device, is its single-click lesson deployment, which makes it simple for students and parents to join lessons from home. The platform also features both synchronous and asynchronous lesson mode, allowing for live and student-paced instruction. This gives educators the freedom to deliver live or student-paced instruction in a way that engages students and allows for interaction while offering teachers data to help drive instruction in real-time. 

“Atlanta Public Schools was looking for a solution that could provide an integrated approach to learning while not adding more workload for teachers to adapt content to fit state standards. By allowing teachers to layer in interactive features like Time to Climb and Matching Pairs into existing content, Nearpod has lightened the lift for teachers and boosted student engagement,” said Jennie Kristoffersen, Chief Strategy Officer of Nearpod. “We’re proud to partner with a continuously innovative district and support their needs throughout virtual learning and beyond.”

Nearpod has integrations with learning management systems and communication and collaboration platforms, including Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams, which have become increasingly important through remote learning. A recent Zoom integration enables teachers to launch a lesson and video conference simultaneously. And, when in-person learning resumes, teachers will be able to easily transition Nearpod to the physical classroom, even if students don’t have devices, with Nearpod’s Front-of-Class mode. 

Learn more about Nearpod at nearpod.com 

 

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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.