12.21 Weekly News Tip Sheet (Week of December 21, 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                                                     

December 21, 2020

Atlanta Public Schools Weekly News Tip Sheet (December 21 - 26)

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 Will Close for Winter Break, December 22 – January 4

 

Atlanta Public Schools will be closed Dec. 22- Jan. 4 for the winter break. This closure applies to all schools, facilities, as well as the Alonzo Crim Center for Learning and Leadership (CLL).

 

The District will reopen on Jan. 4. Students will return virtually on Tuesday, Jan. 5, with an early release for traditional schools. This will allow time for staff and eligible high school students to vote in the upcoming Georgia runoff elections. Schools will adhere to the half-day dismissal schedule as follows:

 

  • Elementary – 11:30 a.m.
  • Middle – 12:30 p.m.
  • High – 12:00 p.m.

 

After-school activities, including targeted intervention programs, will continue as scheduled. APS wishes everyone a happy and safe holiday season!

 


Eight APS Students Chosen to be POSSE Scholars for 2020-2021

 

Eight Atlanta Public Schools high school seniors have been awarded full, four-year college scholarships to some of the nation’s most prestigious schools by the national Posse Foundation.

 

The Posse Foundation – which was started because of one student who said, “I never would have dropped out of college if I’d had my posse with me,” –  identifies, recruits and trains exceptional young leaders from urban high schools and sends them in multicultural teams (“posses”) of 10 students to top colleges and universities across the country.

 

The APS students earning Posse Scholarships worth more than $1.7 million this year are:

 

  • Inaya Abdul-Haqq (Henry Grady HS): Boston University
  • Kevon Cheeke (Fredrick Douglas HS): Boston University
  • Dailyn Minter (Charles Drew Charter HS): The College of Wooster
  • Stephanie Nino-Suastegui (North Atlanta HS): The College of Wooster
  • Somarr Elliot (Charles Drew Charter HS): The College of Wooster
  • Miala Wilkerson (Coretta S. King Young Women’s Leadership Academy): Bard College
  • Hollis Fluker (Henry Grady HS): Bard College
  • Colin Froe (Atlanta Classical Academy): College of Wooster

 

As part of being selected as a Posse Scholar, students will receive peer support while in college and pre-college workshops to prepare them for college while they are still in high school. The APS students are among a group of 60 high school seniors from metro Atlanta who will receive Posse Scholarships. They advanced through a three-round selection process that began with 300 students, and will be honored during a virtual ceremony next month.

 

The Posse Foundation is a national initiative with program chapters in Atlanta, the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York City and Washington, D.C.  A generous grant from The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation helped launch Posse Atlanta, the program’s fourth site. 

 

###

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.