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APS presents end-of-year strategic report, cites gains in AP results and literacy pilot progress
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Brian Johnson and strategy lead Travis Norville told the board the district has “all-time high AP results,” expanded restorative practices to 56 schools, and is piloting accelerated literacy and summer advising; board members pressed for subgroup data on student belonging and implementation details for supports.
The Atlanta Public Schools (APS) board heard an end-of-year strategic update Wednesday underscoring academic gains and new student supports as the district moves to implement its 2030 goals. Superintendent Dr. Brian Johnson introduced Travis Norville’s presentation, which framed progress around six focus areas and highlighted improvements in AP, SAT and ACT performance and record workforce credentialing.
Norville said APS has made measurable progress on its bold goals — universal pre-K, a $100,000 average teacher salary, individualized student success plans and community hubs — and credited the district’s collaborative work: “We have achieved a lot as a group,” he said, noting state and national recognition and increases in third-grade reading and eighth-grade math indicators. He also flagged that 34 schools are “beating the odds,” an increase of six from last year based on state data cited in the presentation.
Board members pressed administration for more detail on perception-based measures. Board member Katie Howard pointed to a 59% student sense-of-belonging rate shown on the slides and asked about survey participation; Norville and staff said AMPUP participation increased and promised to provide participation rates and subgroup breakdowns. In response to concerns about discipline and suspensions, staff described formalizing restorative-practices tracking and implementation in 56 schools to address disproportionate discipline.
The presentation detailed near-term pilots and outreach: an accelerated literacy model and middle-school literacy pilot, expanded summer advising (133 students signed up at the time of the meeting across four in-person sites and a virtual session), and new K–12 instructional materials for ELA already delivered to schools. Administrators emphasized a focus on implementation fidelity, saying they will bring deeper data in the fall when statewide milestones and CCRPI indicators are released.
Board members urged staff to disaggregate perception and outcome data and to tie interventions to measurable changes in attendance, discipline and academic indicators. Norville and the district’s data leads said they will provide more granular subgroup analysis and follow up on how school-level supports and summer advising will be tracked through the academic year.
Next steps: staff will continue to report year-end data as state results are unembargoed, expand communication about summer advising and submit more detailed analyses of subgroup outcomes and restorative-practices implementation for future board consideration.
