Atlanta is a city with a prolific past and a sharp eye on the future. In the 1960s, Atlanta was a major organizing center of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., students from the city's historically black colleges and universities, and citizens from neighborhoods all over the metro coming together to play major roles in the movement's leadership in the fight to end racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement. They lifted their voices and marched for justice, making change that would affect our country for decades to come.
Today, Atlanta is at another critical juncture and its kids are at the center of it. Just one out of every five low-income students in the metro area will attend a high-quality pre-K program, compared with four out of five in the more affluent areas nearby. Students from low-income communities are twice as likely to attend a school that has not met adequate yearly progress, and just 46 percent of these low-income students will go on to college, compared with 79 percent of their higher income peers.
Every child in this city deserves the opportunity for an excellent education, and we are proud to partner with schools, other educators, families, and community leaders to strive toward this goal. To find inspiration, all we have to do is look back over the city’s rich history of community partnership. Our corps members and alumni are a source of talent and energy for our city and its schools, and we’re learning from and listening to our community partners to ensure that we’re doing what’s best for our students. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of these advocates, teachers and leaders, Teach For America Metro Atlanta is positioned to significantly impact the life trajectories of students in our region’s high-need communities.
After 18 years in Metro Atlanta, we have a network of more than 1,500 corps members and alumni who are making an impact across the education ecosystem. Our entire network—from our alumni and corps members to our supporters and community partners—have shown what is possible when we believe deeply in every student, lead with bold vision, and work together to impact systems across Metro Atlanta.
