Georgia State University Received Millions of Dollars to Partner with Atlanta Public Schools

In 2015, Georgia State University received a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education for its Collaboration and Reflection to Enhance Atlanta Teacher Effectiveness (CREATE) program.  

According to Georgia State University, CREATE is “a teacher residency program that recruits, prepares and supports new and experienced teachers at 15 schools in the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) system.” CREATE’s website describes its vision as “A Compassionate, Skilled, Anti-Racist Educator for Every Student.”

In 2017 the program received $8 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Education.

In February 2021, Georgia State University associate professor Stephanie Cross received a $2.5 million grant renewal and a $10.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to redesign the program.

A February 2021 proposal for the Department of Education classifies the program as “Absolute Priority: A.P. 1 (Supporting Effective Teachers)” and requests $11,059,685 in funding.

CREATE’s website says, “CREATE is building a pipeline of successful, committed, and racially diverse new teachers to teach and thrive in Atlanta Public Schools.”

Their “Professional Education” features Equity Centered Critical Friendship, a 4-day training described as, “a great program to get started or update your skills, dispositions, and embodiment of what equitable education looks like today”.

CREATE’s partners are:
District Partner: Atlanta Public Schools full list of the partner schools here
Programming Partner: Emory University’s Center for Contemplative Sciences and Compassionate Ethics
Research Partners: Empirical Education
Funding Partners: Department of Education, National Center for Teacher Residences, R. Howard Dobbs Foundation, The Zeist Foundation, Inc., The Annie E. Casey Foundation

The state of Georgia spends on average around $11,200 per pupil. According to Publicschoolreview.com Atlanta Public Schools have an average math proficiency score of 35% (versus the Georgia public school average of 44%), and reading proficiency score of 38% (versus the 45% statewide average).

Learn More About Atlanta Public Schools:

Atlanta Public Schools Implemented CASEL’s Social-Emotional Learning In Response to Cheating Scandal

The Atlanta Public Schools Leadership Academy advocates for teachers and administration to “critique ‘color-blindness’” and self-examine their own “identity and role in historically inequitable structures.”

Townhall: Atlanta Public Schools Worked With Stacey Abrams Group to Demonize Election Security Laws