APS meetings to discuss name, logistic plans for new Midtown elementary school

Atlanta Public Schools is holding two meetings on Oct. 27 to discuss the new Midtown elementary school opening Aug. 1, 2023. One meeting will focus on what to name the new school, while the other is a community meeting to discuss topics such as community and family engagement and logistics, such as staffing.

The new school will be located in the former Inman Middle School building located in the Virginia-Highland neighborhood.

The naming committee will meet in person on Oct. 27 at 5:30 p.m. at the district’s headquarters at 130 Trinity Ave. SW. Those wishing to speak at the naming committee meeting can sign up one hour before the meeting starts. Suggestions can also be made online. The committee meets again Nov. 10 when it is expected to make a recommendation to the full board.

Those on the naming committee:

• Michelle Olympiadis — District Three Representative, Atlanta Board of Education
• Alex Wan— District Three Representative, Atlanta City Council
• Leah Matthews — NPU-F representative
• Margaret Allgood — Morningside Elementary parent and Virginia-Highland resident
• Melissa Clark — SPARK parent and Virginia-Highland resident
• Kelley Nduom — SPARK parent and Virginia-Highland resident
• Ryan Valduga — SPARK parent and Midtown resident

A community meeting about the new elementary school will also be held Oct. 27, at 6:30 p.m., in the cafeteria of the Inman building, 774 Virginia Ave. NE. Topics slated to be discussed include family and community engagement, logistics and staffing.

A controversial redistricting of elementary schools in the Midtown cluster is being made to open the new school.

The controversy surrounding the school’s opening continued when APS had to reverse course on who to hire to be the principal after parent complaints about the district’s vetting process. An internal investigation was opened, leading to three senior administrators being put on paid leave.

The completed investigation showed Director of Leadership Staffing Lenora Patterson “did not properly disclose concerns about a candidate’s work history during the process of hiring a principal to lead a new Midtown elementary school,” according to a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Patterson left the job.

At an Oct. 19 community meeting, Superintendent Lisa Herring said a new principal is likely to be identified in the next “two to three weeks.”