APS Updates Bus Routes; Board Set To Meet

The first week of school was far from smooth for many Atlanta Public Schools parents and students.

Some parents found themselves . Others complained that buses picked them up, but took them to the wrong place.

But Atlanta Public Schools administrators are working to fix the transportation mess. Officials said Sunday bus routes will be updated each week until all problems are solved.

New bus routes will be posted on all school websites and e-mailed to school principals by 8 a.m. every Friday. These new routes will go into effect on the following Monday.

Principals will also receive a copy of the updated passenger lists.

An Atlanta Public Schools administrator will contact parents of special education students who have yet to be assigned pick up times. New students should expect a three to five day waiting period before new bus routes are assigned.

Parents: What’s your take on this approach? Do you think it will help the problem? Tell us in the comments.

Check out the APS transportation website for updates.

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There will by an Atlanta Board of Education Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday, Aug. 13 beginning at 2 p.m. in the Center for Learning and Leadership (CLL) Building at 130 Trinity Avenue. Work session presentations will be made by the following:

Erroll B. Davis, Jr., Superintendent

•  Personnel Update

•  Day One APS Update

Chuck Burbridge, Chief Financial Officer

• Financial Forecast

Karen Waldon, Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction

• State Mandated Assessment Summary Data – Current Status and

Plans for Moving forward

Larry Hoskins, Deputy Superintendent of Operations/COO

• SPLOST Projects

Stakeholders are welcome to provide comments at the beginning of the Committee of the Whole meeting on any item on the agenda. In order to provide comments during the Committee of the Whole, please contact Dr. Howard W. Grant, Office of the Atlanta Board of Education at 404-802-2200 at least one hour prior to the start of the Committee of the Whole. There are new community guidelines for public comment this year that can be viewed here.

There will also be a 6 p.m. community meeting and 7 p.m. legislative meeting on Monday night. The board welcomes input from the students/ staff/ parents and members of the community. Speaker sign in takes place beginning at 5 p.m. See the agenda here.

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The boys basketball team is welcoming a new coach this season.

Brian Weeden, an assistant basketball coach in Enterprise, Ala., was tapped for the Grady Knights head-coaching job earlier this year.

“It’s supposed to be one of the best schools in the city of Atlanta,” he told The Southeast Sun, which covers Enterprise. “Everybody keeps telling me I got a (really) good job. I’m just excited and happy to be there.”

Weeden is also teaching physical education at Grady this school year.

The Grady Knights lost in the first round of the playoffs last season, and Weeden is already setting the bar high for his players.

“They put on a run this past year so (I’m) just trying to pick up where they left off and get to the state finals,” he said.

Read more on the Southeast Sun website.