Teachers at THES Loop Grades to Provide Consistency for Students

Purpose Built Schools Atlanta strives to create a positive climate and culture where students feel known, accepted and supported. Providing consistency is a big part of that. But when children come from generational poverty, they face barriers that prevent them from experiencing that consistency in education, which can impede their ability to be successful in school. To break this cycle, a group of teachers at Thomasville Heights Elementary School have stayed with the same cohort of students year after year.

August 21, 2020

Virtual Learning: What We’re Doing Differently This Fall

By Diona Williams PBL Coordinator at Purpose Built Schools Atlanta When COVID-19 arrived in Atlanta last spring, our buildings closed abruptly and virtual school was–unexpectedly and quickly–in session. We made the most of an unprecedented…

August 20, 2020

Our Commitment to Racial Justice and Equity

As an organization, we at Purpose Built Schools Atlanta define ourselves as a group of individuals who are committed to racial justice and equity as the guiding principle of our work.  Our mission, vision, and…

June 5, 2020

Why I Choose Purpose: A Teacher’s Perspective

By Ms. Marie Ojofeitimi English Teacher, Carver STEAM Academy This time last year, I was presented with Carver STEAM’s Teacher of the Year award. The entire Carver family cheered and celebrated my accomplishment as we…

May 18, 2020

COR Brings Courage–And Essential Resources–to Carver STEAM Students During COVID-19

A recent CDC study showed that providing children who have experienced trauma with supportive, nurturing relationships can help prevent the long lasting effects of childhood trauma. A large percentage of students in south Atlanta have experienced childhood trauma, so Purpose Built Schools partnered with COR, an organization that offers social-emotional support programming to trauma-impacted students marginalized by poverty and race-based educational inequities.

April 24, 2020

Building Bridges: How Urban Farming Formed an Unlikely Partnership

When Ayanna Burroughs, a teacher at Thomasville Heights Elementary School (THES), reached out to Tania Herbert, Urban Agriculture Coordinator at The Paideia School, she hoped to learn from Paideia’s thriving farm program so she could start one at THES. Both educators, located in very different parts of the city–southeast Atlanta and Druid Hills, wanted to encourage students to make change in their communities by learning how to decrease food insecurity through urban farming.

April 24, 2020