Author Archives: MARKO ROBINSON

Activists Block Atlanta Prostitution Banishment Plan, Propose Alternatives (UPDATE 1)

  (APN) ATLANTA — After opposition from progressive activists, Mayor Kasim Reed agreed to pull a proposal to banish prostitutes from certain parts of the City of Atlanta, known as the Stay Out of Areas of Prostitution (SOAP) ordinance.   Now, a work group of stakeholders including a contingent of activists, convened by the City of Atlanta, is holding meetings […]

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Some New Georgia Charter Schools Commissioners Have Pro-Charter Ties

  (APN) ATLANTA — After Georgia voters in November 2012 approved of Amendment One, the ballot initiative to authorize the re-creation of the Georgia Charter Schools Commission (GCSC), members have now been appointed to the Commission and it has now re-commenced its work.   An analysis of the newly appointed members of the GSCS by Atlanta Progressive News shows that […]

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Parent Trigger Act Another Threat to Public Education in Georgia (UPDATE 1)

(APN) ATLANTA — HB 123, the Parent and Teacher Empowerment Act, also known as the Parent Trigger Act, is the latest effort by some, mostly Republican, legislators, to promote charter schools in Georgia and continue to undermine the public education system and public schools. The Act was introduced on January 28, 2013 by State Reps. Edward Lindsey (R-Atlanta), Brooks Coleman […]

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Out-of-State Corporate Interests Fund Charter School Amendment Push

(APN) ATLANTA — Out-of-state corporate interests have spent millions of dollars to fund the campaign in favor of the constitutional amendment referendum related to charter schools that appears on the November 06, 2012 General Election ballot. Overall, some of the groups that have been in support of the amendment include Families for Better Public Schools, Georgia Parent Advocacy Network, Georgia […]

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Charter Schools Underperform in Georgia, US, despite Potential Brain Drain

With additional reporting by Matthew Charles Cardinale. (APN) ATLANTA — Georgia voters are currently being faced with a referendum on a possible constitutional amendment which claims as its goal to provide “for improving student achievement” by allowing a state-run commission to by-pass local school board decisions and State Board of Education decisions to approve charter schools that are not approved […]

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Charter School Referendum about Local Control, State Funding

With additional reporting by Matthew Charles Cardinale. (APN) ATLANTA — During the November 06, 2012 General Election, Georgia voters will be presented with a referendum over whether to allow a Georgia Charter School Commission (GCSC) to override the decisions of local school boards to approve and create charter schools in Georgia. If approved, the Commission–which was found unconstitutional in a […]

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APS Board Votes to Close Seven Schools, Preserve Three More

(APN) ATLANTA — On April 10, 2012, the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education unanimously voted at a meeting held at Jackson High School, to close seven out of ten schools that at the time were being proposed by Superintendent Errol Davis for closure: Kennedy and Parks Middle Schools, and Capitol View, Cook, East Lake, Herndon, and White Elementary Schools. […]

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Coan Middle School Spared in APS Closures Battle

With additional reporting by Matthew Cardinale, News Editor.  Photograph by Marko Robinson. (APN) ATLANTA — Parents scored a recent victory when Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Erroll Davis announced that Coan Middle School was no longer on a list of APS schools being considered for closure. Coan Middle School is located in the Kirkwood community in east Atlanta, and, like many […]

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