Dr. Meria Carstarphen’s educational background, experience and annual base salary
The Atlanta Board of Education voted unanimously on Monday, April 14, 2014 to hire Meria Joel Carstarphen as superintendent of the Atlanta Public Schools. Dr. Carstarphen brings nearly 20 years of education and experience in diverse, urban public school districts including Austin, Texas, Saint Paul, Minn. and the District of Columbia. She will lead and provide oversight to a district with an $850 million budget, 49,000 students, 7,000 employees, and more than 105 learning sites.
Carstarphen has been entrusted by the board to help rebuild the public’s trust and confidence in Atlanta Public Schools. In 2011, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation found that 44 out of 56 schools cheated on the 2009 Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). Thirty-five educators were indicted for what became known as the Atlanta Public Schools Cheating Scandal. In 2013, then superintendent Beverly Hall, who served from 1999 to 2010 and was named Superintendent of the Year in 2009, was also indicted for her role in the matter.
It’s a new chapter for the school system. “Today marks a critical step toward achieving educational excellence for our students. This is an important moment for our children, communities and our city,” said Courtney D. English, Atlanta Board of Education chair. “Given her focus on the development of the whole child, and using a collaborative approach to see that students achieve, I have the utmost confidence in Dr. Carstarphen’s leadership. She is the right leader, at the right time, for our system who will deliver the best education possible to our students. It’s time for Atlanta to believe again.”
Carstarphen was selected as the sole finalist for superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools on March 27. Since then, she has attended more than 30 events in all six school board districts and every cluster, reaching 1,200 members of the community, including parents and community members, leading up to today’s vote.
“Over the past two weeks, I have met with students, parents, educators and other local leaders and residents from across Atlanta who have shared with me their hopes and dreams for Atlanta Public Schools. I look forward to working with the Atlanta community to ensure that every child has access to a quality education so that they have quality choices in life,” Carstarphen said in a statement to press. “I’m honored and humbled by Atlanta’s belief and confidence in me as we work together to restore pride in Atlanta Public Schools.”
Here are a few facts about the new superintendent who is “is eager to join the Board of Education and the Atlanta community in working collaboratively to make Atlanta Public Schools the best in the nation.”
