BOOK is an African American-led organization that is unapologetically focused on schools and communities serving African American children. Our goal is simple, and that is to help build and support a powerful and connective ecosystem focused on supporting high performing schools and the communities they serve. After only five years, we are once again plunging headfirst into a search for a new superintendent. As disruptive and political as a search like this can become, we must remain focused on educating Atlanta’s children. A strong superintendent is just one cog in the wheel that must be highly functional for Atlanta to reach its highest heights. In these uncertain times, it should be even more clear that we must look beyond the walls of the historical constructs we’ve grown accustomed to as it relates to educating our children. The ability of parents to navigate their children’s educational future must now be supported by caring stakeholders who make this goal their top priority.
More than ever before, it’s our responsibility, and ultimately part of our children’s inheritance, to unearth every stone, look under every rock, and remove every obstacle to ensure that our children receive a world-class education. What we must now understand, is that only through this inheritance can we start to remove the shackles from our feet, and put the systemic injustices that have plagued our race since we set foot on this land back in 1619 behind us. It is BOOK’s firm belief that we must research, understand, and take advantage of every educational option available to our children. And if you believe this fact as strongly as we do, then you should also believe that it’s our responsibility to make sure that African American children are educated “by any means necessary.”
—david mitchell, founder and CEO of Better Outcomes for Our Kids
