For the fourth time in four years, the city of Atlanta has a new schools superintendent. Bryan Johnson led Hamilton County Schools (Chattanooga) from 2017-2021 before resigning for a brief foray in the private sector, followed by a role as executive vice chancellor and chief strategy officer at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
The board was unanimous in its selection of Johnson, who had a clear lead for the role as the sole finalist, not leaving the board a lot of room had the Johnson selection gone south. Johnson was named the Tennessee Superintendent of the Year in 2021 and was a National Superintendent of the Year finalist.
“This is an exciting day for APS as we welcome Dr. Johnson into our community,’ said ABOE Board Chairperson Erika Y. Mitchell. “I would like to thank my fellow board members for their dedication and persistence throughout the superintendent search process. I also want to extend my gratitude to Dr. Danielle Battle for her leadership and partnership as we transition to Dr. Bryan Johnson. After two weeks of community engagement, Dr. Johnson and the Board have had the opportunity to listen, learn, and understand what’s important to our parents, students, APS staff and community stakeholders. We remain committed to prioritizing our students during this leadership transition.”
Interim Superintendent Danielle Battle will continue working through the summer and ease Johnson’s transition with his first day on August 5. Hamilton County Schools has somewhere around 45,000 students, compared to Atlanta’s 50,000, not too much of a difference at the superintendent level. Johnson comes into Atlanta Schools likely hoping to stabilize a chaotic management environment, kicked off by the school board’s decision to not renew the contract of the seemingly popular Meria Carstarphen in 2020 and doing the same with Carstarphen’s replacement Lisa Herring last year.
“Atlanta is a destination job and I look forward to working collaboratively with the Board to ensure our students are prepared for their future. The town halls afforded me an initial opportunity to hear about areas of opportunity directly from the community and staff. We look forward to working with teachers, leaders, staff and our community as we lean into areas such as literacy, special education, math and college and career preparation to ensure our students graduate poised to thrive. Together, we will make Atlanta Public Schools one of the best urban school districts in the country.”
Similar to Herring, who had led the Birmingham, Alabama district before coming to Atlanta, Johnson is no stranger to the region and was undoubtedly following the Atlanta drama during his time in Chattanooga.
Twenty years ago, a report from the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington was titled “An Impossible Job? The View from the Urban Superintendent’s Chair.” The report surveyed 100 of the nation’s largest school districts and interviewed 40 large-district superintendents, concluding that the conditions of the job today set them up for failure. Twenty years later, with the rise of social media as a churning outrage machine, many of the factors discussed in the report have likely only gotten worse. As the person in the spotlight, the superintendent is almost always the easy scapegoat for a troubled district, with the school board guarding against political factors and concerns over elections.
When Carstarphen’s contract was not renewed, few details were released as to why, with the decision made during a three-hour, closed-door meeting. Board members closed ranks and focused on the future, staying positive in their comments and declining to talk about the Carstarphen decision. With politics the way it is, an information asymmetry between most voters and actual participants in the system and the power of incumbency, boards of education are often insulated. For the students and parents – and taxpayers – of the Atlanta Schools System, a lot of people are hoping this superintendent pick sticks.
