Swearing-In of Board Member Sara Gillespie
The Honorable Cassandra Kirk, Fulton County Chief Magistrate Judge, officiated the swearing-in of Sara Gillespie, the newly appointed member of the Fulton County School Board. Gillespie, elected by voters to represent District 1, will complete the remaining term of outgoing Board Member Katha Stuart, who retired at the end of August. The School Board officially appointed Gillespie effective October 8, with the term ending on December 31, 2024. She will then begin her full four-year term on January 1, 2025.
Gillespie brings leadership experience from both the education and business sectors. Throughout her career, she has managed budgets, directed community outreach, developed communication strategies, overseen recruitment and volunteer efforts, and supported continuing education for women and children. Her blend of expertise and passion for education gives her a valuable perspective on education policy and the effective management of taxpayer resources to benefit students. Learn more about Ms. Gillespie here.
District 1 covers much of Roswell, parts of Alpharetta, and includes the Centennial, Roswell, and Milton high school clusters.
Superintendent’s Report
Dr. Mike Looney honored the risk management team for Risk Management Week and thanked school custodians, who celebrated School Custodians Day on October 2. He then yielded his time to Chief Academic Officer Brannon Gaskins who provided exciting news about Fulton County Schools’ (FCS) exceptional graduation rate. The district reached a new milestone with a 90.7% graduation rate, the highest ever recorded for the district. Increasing from last year’s 90.3% and the fourth consecutive year of record-breaking success, this achievement not only sets a new standard for FCS but also represents one of the highest rates in metro Atlanta, underscoring the district’s commitment to educational excellence. Key highlights include a perfect 100% graduation rate for Global Impact Academy, while 11 schools show graduation rate improvements, and 15 schools had rates above 90%. Click here for further details.
Division Update: Learning and Teaching
Chief Academic Officer Brannon Gaskins and Assistant Superintendent of Learning and Teaching Dr. Shannon Kersey gave the first of two presentations for the Academics Division, beginning with the Learning and Teaching department, whose work is driven by intentional collaboration across Curriculum, Academic Programs, Assessment, Instructional Technology & Media Services, and Virtual Learning.
Dr. Kersey began with Curriculum, which includes literacy, math, science, social studies, and world language. The “Every Child Reads Campaign” remains a central focus of Literacy, with 2,980 teachers and leaders completing professional development via the LETRS program, while the Math department added new K-12 math resources. In Science, the Mobile Learning Experience expanded its reach, visiting 60 schools and 10 community events during the 2023-24 school year. This initiative brings hands-on science experiences directly to students. The Social Studies department has successfully integrated events like Hometown Heroes celebrations and Financial Literacy Nights into its programming to engage both students and families in learning. Finally, after completing the textbook adoption process last year, the World Language department has updated all curricular resources and successfully deployed them across schools.
The Academic Programs department areas span early childhood through college and career, featuring transformational learning. The Career, Technical, and Agricultural department (CTAE) offers a robust catalogue of courses for all grades across the district. Impressively, FCS students who took two or more CTAE courses showed a 99% graduation rate. Expanding its CTAE offerings this year, the district proudly opened The Promise Career Institute, an innovative educational, dual-enrollment school that goes beyond the traditional model.
This year, the Early Childhood Education department expanded from 86 to 94 Pre-K classes in 51 schools, adding classes to existing schools and opening five new Pre-K sites. The Applied and Advanced Learning department comprises areas where students showcase their work and talent in health and PE, talented and gifted (TAG), and fine and performing arts programs. The team also leads district-wide programs that enhance traditional learning such as Summer Learning (SL), Special Olympics, high dosage tutoring, and the two Teaching Museums.
Last year through Accelerated Programming, close to 500 11th and 12th grade students in the gifted internship program collaborated with community partners to participate in career exploration opportunities, leading to college and career readiness. FCS proudly acknowledges the Teaching Museum & Archives and the Communications Broadcasting team who collaboratively won a Southeastern Emmy award and a Telly Silver Award. Through the Advanced Placement program, 4,412 FCS students earned AP awards last year. Finally, Summer Learning students enrolled in 18,491 courses for remediation and acceleration. Forty-four SL seniors from 13 high schools participated in the SL graduation ceremony.
The Assessment department executes the district’s assessment policy, ensuring FCS is within state and federal compliance. Their work reflects Learning and Teaching’s important and impactful work of supporting schools through developing high-quality assessments and using data in classrooms and among school leaders.
The Instructional Technology (IT) department made significant contributions aligning with FCS’ strategic goals. Throughout last year, FCS partnered with Kennesaw State University to deliver 7,329 hours of IT coaching and facilitated the AI Guiding Coalition to develop a Generative AI training program.
Throughout the 2023-24 school year and in the summer, all FCS high schools began implementing the Canvas Learning Management System. This year, high schools will increase their use, and middle schools will begin implementation.
Finally, the Fulton Virtual program saw a 12% increase in fall enrollments, with over 6,400 students participating. New course offerings include AP Statistics, Public Health, and Legal Environment of Business. Credit Recovery programs also expanded, serving 1,105 students during the summer.
Deepening the work of Every Child Reads, implementing new standards, expanding course offerings, adopting new textbooks, designing digital courses, improving assessments, screening for dyslexia, training staff, leveraging grant money, and more, the Academics team is dedicated to improving learning and teaching across our district.
Dr. Kersey ended her presentation with the promise to continue to review and refine the division’s work to ensure alignment to the Strategic Plan, committing to creating structures and supports for a guaranteed, viable curriculum for all FCS students. Click here to see the presentation.
Division Update: Communications
In a detailed overview of the Communications Division, Chief Communications Officer Brian Noyes shared the inner workings of the Communications team, whose collective efforts have played a crucial role in the district’s successes this past year. Their work strengthens engagement through audience-focused communication to ensure key messages reach and resonate with district stakeholders.
Managing media relations is a substantial part of the division’s day-to-day efforts, with media outreach and response efforts positioning FCS as a trusted source that enables it to be leaders in transparency and collaboration with internal and external partners.
He next shared the growth of the division’s strategic efforts across digital platforms, expanding the district’s reach and impact on programs and community engagement. Communications completed a major transition of FCS’ website this summer and has seen two million hits since July, and extraordinary social media numbers including 150,000 followers and 8.25 million impressions across all platforms.
Another means of ensuring impactful programs is through video and broadcast productions, delivering high-quality content that informs and engages the public while showcasing the district’s successes. Since July 2023, they have developed 145 productions, including School Board meetings, Senior Spotlights, special events, and Dr. Looney’s television show, “Let’s Talk Schools.”
In addition to behind-the-scenes support that enhances and strengthens the district’s public presence, the team helps through publicity, graphic design, messaging and event support.
Finally, Communications positively increased the district’s community engagement and partnerships through initiatives that make a direct, positive impact on students and families. The team’s strong ties with community leaders and Chambers of Commerce, and faith-based organizations and others like Feed the Children, that have strengthened the district’s reputation, deepened community connections, and ensured effectual programs that support schools and families. Click here to see the full presentation.
2026-27 Proposed Calendar Parameters
Staff are preparing to bring a calendar recommendation forward for Board approval for the 2026-2027 year requesting the Board review the following parameters for consideration. These parameters will be used to create a calendar recommendation. The following is the list of proposed calendar parameters:
- Aim for 180 instructional days during the year
- Plan as many full weeks of instruction as possible
- Implement opportunities for job-embedded professional development
- Designate at least two teacher workdays each semester
- Include a full week at the Thanksgiving holiday for staff and students
- Conclude the first semester before the winter holiday break in December
- Include two full weeks for staff and students during the winter holiday break in December
- Aim for Spring Break to be the first full week in April following the first Sunday in April to align with metro districts
- Utilize remote learning in state/national elections or other emergency situations
- Conclude the last day of school for students before Memorial Day weekend
- Consider opportunities for fall and winter breaks
New Operating Guideline Regarding Magnet Programs
Last night, staff brought forward Operating Guideline IJ: Programs, Pilots, Research and Evaluation forward for information. The revisions to the operating guideline define different district- and school-based programs, outline processes to start and stop different programs, specify expectations for schools regarding credentialing, and outline measures of student success. It is important to note that this operating guideline reclassifies and redefined magnet programming in Fulton County Schools. All existing schools with magnets and those interested in pursuing magnet programming in the future will now be required to submit programming requests through the Value-Added Flexibility Process, earn programmatic certification, and demonstrate student success based on the type of magnet offered. To review the new operating guideline, please click here.
2025-26 Proposed Budget Calendar
A budget calendar for Fiscal Year 2025-26 has been developed, and the proposed budget items were presented to the Board to accept for action. Chief Financial Officer Marvin Dereef and his staff will provide budget briefings and updates to the Board and stakeholders throughout the FY 2026 budget process. Click here to see the budget calendar.
Board Recognitions
Each month the Fulton County Board of Education recognizes outstanding students, staff, and schools honored at the state, national, or international level. Honorees must have placed first at the regional or state level or be among the top finishers at the national or international level.
- Congratulations to Executive Director of Procurement Angela Young and the FCS Contracting team for winning a 2024 Procurement Award.
- Congratulations to Tabitha Stanley-Rollins on being named Georgia Bus Driver of the Year.
New Hires & Promotions
The following individual was approved for a new position at the Board meeting:
Ehab Kader | Director, Information Security
2024-25 Community Meetings with Board Members
Each member of the Fulton County Board of Education sponsors a monthly meeting open to all members of the community. The sessions provide an opportunity for direct contact with community members and give Board members a chance to listen to local issues and concerns. Click here to see the meeting schedules of all Board members.
Pre-Work Session
The pre-work session happens before the work session each month. The Board is presented drafts of policy and provides feedback. In addition, presentations may also be given during this meeting to get the Board's initial thoughts or to provide an opportunity for in-depth focus on topics of interest. This meeting is open to the public and an audio recording is published after the meeting. The topics for the October 8, 2024 Pre-Work Session are as follows:
- Program Evaluation: In-School Academies
- Board Policy II Assessment Plan-Out of District Testing
