A quality education is a fundamental right and is an essential cornerstone of a well functioning society. However, a quality school system must do more than just ensure that every child in the system has their academic needs fulfilled. It must also make sure that every school in the system provides a safe and happy haven for every child enrolled there. It must provide a healthy and productive workplace for every teacher, principal, and staff member employed there. Every parent and grandparent must feel like a welcome partner at the school. Every school should serve as a point of pride for the neighbors and business owners that pass by it each day.

Schools bring people together. They provide students, families, and faculty with a sense of belonging; they provide the community with a sense of ownership. Good, caring, committed schools help our youngsters grow into fine adults. Good, caring, committed schools also help build our communities and in turn help our city be a good place for all. Atlanta Public Schools, under the leadership of Dr. Hall, is making great strides in improving student performance and in ensuring that we have quality facilities and quality leadership in all of our schools. We must, as a system and as a city, continue to take the steps necessary to make certain that all of our students feel connected to their school and challenged by their curriculum, so that all of our students will graduate from high school prepared for their next step in a productive life.

Cecily Harsch-Kinnane has been involved in Atlanta Public Schools for nine years. She and her husband, Paul, have three children in APS and she has served as PTA president at Morningside E.S., on the PTA boards at Inman M.S. and Grady H.S., as co-president of the Council of Intown Neighborhoods and Schools and on the principal selection committee at several schools. She has been involved with Habitat for Humanity, served on the City Of Atlanta Elected Officials Compensation Commission and on the board of the Atlanta Youth Soccer Association. Ms. Harsch-Kinnane is a former middle and high school math teacher and has recently been the coordinator of an after school-mentoring program. She is a native of Atlanta and received a BA in Mathematics from Brown University and has done graduate work in Math Education and Educational Psychology at Georgia State University.