Alum Named Superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools

Meria Carstarphen, Ed.M.'99, Ed.D.'02, has been named superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools. The following article originally appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The sole finalist to become superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools is Meria Carstarphen, 44, the superintendent of the Austin (Texas) Independent School District for the past five years.

Carstarphen told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an exclusive interview Thursday that she looks forward to the challenge of managing the Atlanta district, which she said is in “turn around” mode.

“I’m not naive about what it takes to turn around a school or a school district,” she said. “It will take some heavy lifting.”

Born and raised in Selma, Ala., she started her career teaching in the Selma middle school she attended. She later became superintendent in St. Paul, Minn., and was the chief accountability officer for the Washington, D.C. Public Schools.

“I’m a daughter of the deep South,” she said. “The South is very important to me. It’s a place that I love.”

She is married and when asked if she had any children she responded: “Just the 86,000 in Austin and the 47,000 here in Atlanta.”

The Atlanta school board still must approve her selection with a vote, but under state law the board must wait at least 14 days after Thursday’s release of her identity. ...

To read the full article, please visit the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.