Tag: District 5

Former Atlanta Board of Education chair Erika Mitchell talks legacy, future

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Outgoing Atlanta Board of Education Chair Erika Mitchell is stepping down from her position, but she is not retiring; instead, she is transitioning back into her previous role.

The Atlanta Board of Education recently swore in Jessica D. Johnson (At-Large, Seat 9) as the new chair and Dr. Ken Zeff (District 3) as vice chair.

Since being elected to the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education in 2018, Mitchell has appeared as a prominent public servant, actively engaging as a Board Member and emphasizing the importance of parent and community engagement.

Mitchell spearheaded significant initiatives, including introducing District 5’s electronic newsletter, establishing community partnerships, advocating for the district’s Planetarium renovation, and repurposing vacant school buildings into community centers.

Mitchell’s leadership extends to policy development, where she played a pivotal role in crafting the school district’s first policies on Literacy, Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, Trauma-Informed Practices, and Restorative Justice Practices. She also co-authored the Atlanta Public Schools Equity Policy.

The Atlanta Voice sat down with Mitchell at the HIVE in Buckhead to talk about her legacy, the look to the future, and more.

Erika Mitchell, Atlanta, Georgia, Wednesday, January 14, 2026. Photo by Isaiah Singleton/The Atlanta Voice

The Atlanta Voice: Why did you decide to step down? Why now?

Erika Mitchell: It wasn’t a matter of why I wanted to leave, but it was more so that you have new board members coming on. A lot of people want a shot at the board chair. A lot of people want a shot at a position and a title, and a lot of times they don’t know what comes with that. There’s a lot of work. People might say, ‘Oh, you made it look easy,’ but it’s because I did the work. As the board chair, you always have a target on your back because it’s always someone standing in the corner wanting to be the board chair, and that’s just what it is. I took advantage of the first two years, but it doesn’t mean that I will not be the board chair in the future. Right now, the dynamics of the board have changed, where you have eager and new ambition board members who want a shot at leadership.

AV: You’re not retiring, just simply transitioning back into your old position, so talk to me about why you even took this position in the first place.

EM: Back in 2023, we had a lot of uncertainty about our district leadership, and there were four board members who came to me and asked me if I would run for chair. My take on it was, you need to talk to the current chair, and we need to figure out what our plan is moving forward. I don’t like to get political, and I said, ‘If you want me to be the chair, you must get me the votes,’ because I’m not going out there doing it myself.’ The reason is because I have respect for the person who was the chair. We didn’t agree on everything, but I wasn’t going to do another person that way, and I don’t think that’s how you know you go into leadership. You must have conversations up front. I don’t feel like you do things behind people’s backs that does not help with the trust issue.

EM: For me, it was going into this space where all the work in seminars and workshops I’ve been in just put into practice. This was the first success I had as board chair, but not limited to the 11% pay raise that we were able to do for our teachers and paraprofessionals. I think if you invest in your staff, your staff will invest in your students. We were able to get an 11% pay raise to help with teacher retention, to make sure we keep qualified teachers for the district. The graduation rate did go up that year, and every year it’s going to increase.

AV: What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?

EM: When I think about the work that I’ve done, it has been student-focused and centered. I look at the gains that we were able to make with literacy, numeracy, and closing the gaps. I look at the pay raises, which is great, and then we gave another 10% pay raise to our frontline workers, nutrition staff, custodial workers, bus drivers, paraprofessionals, we must invest in our staff. Also, the Honorary Diploma is one of the many policies that I offer, but this one is more centered around what I see at graduations and some of the tragedies that have struck our district. When I think about the parents who walk across the stage to receive the empty diploma folder for their student who tragically lost their life through gun violence, it affects my spirit.

EM: I recall watching one of the parents just crying and crying, and all they had was an empty diploma folder. How could we honor the student? The honorary diplomas were a way to acknowledge and honor the student. When you honor people like parents, that’s what it means to care and be intentional about how you serve. That’s one of the policies I’m very most proud of, not limited to literacy or restorative justice, but all the things I’ve done. I also look at the partnerships that I’m helping them bring into the district, like the World Cup partnership. In a few minutes, I’ll be headed downtown to meet with U.S. Soccer and FIFA to figure out how we’re going to make sure our students are included in this World Cup experience and not excluded. That’s especially important to me.

AV: As the former chair, where do you want to see the Atlanta Board of Education in the future?

EM: I want to see us get people on the board that really want to do the work. A lot of times, they use the board as a stepping stone to go to various positions. The work is around the future generation. If this future generation is receiving the quality education they need, and we’re running something, you can see a notable change in the city by the type of students reproduced that go into the workforce, that’s a job well done. If we have quality board members who really want to do the work, you will start to see that change. I have remarkably high hopes for the new chair. In the future, I see the board stabilizing a superintendent who could have a six-to-eight-year tenure. We have not had that in a long time, and that’s the success of the district, when you were able to retain and keep a superintendent who’s doing the work.

EM: I would also like to see the board members receive a compensation increase. Last year, we were recommended by the Atlanta Compensation Commission for a $70,000 raise. We were the only entity that didn’t take the full raise, but then we do the most work. If you can invest in your district, you can invest in your board members, because if you invest in your board members, you can keep good board members, because you got to think about a lot of times they’re going to other jobs because they got to make a living.

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Isaiah Singleton

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January 14, 2026
Perris Elementary School District: ‘Students, Teachers & Parents Deserve Solutions’

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“Perris Elementary School District is failing its faculty & families,” says candidate for school district

Press Release
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updated: Oct 21, 2018

PERRIS, Calif., October 21, 2018 (Newswire.com)
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The following is an open letter from Dr. Norman Quintero, candidate for the School Board of the Perris Elementary School District.

Our educational system is in crisis. Dedicated and highly-qualified faculty, hard-working students and involved parents are performing miracles against impossible odds. Nationwide, the average number of students per teacher is 16. The size of a PESD classroom is 24, about 11 of which are English Learners and as many as 5 will be absent on any given day. In our district, almost half the students are being taught math, history or science in a language that is foreign to them. Obviously, in our district, more kids need individual attention and specialized instruction. In our district, educators have less time and resources to provide the necessary opportunities to performing their jobs as successfully as possible.

We can motivate our students, support our teachers, involve our parents, reduce absenteeism, enhance the quality of this basic level in the learning experience and increase resources by creating mentor/tutorial programs, social and athletic activities outside of school hours. The recruitment of community volunteers, non-profit organizations and business sponsors will make our campuses a destination for special attention, confidence-building and personal fulfillment

Dr Norman Quintero, Candidate for Perris Elementary School Board District 5

Without the support from a School Board that provides creative strategies, practical plans and real solutions, our highly-qualified teachers, hard-working students and involved parents are being cheated. 40 percent of our students do not meet basic, minimum, educational standards set by the state of California. 25 percent are at health risk for physical fitness. Those numbers should be even worse, given the unique challenges that PESD teachers and students face. That number would be higher, if not for their extraordinary commitment and efforts.

Realistically, in the short term, budgets won’t allow a significant increase in the number of teachers or a decrease in the size of classes. There are simply not enough hours in the existing school day to provide enough time to address the mental and physical development necessary to a solid foundation for success in secondary schools and beyond. Certainly, the big words and meaningless generalities produced by bureaucratic reports and piles of paperwork haven’t accomplished any results.

I am focused on deeds, not words. As part of my 6-milestone Road Map for improving our underperforming PESD, I have identified both causes and the solutions. In this 4th step toward providing our students, teachers and parents the educational environment that they deserve, I am addressing the critical need, ideal opportunity for, after-school activities and programs.

I am the only candidate who has devoted his career to education, children’s advocacy, mental health and community activism. I share a common culture and background with our families and their kids. Combined with my proven track record in business and management, I have mastered the allocation of limited resources and an ability to “think outside the box” in order to achieve real results with real actions.

I believe that I am the only candidate who identifies, speaks simply and directly to, the issues. We can motivate our students, support our teachers, involve our parents, reduce absenteeism, enhance the quality of this basic level in the learning experience and increase resources by creating mentor/tutorial programs, social and athletic activities outside of school hours. The recruitment of community volunteers, nonprofit organizations and business sponsors will make our campuses a destination for special attention, confidence-building and personal fulfillment.

Source: Dr. Norman Quintero

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October 21, 2018
Dr. Norman Quintero: Students Pay the Costs of Absenteeism and Untapped Resources

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Third in a series on the ‘Road Map’ to success for underperforming school districts

Press Release
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updated: Oct 2, 2018

PERRIS, Calif., October 2, 2018 (Newswire.com)
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With slightly less than 6,000 students spread among eight facilities, the Perris Elementary School district is relatively small as compared to many others throughout the state of California. Despite the fact that 90 percent of the student body meets the criteria of being “socio-economically disadvantaged,” per-pupil allocations are slightly above the statewide average. Yet PESD consistently ranks in the bottom one-third of achievement levels and other categories in service to the community and its children.

Funding and tools for public school districts can come from many sources. In addition to a fixed tax base, many supplemental programs are available to provide revenues from local, state and federal agencies. As well, both public and private sector grants can increase annual budgets, while corporate sponsors routinely donate of goods and services. In order to take full advantage of these well-deserved opportunities and assets, governing school boards must be aggressively proactive in both identifying and pursuing them. In the most recent 80-paged Local Control Accountability Plan and Annual Update, among numerous deficiencies, “needs,” “goals” and “performance gaps,” nowhere is addressed the simplest and most obvious of solutions or strategies.

I’ve devoted my training, my career and my life to serving those in need. I am not a politician, but this election provides me another opportunity to apply my successes as a practical businessman, spiritual leader and activist on behalf of our kids.

Dr. Norman Quintero, Mental Health Practitioner

Any small investment in the time, thought and effort required to research and access the means to improve or create after school, special education and tutorial programs pales in comparison to the potential benefits. Too many of those who reference “vision” and “commitment” overlook the remedies at hand. Too many of those who generate mountains of paperwork and navigate miles of red tape fail to fill out a few more forms in order provide a higher quality of education.

On any given day, one out of five PESD students does not attend classes. Obviously, that is one day that each falls behind. What many taxpayers and parent don’t realize is that the school district is penalized financially based on “average daily attendance.” Somewhere along the line, someone or some committee determined that bus transportation should only be available to families who lived outside a 2.5-mile radius from their children’s school. Otherwise, a 6- or 12-year-old should be expected to walk – potentially alone – for up to an hour each way, both to and from school each day … regardless of weather, traffic, physical ability or potential danger.

Dr. Norman Quintero, a candidate for the PESD School Board is a product of the American public school system and a longstanding member of the local community with eight children of his own. He has overcome a lower-income childhood and serious medical challenges to achieve two doctorates and become an internationally recognized advocate for education, mental health and children.

“I’ve devoted my training, my career and my life to serving those in need. I am not a politician, but this election provides me another opportunity to apply my successes as a practical businessman, spiritual leader and activist on behalf of our kids.”

Source: Dr Norman Quintero

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October 2, 2018
Dr. Norman Quintero Demands Financial Accountability in Schools

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Quintero says Perris Elementary School District’s poor performance is due to poor management, not lack, of funds

Press Release
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updated: Sep 11, 2018

PERRIS, Calif., September 11, 2018 (Newswire.com)
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Among all candidates for the Perris Elementary School District Board, only one contender has identified specific causes for and stated specific solutions to address he believes is the inferior education of Perris, California’s local children. Armed with a five-point “Road Map” and decades of education, experience and shared culture, Dr. Norman Quintero has based his campaign on results, rather than rhetoric.

Last week, in the first of a series of interviews, he addressed what he sees as primary solutions – allocation of resources and accountability. Despite above-average funding as compared to other California schools, the relatively small district is ranked very low in overall program quality. Despite substantial state, federal and private-sector subsidies for nutrition, technology and recent pay raises to a highly qualified faculty, students’ test scores, accommodations and learning environment rank overall in the bottom one-third statewide.

This community is our home. My wife and I are obligated to see that our kids – all kids – are given every opportunity for success. The PESD has the tools, but only the PESD board can make the repairs to a broken system. The first steps are allocation and accountability of every dollar to every student.

Dr Norman Quintero, Candidate

According to a growing number of parents, community leaders, educators and members of the business community, this election is simply about using the tools available in order to reverse the trend. Many of those same voters support and endorse Dr. Quintero due to his extensive background in education, mental health, charitable organizations and public service. But even more key is his success in business – in achieving maximum results from available resources.

Dr. Quintero says elementary education is the foundation on which work ethic and study habits in secondary education, future employment, social values and quality of life are built. Especially in a district where almost 4,500 kids are classified as “socio-economically disadvantaged,” every available dollar spent must be a dollar well-spent. The obligations of financial accountability and allocation must be the No. 1 priority of the governing body (and its board members) responsible for the allocation and accountability that dollar.

Dr. Norman Quintero is uniquely qualified as a candidate for the school board. The majority of his many successes in businesses have not been driven by profit, but for service with national and international non-profit organizations. As a tough negotiator and even more scrupulous money manager, he has maximized the benefits of every one of those dollars in providing for our children, homeless and needy.

Ongoing operations and education require ongoing management. Budgets are created months (or years) in advance, but expenses and revenues can change daily. In order to deliver the highest-quality product and service, an expert and experienced businessperson is critical in meeting the ever-changing challenges and requirements. The PESD is responsible for upwards of a $57 million-dollar budget, but far more importantly, the fundamental education of more than 5,000 students. There is no product or service more valuable.

In his most recent interview, Dr. Quintero stated, “This community is our home. My wife and I are obligated to see that our kids – all kids – are given every opportunity for success. The PESD has the tools, but only the PESD board can make the repairs to a broken system. The first steps are allocation and accountability of every dollar to every student.”

Source: Dr. Norman Quintero

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September 11, 2018
Dr. Norman Quintero Enters Non-Partisan Race for PESD Board

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Candidate Identifies Specific Causes and Cures in Ailing Perris Elementary Schools

Press Release
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updated: Aug 29, 2018

PERRIS, Calif., August 29, 2018 (Newswire.com)
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Despite available and untapped resources, the Perris Elementary School District continues to struggle in meeting the challenges of educating its students. Current funding is above the average of other statewide districts. Microsoft provides technology at no cost to the district or parents. Nutrition being critical to the learning process, 80 percent of students are eligible for state and federally subsidized meals. A professional, dedicated and qualified faculty shares with a concerned, and an involved, citizenry the absolute priority on fulfilling the potential of every child. So why and how has the system continued to fail?

The reasons and excuses are many. Some might say the school board has succumbed to politics, apathy, incompetence, bureaucratic inertia or generic bromides – or maybe even all five. In order to remedy any problems, one must first identify their existence and their root causes. Only at that point, can real solutions be defined and implemented. Whether diagnosing an illness and treating it or mapping a journey from “Point A” to “Point B,” there must be a viable plan.

Today, my priority is on the efficient and productive allocation of our limited, but adequate, resources. Other California public school systems, with far less funding and far greater financial burdens, are outperforming us in academics, school safety and overall development of our kids. I have the advantage of decades as a social advocate, an educator, sharing a common culture with my community and as a mental health professional.

Dr. Norman Quintero

Among less than 6,000 students, almost 90 percent meet the criteria of, “socio-economically disadvantaged.” Approximately 50 percent are “English Learners.” In math and reading proficiency, overall ratings by California Department of Education standards, the school district consistently under-performs and founders in the bottom one-third of the state’s public school districts. There are essentially no after-school programs, tutorials nor any systemic accommodation of “special needs.” Average Daily Attendance, on which funding is based, shows that 20 percent – one in five students – are absent from class on any given day.

In researching all candidates for a position on the Perris Elementary School District Board, only one has shown the foresight – a feasible vision – to establish an actual “Road Map” from where the PESD is and how to navigate toward its destination. Dr. Norman Quintero has diagnosed the condition and has taken the bold commitment of addressing the symptoms one at a time.

At this first stage of his campaign for the Nov. 6 election, Dr. Quintero has gone on the record: “Over the course of the next several weeks, I will be confronting each of the district’s and the board’s previous failures as well as the real proposals necessary to rectify them. Today, my priority is on the efficient and productive allocation of our limited, but adequate, resources. Other California public school systems, with far less funding and far greater financial burdens, are outperforming us in academics, school safety and overall development of our kids. I have the advantage of decades as a social advocate, an educator, sharing a common culture with my community and as a mental health professional.”

Dr. Quintero also expressed his enthusiasm for the community, the media and even his opponents to contact him and discuss his comprehensive plan to vitalize the Perris Elementary School District by optimizing and maximizing all of its resources.

CONTACT:

Dr. Norman Quintero
Drnorman@nqrcorp.com
(951) 215-6565

Source: Dr. Norman Quintero

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August 29, 2018