Tennessee educator named sole finalist for APS superintendent

A University of Tennessee at Chattanooga administrator is the sole finalist to become the next Atlanta Public Schools superintendent.

Why it matters: The position has been without a permanent replacement since August of last year when former superintendent Lisa Herring resigned from the post she held since 2020.

• Danielle Battle has been serving as APS' interim superintendent since Sept. 1.

Driving the news: Bryan Johnson was announced as the finalist at a press conference held Tuesday by the Atlanta Board of Education.

• Johnson is the executive vice chancellor and chief strategy officer at the UT's Chattanooga campus, a position he's held since 2021.
• Before that, he served as superintendent of the Hamilton County School District in Tennessee, also in Chattanooga, which has about 45,000 students.
• APS has around 50,000 students, although enrollment has declined in recent years.

What they're saying: APS board chair Erika Mitchell said it was "critical" for the board to get the selection process right and find the best candidate for the district.

• Johnson said Tuesday he is prepared to work with teachers and other community stakeholders to make APS "the best urban school district in the country."
• "I know there will be a ton of challenges, and we'll lean into those challenges," he said. "But we don't see those challenges as a negative; we see those challenges as an opportunity to continue to improve, and we are excited about just that."

Zoom in: During his tenure with Hamilton County schools, Johnson was named the 2021 superintendent of the year by the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents and a 2021 finalist for national superintendent of the year.

• EdWeek also named Johnson a leader to learn from , and the National School Public Relations Association listed him as a superintendent to watch .
• Johnson is a native of Nashville, and graduated from Austin Peay State University, Belmont and Trevecca Nazarene universities, according to his bio on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's website .

What's next: APS is required by state law to have a 14-day "vetting" period for the sole finalist. The Atlanta Board of Education is poised to vote on whether to hire Johnson at its July 8 meeting.

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