She failed the final

Atlanta honors student misses graduation as she awaits test waiver | ajc.com

Atlanta high school senior Brittany Hemphill worked 13 years for what turned out to be one of the lousiest days of her life.

With a waiver pending but still not approved Thursday evening that would have allowed her to participate, Hemphill could only watch as her classmates donned caps and gowns to collect their diplomas. It made her sad, she said. And angry.

News: Teachers say money good, budget cuts bad.

Q&A: Teachers discuss budget hardships | ajc.com

It’s been an especially challenging year for metro area teachers juggling the educational needs of their students with furlough days and other cuts. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked three teachers and the head of the Georgia Association of Educators to share their views on the changing landscape for teachers and other school personnel.

[APS / inner city schools are not represented. All of the teachers are from relatively prosperous suburban schools.]

We pay administrators how much?

AJC Special: School central offices costly | ajc.com

More than 1,000 public school administrators in metro Atlanta earn more than $100,000 a year, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution review of school salary data shows.
The review shows that Atlanta Public Schools, the smallest of the major school districts in the metro area, has the highest administrative costs. Cobb County, while having the second-largest student population in the state, has one of the smallest central-office staffs and some of the lowest costs. DeKalb schools have more people making $100,000-plus a year than any district.