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Meet the 2024 Clayton County Community Engagement Grant Recipients

Program Helps Organizations and Schools Support Community Engagement Efforts

In 2023, we began engaging with families and community members in Clayton County to learn more about their desires for K-12 public education. In January 2024, we launched our Clayton County Grant Advisory Council. Nine grassroots leaders were selected to represent the entire Clayton County Public Schools district and advise us about current Clayton County initiatives, organizations supporting public schools, and family and community engagement.

Our first investment in Clayton County aims to strengthen family and community engagement in K-12 public education. We granted $100,000 towards family and community engagement programming, empowering families with tools and knowledge to support their child’s learning and education experience. 

Each eligible nonprofit organization and public school serving Clayton County Public Schools students had the opportunity to apply for up to $25,000. This grant program has the potential to significantly impact the educational experience of our students and the operations of schools and organizations.

We are thrilled to introduce the 2024 Clayton County Community Engagement grantees and express our heartfelt gratitude for their partnership and dedication to our mission.

  • Riverdale Elementary School is part of the Clayton County Public School District. Its mission is to empower scholars to achieve academic, professional, and personal goals by providing equitable access and experiences that build literacy, creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration skills. The community engagement grant will support Riverdale’s Full Steam Ahead (FSA) program, an innovative initiative addressing math and literacy access for students, particularly those with disabilities, at Riverdale Elementary School.
  • Los Niños Primero (Children First) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to empower Latino students and their families from early childhood to college through holistic academic, leadership and community programs. The community engagement grant will help support year-round literacy and STEAM programs serving students at Fountain Elementary School and Unidos Dual Language School. 
  • Family Literacy of Georgia, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that aims to strengthen communities of color by increasing access to quality books and literacy resources. It sees children and their families reading for pleasure, making reading a lifelong adventure. The community engagement grant will help Family Literacy of Georgia equip parents with strategies and resources to support students’ literacy development in grades 5 to 8.
  • Clayton County Public Schools Magnet Programs support the mission of CCPS by providing scholars with choice programs designed to attract all Clayton County students. They take pride in their programs and continue to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion by offering programs that attract students from different neighborhoods and backgrounds. The RedefinED Atlanta grant will support CCPSMP’s family and community engagement by promoting culturally responsive educational practices, academic success, educational involvement, and enhanced civic engagement for members of the Hispanic and Vietnamese communities.

“Partnering with families and the community is not just important, it’s essential to driving student outcomes and providing equitable education,” said Meiling Jabbaar, community engagement manager at RedefinED Atlanta. “The active involvement of the Clayton County community is a key factor that will help advance our mission of every child in every community receiving a great K-12 public education.”

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Dr. Keith Colbert

Dr. Keith A. Colbert has served in the Clayton County Public Schools (CCPS) system since 1998, starting his career as a fourth-grade teacher at Northcutt Elementary School. After a two-year tenure at Northcutt Elementary, he transferred to Morrow High School, where he served as a math teacher, special education teacher, and assistant head basketball coach. To gain insightful leadership experience, Dr. Colbert shadowed the administrative team, gained useful school leadership experience, and obtained a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Troy State University.

Dr. Colbert was selected as assistant principal of Mundy’s Mill High School (MMHS) in 2003 under the leadership of Dr. Anthony W. Smith. During his tenure at MMHS, he was instrumental in preparing the first class to graduate from the newly constructed school.

Dr. Colbert was recognized as a future principal leader in the district and was selected as one of twelve future leaders to participate in the principal preparation program, “A Forward-LEAP.” After completing this program, Dr. Colbert was appointed principal of Lovejoy Middle School in 2006, where he led more than 1,400 students. At the time, Lovejoy Middle School was the largest middle school in the district and considered underperforming. Dr. Colbert and his team led the school to substantial improvements in student achievement and were consequently selected as the 2008 Georgia PTSA Principal of the Year.

Driven to nurture a class of students from 6th grade to graduation, Dr. Colbert was appointed principal of Lovejoy High School in July 2009, where he served for seven years. He is one of the few principals in traditional high schools who is fortunate to have guided sixth graders to graduation with the Class of 2013. During his tenure at Lovejoy High School, the school was recognized as a Title I Rewards school in 2012 and 2013, SAT’s greatest gains school in 2012, and a USA News top high school in 2011. Dr. Colbert’s achievements led to a finalist for Principal of the Year for Clayton County Public Schools in 2011 and 2013.

In June of 2016, Dr. Keith A. Colbert was appointed Assistant Superintendent of Schools for Clayton County Public Schools.

Cayanna Good, Ph.D.

Dr. Cayanna Good serves as Deputy Commissioner for Innovation and Impact at the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), where she leads systemwide strategic planning and drives organizational improvement across all institutional pillars.
Previously, she served as Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Adult Education, overseeing statewide literacy initiatives, workforce alignment, and Georgia’s high school equivalency credentialing program.

Before joining TCSG, Dr. Good held leadership roles at the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, the Georgia Department of Education, Teach For America, and TNTP. Her career began in the classroom in Houston — an experience that continues to ground her unwavering commitment to equity, access, and opportunity for all learners.

Dr. Good earned her bachelor’s degree from Fisk University, her master’s from Georgia State University, and her doctorate from Mercer University. She serves as Chairperson of the State Charter School Commission, she is a member of the Georgia Commission for Service and Volunteerism, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and a member of the Brookwood High School Local School Council.