Since 2018, RedefinED Atlanta’s Speaker Series has been our way of convening Metro Atlanta around the most pressing and promising ideas in public education. Think of it as #ACityChanging in real time: a space where data meets lived experience, where national evidence is tested against local context, and where attendees leave with both inspiration and a plan to act.
From day one, our mission has been bigger than any single program. We exist to advance equity, opportunity, and excellence for every public school student in Metro Atlanta, and that requires a well-informed, well-connected ecosystem. The Speaker Series is how we elevate insights and galvanize stakeholders, a priority we’re building on in our 2026–2028 strategic plan.
The series welcomes everyone who cares about Metro Atlanta’s students: educators and district leaders, community partners and funders, parents and caregivers, policymakers and practitioners, and the broader public. This year, 82 people joined us in person; since 2018, nearly 500 have participated, and, more importantly, new partnerships and ideas are taking shape across the city.
Setting the Stage for Change
Each Speaker Series event is intentionally designed to spark new thinking and inspire collective action. We seek out speakers who don’t just inform, but inspire—leaders who bring data, depth, and a deep belief in what’s possible for Metro Atlanta’s students.
Our goal is to create a dynamic exchange between national experts and local practitioners, grounding every discussion in both research and real-world experience. By blending evidence-based insights with Metro Atlanta’s own emerging bright spots, we ensure that each event feels both visionary and practical, offering clear takeaways that can be applied in classrooms, communities, districts, and policy arenas across the city.
This Year’s Lineup: Teacher Talent, Culture, and Retention
This year, we focused on the educator experience because understanding how teachers experience their work is essential to designing solutions that drive trajectory-changing student outcomes.
- Rebecca Parshall (Learn4Life) illuminated the realities of teaching in Georgia and how those insights inform local decision-making.
- Michael Franco (TNTP) offered national-level data, evidence-based strategies, and best practices for retaining great teachers across diverse contexts.
- Leslie Hazle Bussey (GLISI) demonstrated how supporting school leaders first can strengthen instructional culture and retention.
- Alisha Albritten (Clayton County Public Schools) discussed recruitment, retention, and student outcomes as CCPS prepares to administer the TNTP Insight Survey in Fall 2025.
- Nichole Curtis Stone (Purpose Built Schools Atlanta) shared how a focus on belonging, rapid, regular feedback, and instructional culture is reshaping their school community.
What We’re Learning and Doing
This year’s Speaker Series made one thing clear: when teachers thrive, students thrive. The conversations illuminated the direct connection between the educator experience and student success, and the importance of investing in the systems that make great teaching sustainable. Atlanta’s future depends on how well we support the people at the heart of our schools.
From those insights, three clear imperatives came into focus:
- Fund research and teacher-talent infrastructure. Invest in pipelines, instructional coaching, and professional learning systems aligned to student growth. When we fund the educator experience, we invest in student achievement.
- Advocate for what works. Push for policies and resources that sustain proven strategies benefiting students and teachers over the long term. Systems change is how we make excellence possible at scale.
- Believe in the brilliance of every Atlanta student. The stories we tell, and the expectations we hold, shape what’s possible. Show up, name potential, and hold ourselves and our systems to it.
These aren’t just takeaways; they’re a shared to-do list. We’re deepening partnerships with CCPS and TNTP, supporting CCPS in Fall 2025 to implement the TNTP Insight Survey, sharing GLISI’s promising practices, and in 2026, we’ll help analyze results and turn them into school- and district-level action plans.
What’s Next
In 2026, as we celebrate RedefinED Atlanta’s 10th Anniversary, the Speaker Series will dig even deeper into education policy and system-level levers, pairing cutting-edge research with Atlanta-ready examples that move the needle for students.
Join Us
- Be first to know: Subscribe to our newsletter for the 2026 date, topic, and speaker announcements.
- Catch up: Watch past recordings and catch up on our conversations.
- Partner with us: Interested in sponsoring the series or bringing a cohort from your organization? Reach out to Tiffany Scott, Associate VP of Development.
Together, we can keep turning insight into action—and action into #ACityChanging.