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Lunch & Lead

Decision Making with Students at the Center

Overview

Our school districts are at a crossroads.

Atlanta Public Schools has made one of the most consequential decisions of the decade: determining which schools to close, consolidate, or repurpose as part of its APS Forward 2040 initiative. At the same time, additional districts across Metro Atlanta are grappling with similar decisions. These decisions will shape opportunities for tens of thousands of Atlanta students, including those in communities that have historically faced the steepest inequities.

School closures are never “just” facilities decisions. National research from districts in places like Philadelphia, Texas, and California shows that outcomes for students hinge on what happens next:

  • Whether students land in substantially higher-performing schools
  • Whether receiving schools are resourced and supported before students arrive
  • Whether districts closely monitor how displaced students fare over time

This Lunch & Lead is a space for Atlanta’s key civic, philanthropic, and community voices to grapple with these questions together and center students, especially those furthest from opportunity, in what comes next.

Event Details

Event: Lunch & Lead: Supporting School Consolidations with Students at the Center
Date: February 5, 2026
Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Location: Will be provided closer to the date

This is an intimate, closed-door conversation designed to foster authentic dialogue rooted in research, equity, and student experience.

Register for Lunch & Lead

Keynote Speaker

Alyn Turner, Ph.D.

Senior Research Director, Research For Action

View Dr. Turner's Bio

What You’ll Experience

A research-driven conversation that is grounded in national evidence and Atlanta’s realities. The conversation will focus on three conditions metro districts must guarantee if closures are to help, rather than harm, students:

Substantially higher-performing receiving schools

Students benefit only if they move into meaningfully stronger academic environments. “Better than before” is not enough. Research shows students who transfer to weaker or only marginally stronger schools see long-term harm.

Receiving schools are fully resourced before students arrive

Staffing, counselors, stability funding, class size, climate supports, and capacity caps must be in place in advance; otherwise, receiving schools destabilize, and learning declines for everyone.

Equity-centered decisions backed by authentic community engagement

Without rigorous safeguards, closures disproportionately affect Black students and historically disinvested communities. Equity impact statements, transparent engagement, and advisory structures with influence are non-negotiable.

These are not abstract principles.

They serve as guardrails that determine whether closures reduce inequities or exacerbate them.

Register to Attend

If you are able to join us for this important conversation, please confirm your attendance below.

Space is extremely limited due to the nature of the discussion. We encourage you to confirm as soon as possible.

Registration Details

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Resources

Making School Closures Work Memo

Questions?

Please reach out to: Emily Castillo León, Vice President of Schools & Talent ecastilloleon@redefinedatlanta.org
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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.