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RedefinED Atlanta Invests $300,000+ in Metro Atlanta Nonprofits

Awarded Organizations Are Focused on Serving Students and Families

Atlanta – (Feb. 18, 2021) – RedefinED Atlanta, a nonprofit dedicated to ensuring that every student in Atlanta has the opportunity to attend a great public school, today announced that it is awarding $315,000 to five Atlanta-based organizations that are supporting the education needs of Black, Latinx, and other under-resourced students and families in Metro Atlanta. The five organizations are: EdConnect, Fathers Incorporated, Goodie Nation, Next Generation Men & Women, and TeachX.

 “We believe that the communities most impacted by inequity in Atlanta Public Schools know what they need most to address their challenges and create lasting change,” said Ed Chang, executive director of RedefinED Atlanta. “The five organizations we’ve granted are engaged in neighborhoods across the city and metro Atlanta and currently doing the critical work of filling in education gaps in schools and communities, so we know that this funding will only deepen their impact.”

Since 2017, RedefinED Atlanta has contributed more than $3.3 million in support of community organizations that prioritize working with students and families in Atlanta’s under-resourced areas. RedefinED Atlanta’s investments reflect the organization’s values of community, equity, diversity, integrity, excellence, and sustainability. This year’s community impact grants recipients uphold these values while also providing innovative solutions to widespread problems influencing the success of Atlanta’s most vulnerable students.

  • EdConnect, a non-profit that informs African American families living in low-income and working-class communities of their K-12 educational options across Metro Atlanta, was awarded funding to continue its coalition-building work. EdConnect engages families in advocacy to enhance and expand high-quality education options that empower youth and successfully prepare them for college completion. 
  • Fathers Incorporated (FI), a national non-profit organization focused on improving father engagement in the lives of their children, was provided funds to sustain its Drive to Five/Real Dads Read program and the Atlanta Fatherhood Network (AFN), to further engage fathers in their work. Through the Drive to Five/Real Dads Read program, the organization has connected with thousands of fathers and distributed over 5,000 books to low-income families through 80+ literacy centers throughout Metro Atlanta. FI stays connected to its dads through AFN by offering parent education, life skills, and financial education classes. 
  • Goodie Nation’s mission is to train all people to use innovation in an effort to build and launch scalable social impact tech startups, open source tools, and digital marketing campaigns that reduce basic need disparities in education, financial access, health, and safety. The grant from RedefinED Atlanta will support the organization’s Goodie Impact, Goodie Impact College, and Goodie Impact K-12 programs. 
  • Next Generation Men & Women (Next Gen), an organization that closes the opportunity gap for high school students by creating a path to graduation and success after high school through exposure to college, career options, and support, is receiving funds to continue its work with under-resourced (Title I) high schools. Next Gen creates student cohorts, led by teachers and mentored by college undergraduates, to connect student interests to the world, visit local colleges and companies, and execute a plan for success after high school — college and career.
  • TeachX provides K-12 teachers in underserved schools with vital training and technology to prepare students with 21st-century skills for the future workforce. The organization has been awarded a grant to develop video content for its Innovation Hub’s green room, called Discovery Labs, and to host one-to-one virtual and, as needed, in-person learning sessions for educators.

About RedefinED Atlanta:

RedefinED Atlanta is a growing collective of civic leaders and philanthropists passionate about and invested in transforming Atlanta into a place where every student in every community has the opportunity to attend a high-quality public school.

Media Contact:

Sonia Fuller 
Sonia@SoniaFullerCommunications.com
404-660-1261

 

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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.