Birmingham Superintendent Lisa Herring Stepping Down To Lead Atlanta Public Schools
Birmingham school Superintendent Lisa Herring is leaving to become superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools. She is expected to remain head of Birmingham City Schools through the end of May, at which point she will return to her home state of Georgia.
The Birmingham school system announced Tuesday Herring has been named the “sole finalist” for the post in Atlanta.
A native of Macon, Herring told AL.com the move to Atlanta is “something like a homecoming” though accepting the position was still “bittersweet.”
Herring assumed her role with Birmingham City Schools in May of 2017, replacing interim Superintendent Larry Contri. She was previously chief academic officer at Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky, which has more than 100,000 students, four times more than Birmingham’s 23,000. Herring’s contract with BCS was renewed in 2018 and was set to last through 2022.
During her tenure, she increased Birmingham’s grade on the most recent Alabama Education Report Card from an “F” to a “C.” Her most lasting contribution, however, may be regaining full accreditation from AdvancED, a private accreditation firm. The system was put on probation in 2013, largely a result of infighting between former Superintendent Craig Witherspoon and the Board of Education. Regaining systemwide accreditation required many steps that proved difficult for years, such as increasing cash reserves and improving governance structures across the system.
Herring’s tenure received high praise from both the president of the Birmingham Board of Education and Mayor Randall Woodfin.
“If I’m being honest, this kind of saddens me,” Woodfin said of Herring’s departure. “I consider her a friend and a peer in leading change in a system that has struggled to live up to its promise.”
When Herring steps down, the school system will once again be tasked with finding a new leader, the 11th in just 21 years.
Seahawks win Super Bowl title, pounding the Patriots 29-13
Seattle's "Dark Side" defense helped Sam Darnold become the first quarterback in the 2018 draft class to win a Super Bowl, to win the franchise's second title.
No, that wasn’t Liam Conejo Ramos in Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show
A publicist for Bad Bunny confirmed to NPR that the little boy in a blue bunny hat detained by ICE in Minneapolis last month did not participate in the Super Bowl halftime show.
March for Life attendees may have been exposed to measles, DC Health warns
D.C. health officials are contacting people possibly exposed to measles at the March for Life in January, as confirmed cases rise nationwide.
U.S. gave Ukraine and Russia June deadline to reach peace agreement, Zelenskyy says
"The Americans are proposing the parties end the war by the beginning of this summer," Zelenskyy said, speaking to reporters on Friday.
U.K. leader’s chief of staff quits over hiring of Epstein friend as U.S. ambassador
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief of staff resigned Sunday over the furor surrounding the appointment of Peter Mandelson as U.K. ambassador to the U.S. despite his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump administration lauds plastic surgeons’ statement on trans surgery for minors
A patient who came to regret the top surgery she got as a teen won a $2 million malpractice suit. Then, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons clarified its position that surgery is not recommended for transgender minors.
