Atlanta’s School Board has a new District 3 representative and she’s ready to tackle some of Atlanta Public Schools’ biggest challenges.

Michelle Olympiadis beat Adzua Agyapon with 59 percent of the vote in the Dec. 5 runoff election. Olympiadis replaces Matt Westmoreland, who was elected to the Atlanta City Council.

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“Thank you to all the voters in Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education District 3,” Olympiadis said. “I am humbled by your strong support and look forward to serving our students, schools and communities.”

Olympiadis is an APS parent and recently served as president of the Morningside Elementary PTA.

“District 3’s needs are quite varied, but it shares a core goal with the entire district: a quality seat for every child,” she said.

Olympiadis shared her vision for the North Atlanta, Jackson, and Grady high school clusters.

North Atlanta Cluster – Our English Language Learner students must have a strong K-12 language support pipeline to help them become their most successful selves.

Jackson Cluster – King Middle School remains the last and most important piece of this cluster’s framework. Once King stabilizes and thrives, this cluster will become even more successful.

Grady Cluster – While we have a cluster facilities plan to address capacity, Morningside will need immediate overcrowding relief. I can facilitate community support for the North Atlanta, Jackson, and Grady clusters and the district, recognizing similarities, differences, and the importance of supporting very different voices who are already passionate about their own communities’ challenges.

She said parental involvement is an important part of making APS a better school system.

“Parental involvement and community engagement are crucial to making public schools successful and diverse,” she said. “Key to that is a sense of belonging, ownership, and agency. It starts at the neighborhood level, expands to the school level, then the cluster, and the district in concentric circles. It means actively owning all of the children in the circles and doing what it takes to support them. ”

Olympiadis also wants to reexamine the APS budget.

“Hopefully we can take look at the budget and continue to support our teachers, administrators and staff with the resources they need to make everyday a great day for all of our students,” she said.

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