Be sure to get a copy of Atlanta Magazine’s January 2015 issue. No, it’s not just about burgers, it also features reporter Rebecca Burns’ in-depth look at Utopian Academy for the Arts, entitled, Held to Account: What One Charter School Can Teach Us All.
Utopian Academy is a state authorized charter school in Clayton County that was hit with a series of bureaucratic obstacles in August 2014 that resulted in a two week opening delay. The situation outraged parents and made local and national headlines as 200 students were denied the right to attend their school. Utopian made even bigger headlines when it finally opened and Governor Nathan Deal, along with hip hop star Ludacris, visited the school, pledging their support for more charter options.
Reporter Rebecca Burns told GCSA that she specifically hoped to write about public education in troubled Clayton County and wanted to look at charter schools through the experience of a student at the school. She follows 7th grader Giani Anderson, through the opening days at Utopian in this moving feature story.
Artesius Miller, Utopian’s Executive Director and Founder said about the story, “The untold story of Utopian Academy for the Arts has finally been shared. Through hard work, perseverance, and faith; it is my desire that our school will continue to prevail and become the beacon of hope that the students of Clayton County deserves.”
