Young Professionals for Education Equity (YPEE) began as an affiliate of Teach For America - Metro Atlanta in 2009 and became an independent network in 2010. Founded by Teach For America alumnus and regional advisory board member Hunter Pierson, each quarter YPEE hosts a member meeting featuring a speaker from the local education reform community. Twice a year the group organizes a public forum focused on a topic confronting the Metro Atlanta education landscape, and on an issue-by-issue basis, YPEE members advocate for policies that foster the academic achievement of students in low-income neighborhoods.
All 100 plus members of YPEE are required to attend at least three quarterly meetings each year, make a financial contribution to a local education non-profit working towards educational equity, and advocate for students living in high-need communities.
As the Civil War begins, Atlanta becomes the transportation and medical hub of the South.
The first Public School Act in Georgia is passed, establishing separate schools for black and white students.
Atlanta University and Morehouse and Spelman colleges form the Atlanta University system, which will become the nation's largest consortium of higher education for African Americans.
The U.S. Supreme Court rules against segregated schools in Brown v. the Board of Education. State Attorney General Eugene Cook issues a statement saying that the ruling does not apply to Georgia.
Atlanta Public Schools integrates nine black students into four white high schools.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. The funeral and burial are held in Atlanta.
Maynard Jackson becomes the first black mayor in Atlanta’s history.
The Hope Scholarship launches, providing full in-state college scholarships to all Georgia students who graduate from high school with a B average or above.
Georgia is awarded $400 million in the federal government's Race to the Top competition, based on the state’s comprehensive, four-year school reform plan to fuel advancements in the classroom experience.
A Governor’s Special Investigators’ Report confirms the Atlanta Public Schools Cheating Scandal. Thirty-eight principals and 178 teachers are found to be responsible for, or directly involved in, cheating on CRCT examinations in 2009.
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