According to Fulton County Schools, Dr. Duke Bradley, principal at Banneker High School, will be leaving next month to pursue other opportunities. He recently shared the news of his upcoming exit in a letter to parents and the school community.
Since Dr. Bradley’s arrival in 2015, Banneker’s graduation rate and test scores have increased. In 2018, Banneker was removed from the state’s failing schools list and was named a “Beating The Odds” school and Dr. Bradley was named Fulton County Schools Principal of the Year. In 2019, the school was awarded STEM certification by Advance Ed.
“Earning STEM certification is a wonderful achievement for Banneker High School,” said Dr. Bradley. “We’ve been on a four-year journey to create more meaningful learning opportunities for our students and to ensure their academic competitiveness. This inches us a lot closer to that goal.”
While at Banneker, Dr. Bradley has been an advocate for a holistic approach to serving children and families. Workforce development programs and creative strategies for augmenting the curriculum have been implemented, welcoming prestigious speakers like Ambassador Andrew Young and CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers. Banneker celebrated the opening of the Student and Family Engagement (S.A.F.E.) Center, which supports students’ social, emotional and even economic needs. The school has also built bridges with the nonprofit community. In 2017, Dr. Bradley served as the keynote speaker of the inaugural United Way South Fulton Collective Impact Summit which brought area nonprofits together to address the region’s child well-being score and explore collaborative ways to help children thrive.
In a letter to parents and stakeholders at the end of the 2018-2019 school year, Dr. Bradley wrote that the school’s successes have been a collective effort.
“The conscious observer of our work over the years would note that Banneker’s success is not due to the gallantry of a single person or the success of a single initiative,” he wrote. “Rather, it is the spectacle of collectivism that we benefit most from; parents and partners integrated into the full spectrum of our school. As I reflect on the work that we’ve done together, I am reminded of how powerful a tool that collective effort can be and how much can be accomplished when a dedicated group of people work together on behalf of children.”
Dr. Bradley’s last day will be October 11. A replacement has not yet been named.
Photo Credit: Fulton County Schools