A variety of prestigious colleges, universities, elementary and secondary schools are located in and around Downtown Atlanta.  This concentration of quality public and private institutions is largely unmatched throughout the metropolitan Atlanta region.

Elementary & Secondary Schools

Public Schools

Fresh leadership within the Atlanta Public Schools has propelled the district to new heights.  Strong technology initiatives coupled with more stringent hiring requirements for teachers have been instrumental in dramatically raising the district’s performance in terms of graduation rates and the number of students meeting or exceeding the state standards in specific subjects.  APS was one of five finalists (out of 105 school systems) to receive the prestigious national Broad Award, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of Urban Education.  Some of the district’s highest performing schools are located Downtown.

Centennial Place Elementary School
531 Luckie Street, NW

Centennial Place is a technology-driven public school focusing on Science and Math education.  In order to provide a flexible and technology-rich learning environment, the school is designed with open classrooms.  In 2004, Centennial was honored as the Georgia Project Water Education for Teachers (WET) School of the Year.  Furthermore, this school continually meets all federal achievement standards.
School Profile

C.W. Hill Elementary School
386 Pine Street, NE

Located in the Bedford-Pine Community, C.W. Hill offers a “whole school reform design” strategy that uses technology and project based learning as a common thread to bring educators, students, parents, and the community together in pursuit of high academic standards. Additionally, test results on the Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Test have increased for four consecutive years in reading, math, and language arts.
School Profile

Ed S. Cook Elementary School
211 Memorial Drive, SE

Only steps away from the State Capitol and the heart of downtown Atlanta, Ed S. Cook Elementary’s location has created synergistic learning opportunities with the Capitol Area Mosaic (CAM), Emory University, Clark University, and Georgia State University, whose volunteers work with their students on a regular basis. In 2003, it moved to the list of Georgia’s Distinguished Schools as a result of making adequate yearly progress for three consecutive years.  
School Profile

John Hope Elementary School
112 Boulevard, NE

John Hope Elementary is located in the Martin Luther King historic district, and offers a flexible and innovative curriculum with enrichment and accelerated programs to challenge students at a wide range of learning levels.
School Profile

Mary Mcleod Bethune Elementary School
220 Northside Drive, NW

Bethune Elementary is “the essence of the child-centered school”, working collaboratively with students, their parents, the community and business partners to provide each student a quality education. Aside from the curriculum, they invest heavily in “indicator programs” that incrementally measure the academic progress of students, where their ever-changing needs can be adjusted for.
School Profile

Austin Thomas Walden Middle School
320 Irwin Street, SW

Students at Walden Middle School continue to defeat the odds and excel in academics and extracurricular activities. Not only have they surpassed target levels for various diagnostic tests in the past 4 years, but the school’s passion for enrichment activities is reflected by their litany of awards and recognitions in state and local competitions.
School Profile

Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School
5454 Hill Street, SE

Recently named one of the top 10 Atlanta Public Schools by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, King Middle School has been able to consistently improve its student achievement scores over the past seven years.  Students at this school consistently win local, state, and national competitions. 
School Profile

Henry W. Grady High School
929 Charles Allen Drive, NE

Consistently ranked as one of the premier high schools in the state, Grady High School has a long tradition of producing leaders for our city, state and nation. Home to the district’s communications magnet program and some of the best high school publications in the country, Grady perennially wins prestigious awards on the national level.
In the fall of 1999, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation ranked Grady as the best high school in Atlanta Public Schools. Additionally, the school’s diverse population and integrationist history fosters a welcoming and genuinely accepting environment that is conducive to learning. 
School Profile

Other public schools with close proximity to Downtown:

F.L. Stanton Elementary School (<.1 mi.)
Oglethorpe Elementary School  (0.4 mi.)
John F. Kennedy Middle School (0.8 mi.)
Neighborhood Charter School (0.9 mi.)
West End Academy (1.9 mi.)

Private Schools

Atlanta New Century School
300 Luckie Street NW

This innovative college preparatory school has garnered praise for its unique approach to elementary and middle-school education.  Classes are mixed across age groups and offer a diverse curriculum which capitalizes on the academic, community, and cultural resources of Downtown Atlanta.  A remarkably low student-to-teacher ratio provides for a personalized educational experience for each student.

Colleges & Universities 

The presence of many colleges and universities gives Atlanta its reputation as a national center for higher learning.  Many of these institutions are located within close proximity of Downtown.   

Georgia State University

Located in the heart of Downtown Atlanta, Georgia State continues to uphold its reputation as one of Georgia’s premier institutions of higher learning.  With a student population of more than 27,000 and course offerings in over 250 fields Georgia State is one of the nation’s largest and leading urban research universities.  The part-time MBA program at the J. Mack Robinson School of Business ranks among the top 10 in the nation and the Andrew Young School of Policy ranks in the top 30.  The University maintains strong ties with many community schools.

Other college and universities with close proximity to Downtown:

Georgia Institute of Technology (<.1 mi.)
Clark-Atlanta University (.5 mi.)
Morehouse College (.8 mi.)
Spelman College ( .8 mi.)
Morris-Brown College (.8 mi.)
Morehouse School of Medicine (1 mi.)
Emory University (3.0 mi.)

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