Atlanta Public Schools (APS) achieved an 80.3 percent graduation rate for 2020, according to graduation data from the Georgia Department of Education. By achieving its all-time high graduation rate, APS has narrowed the gap with the state rate of 83.8 percent by 0.6 percentage points to a gap of 3.5 percentage points. More students – 2,570 of them – graduated on-time from APS in 2020 than any other year since 2012.
The City of Atlanta has allocated $22 million of the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) to an Emergency Housing Assistance Program to support families negatively affected by COVID-19. The program is being administered through United Way of Greater Atlanta (UWGA). The program provides rental, mortgage and utility assistance of up to $5,000 per household. More information and the application can be found at this link.
The City of Decatur and Decatur Downtown Development Authority (DDA) will support small businesses and nonprofit organizations impacted by the coronavirus pandemic with $1.2 million in funding made available through the federal CARES Act. The funds will be dispersed as follows: $500,000 will go toward relief for the 28 small businesses that received loans from the DDA in May, eliminating this debt in the form of a grant for expenses incurred due to the effects of COVID-19; $400,000 will be used to fund a new round of small business grants to assist businesses with expenses incurred due to the effects of COVID-19; $300,000 will be distributed to local nonprofit organizations in the form of grants. An online application system is open now.
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