The

Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was married to Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she ...

Young Women's Leadership Academy (CSKYWLA) was opened in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, United States in August 2007. For a short time the academy was simply referred to as "the girls' single gender academy," but it was later named by its first principal, Melody Morgan, in honor of the life and legacy of

, the civil rights leader and wife of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

At its inception, the school served girls in grade 6 with plans for expansion to grade 12 by 2014. It graduated its first high school class in 2014. CSKYWLA is a public school in the

Atlanta Public Schools Atlanta Public Schools (APS) is a school district based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is run by the Atlanta Board of Education with superintendent Dr. Lisa Herring. The system has an active enrollment of 54,956 students, attending a ...

system. Among the staff and students, the acronym for the school's name, CSKYWLA (pronounced "see-skee-WAH-lah"), has been coined as a salutation given the definition "to be empowered by scholarship, non-violence, and social change, my sister."

Single-gender education

CSKYWLA was initiated by

based on the research of

Michael Gurian Michael Gurian is an American author and social philosopher. He works as a marriage and family counselor and corporate consultant. He has published twenty-eight books, several of which were ''New York Times'' bestseller list bestsellers. He i ...

, who asserts that girls and boys have different learning styles. To this effect, teachers at CSKYWLA employ teaching strategies geared toward the general learning styles of girls.

Curriculum

Students at CSKYWLA are immersed in a rigorous academic curriculum, which includes language arts, social studies, and reading. There is also a strong emphasis on math and science, subject areas in which, according to research and tradition, girls tend to struggle more than boys.

Connections

Students at CSKYWLA have an opportunity to take connections classes, including: * Art * Band * Physical Education * Math * Reading * Dance

Extracurricular activities

* Basketball * Debate Club * Cheerleading * Cross-Country * Marching Band * Softball * Track and Field

Special honors

Since 2008, sixth grade students at the Coretta Scott King Young Women's Leadership Academy have had the honor of being guest speakers at the annual Martin Luther King Memorial Holiday celebration ceremony at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. * 2008 - Kia Sims * 2009 - Tamira Johnson * 2010 - Brianna Martin * 2011 - Rim Adem (middle school) and Jasmine Woodard (high school) * 2012 - Hikemia Hussein (middle school) and Chelsea Burks (high school) * 2012 - Destiny Gillespie (middle school) * 2017 - Chloe Evans (middle school) *

Administration

The middle school is currently under the leadership of Eulonda Washington (Principal), Dr.King (Assistant Principal). {{authority control Educational institutions established in 2007 Girls' schools in Georgia (U.S. state) Atlanta Public Schools high schools Atlanta Public Schools schools Public middle schools in Georgia (U.S. state) Middle schools in Atlanta 2007 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)