ATLANTA — This school year, a Morehouse graduate became the youngest principal in the Atlanta Public School system and the first African-American leader at Willis A. Sutton Middle School.
College Park native Dr. Dominique Merriweather graduated from the HBCU in 2014, but a career in education was not always in the cards for him.
Initially, Merriweather thought his path would take him into the world of corporate law, until one day, during his undergraduate studies, he spent an afternoon reading to elementary school children.
He remembers the first time he read to the children in a suit and tie, but from that day on, he was hooked.
“We went to the elementary school, we started reading to the kids and it was just a beautiful feeling to see kids excited,” Merriweather recounted. “Long story short, I left, came back, came back again, and so what really got me into education, if I’m being honest, is those kids.”
After discovering a love for teaching, Merriweather changed course and joined Teach for America where he earned his teaching certificate and made it his mission to shape the young minds of Georgia public schools.
His first teaching job took him to Bear Creek Middle School in Fulton County, where he taught special education. It was not long before Merriweather started hitting high achievements with his students and eventually was asked to teach colleagues his personal classroom techniques to achieve success.
Over the years, Merriweather has won the hearts of students, teachers and administrators. He has spent the last four years of his career as assistant principal at Sutton Middle School and now, in his 5th year, has earned the title of the first African-American principal to lead the school.
“This is a celebratory moment, not just for me, but for us as a school and us as a community, and it's nice to see history being made," Merriweather explained. "But there are new heights for us to reach."
During his time as principal, he said he hopes to make positive changes that will move Sutton forward, including upgrading security and safety within the school to ensure students, teachers and staff feel comfortable learning.
He also wants to improve academic scores for students and focus on bridging the learning loss gap many children faced coming out of the pandemic.
Lastly, Merriweather’s vision includes a rebranding of Sutton that involves a better relationship with the surrounding community. Although it will be a lot of work, Merriweather told 11Alive that he is humbled by the recognition and believes his passion for his students makes him want to work to be better.
“I'm standing on the shoulders of giants,” Merriweather said. “I am looking and acknowledging those who came before me, who paved this way to lead such an incredible school and me knowing, just because I am in this seat, in this position, that there are others who came before me, other leaders who helped establish this framework to have such an incredible school.”
He encourages students, parents and teacher to follow him on Twitter to keep up with updates on his efforts at Sutton Middle School.