Fulton County Schools Human Resources Division Earns Prestigious State Honor
Fulton County Schools announced that its Human Resources (HR) Division has been recognized with the Georgia Oglethorpe Award from The Sterling Council, a prestigious state-level performance excellence award, becoming the first education organization in Georgia to earn this distinction. The award honors the division’s commitment to strategic human capital leadership, operational excellence, and customer-focused service delivery. Chief of Human Resources Dr. Gonzalo La Cava has now led two school district human resources organizations to this recognition during his career.
“On behalf of the Fulton County Board of Education, we commend our Human Resources Division for this outstanding achievement,” said Board President Mrs. Kristin McCabe. “This recognition reflects a strong commitment to excellence and to building a workforce that supports student success across our district.”
The Oglethorpe Award is based on the nationally recognized Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, a proven leadership framework that has guided organizations for more than 30 years in achieving high performance and continuous improvement. The Sterling Council, the organization behind the award, has similarly demonstrated more than 33 years of success using the Baldrige framework to help organizations reach state and national benchmark levels, advancing a shared mission of performance excellence.
The Fulton County Schools Human Resources Division provides comprehensive services in recruitment and retention, employee relations, leadership development, compensation, workforce planning, and organizational effectiveness. The division supports thousands of employees across one of Georgia’s largest school systems and plays a critical role in ensuring schools are staffed with high-quality educators and professionals.
Through a strong focus on continuous improvement and collaboration, the division has implemented innovative practices that streamline hiring, strengthen leadership pipelines, and enhance service delivery to schools and departments. Central to this work is a culture of teamwork and shared accountability, positioning the division as a strategic partner to schools and district leaders.
The division also launched its signature professional development program, Level Up Fulton, designed to build HR capability, strengthen leadership skills, and develop a pipeline of future-ready professionals. This initiative reflects the division’s commitment to investing in its people while elevating service and performance across the organization.
“Fulton County Schools is proud of the outstanding work of our Human Resources Division,” said Superintendent Dr. Mike Looney. “This recognition reflects their dedication to building systems that attract, develop, and retain exceptional talent. Their teamwork, innovation, and focus on supporting our employees directly benefit our schools and ultimately our students.”
Dr. La Cava emphasized the collective effort behind the achievement. “This honor reflects the commitment of our HR team and the strong partnerships we have built across Fulton County Schools,” he said Dr. La Cava. “I am proud of our district, Fulton County Schools, for receiving this recognition for the first time. It represents focused work to align talent strategy with district priorities.”
This recognition underscores Fulton County Schools’ commitment to building a high-performing workforce. It highlights how collaboration and a sustained commitment to developing people advance organizational excellence in support of student success.