July 11, 2023
Fulton County Schools would like to say "welcome" to our newly-hired principals and administrative staff. We also offer our "congratulations" to existing employees that move into these positions as well. We are proud to present our newest team members here and on our FCS Social Media.
Cliff Jones
Fulton County Schools Chief of Staff
A native Atlantan, Cliff Jones has been a proud Fulton County School system member for more than 20 years. During that time, he has progressively increased his responsibility and impact in the district. Mr. Jones started as a high school history teacher, assistant principal, and principal at Milton High before being promoted to the district office.
Since 2014, Mr. Jones served as the Executive Director of Accountability, Area Superintendent in the Northeast Learning Community, and since 2018, as the Chief Academic Officer. As Chief Academic Officer, he supervised seven zone superintendents, the Learning and Teaching department, and the Student Support Department. A few of the accomplishments he is most proud of include the implementation of the Every Child Reads campaign, the expansion of Career, Technical and Agricultural Education, the reduction of schools on the federal accountability list, and enacted the high dosage small group tutoring.
Mr. Jones holds an MBA from Kennesaw University, MA in Educational Leadership from Georgia State, and MA in Modern History from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. He is also LETRS certified and recently earned a certificate from AASA Aspiring Superintendents Academy.
Brannon Gaskins
Fulton County Schools Chief Academic Officer
Brannon Gaskins rejoins the Fulton County School System after working with the University of Virginia's Partnership for Leaders in Education (UVA-PLE). In Mr. Gaskins’ role with UVA-PLE, he provided executive leadership training to district superintendents and their executive staffs through the University’s Darden School of Business. He also provided coaching to new principal supervisors and chief academic officers across the country in this role.
Prior to joining the University of Virginia, Mr. Gaskins served as Deputy Superintendent/Chief Academic Officer with the Clarke County School District in Athens, GA. In his role, he oversaw the Instructional Services and School Performance Division that included leadership development, teaching and learning, data and research, assessment, federal programs, school counseling, exceptional education, and professional learning offices. He also supervised the district’s 21 schools, charter system and grants office, and early learning and alternative school programming.
During Mr. Gaskins’ tenure in Clarke County, he launched several innovative programs and initiatives including the district's first virtual school and elementary transition program. Mr. Gaskins increased the number of middle school students taking high school courses and expanded the CTAE pathways for middle and high school students. He also increased the number of minority and underrepresented populations in Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment courses.
During Mr. Gaskins’ tenure with Fulton County Schools, he served as Area Executive Director overseeing the Banneker High School cluster of schools. Under his leadership, Banneker increased its graduation rate by 30% in three years, three schools in the zone were removed from the state’s chronically failing school’s list, and 80% of schools achieved improvements on the state's CCRPI accountability rating. Mr. Gaskins also served as an elementary teacher, data support specialist, assistant principal, and principal of Liberty Point Elementary while in the district.
Mr. Gaskins is a certified reading specialist, holds advanced degrees from Georgia State University, a Bachelor of Science from Tennessee State University, and is pursuing his Doctorate in Education from Kennesaw State University.