An upbeat website for a downtown school

the Southerner Online
An upbeat website for a downtown school

the Southerner Online
An upbeat website for a downtown school

the Southerner Online
Shalin Bhatia

Shalin Bhatia, Editor in Chief

Shalin is in his fourth year of the Journalism pathway and is in his third year on the Southerner staff, serving as the Editor in Chief over the News Section. Besides writing stories, Shalin is a member of the Speech and Debate team and plays for the tennis team. He is very excited to help lead the staff this year.

All content by Shalin Bhatia
To help aid the selection of the next permanent superintendent of the district, the Atlanta Board of Education has formed a community panel of more than 15 parents, teachers, students and community leaders.

Community advisory panel formed to advise district superintendent selection

Shalin Bhatia
April 22, 2024
Following the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on testing dates, many colleges have reinstated SAT and ACT testing requirements, including elite private universities, for the 2024-25 undergraduate admissions cycle.

Renewal of testing requirements at elite universities stirs controversy

Shalin Bhatia
March 21, 2024
The Atlanta Leaders for 100% Literacy (ALL) movement, which brings together 139 community members from a range of professions, aims to hire a new superintendent who can intervene with students and improve district literacy rates.

“Atlanta Leaders for 100% Literacy” demands district focus

Shalin Bhatia
February 12, 2024
Avissar smiles in his AP Environmental Science class.

Matan Avissar, senior

Shalin Bhatia
January 30, 2024
Johnson (middle left) leads a small group of Midtown Votes members registering people to vote in Piedmont Park.

Senior Johnson champions youth voting

Shalin Bhatia
January 22, 2024
Sophomores Shiloh Majidi (left) and Drake Dominey (right) work on classwork from Big Ideas Learning curricular resources in their geometry class.

Howard, Midtown embrace new Georgia math standards, adopt curricular resources

Shalin Bhatia
December 2, 2023
APS interim Superintendent Dr. Danielle Battle looks over students as they complete their science work during her visit to Midtown on Oct. 6. Dr. Battle appointed six new figures to her senior leadership team who, like her, pledge to focus on student achievement.

Superintendent Battle shapes new leadership team

Shalin Bhatia
November 3, 2023
APS interim Superintendent Dr. Danielle Battle has pinpointed literacy as one of the district priorities this year to help ensure a successful learning environment for students.

District spearheads new goals, focuses on literacy

Shalin Bhatia
October 19, 2023
On June 29, the Supreme Court ruled that race could not be considered in college admissions.

Affirmative action rollback divides community

Stella Maximuk, Shalin Bhatia, and Shea Edwards
September 18, 2023
Verra Mobility's speed safety camera detects any vehicle in the district school zones committing a speeding violation and captures the event through a video camera. That information is sent to the Atlanta Police Department for further review.

District, city partner for school zone safety

Shalin Bhatia
September 14, 2023
Midtown is operating at 110% capacity for the 2023-24 school year, according to a district report. To help solve this issue, the district is working collectively with Midtown through a non-rezoning solution involving four strategies.

Joint efforts between district, Midtown address overcrowding

Shalin Bhatia
August 31, 2023
Reddy smiles before his AP Calculus BC class begins.

Rohan Reddy, junior

Shalin Bhatia
August 9, 2023
Dr. Danielle Battle will temporarily succeed the current superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools, Dr. Lisa Herring. Herring may transition to a new position in late August, following a board meeting on Aug. 7.

District names Battle interim superintendent

Shalin Bhatia, Shea Edwards, and Abby Hyken
August 3, 2023
An APSPD K-9 unit parks outside of Midtown during student arrival the day after the bomb threat call. As a precautionary measure, Dr. Bockman ordered K-9 units to remain on campus during arrival and throughout the day following the call.

Midtown receives bomb threat for second consecutive year

Shalin Bhatia, Sierra Pape, and Hannah Silver
August 2, 2023
On June 2, The Atlanta Board of Education chose not to renew its contract with current superintendent Dr. Lisa Herring. A Georgia native, Herring was previously superintendent for Birmingham City Schools and was hired by APS in July of 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

School board declines renewal of Herring’s contract

Shalin Bhatia, Sierra Pape, and Farris Duwayri
June 13, 2023
The Lion Electric Company is the vendor that will manufacture the 25 electric buses Atlanta Public Schools has been granted.

District granted funds for electric school buses

Shalin Bhatia
May 24, 2023
South Atlanta High School's marching band performs at Atlanta Public Schools' 150th anniversary celebration on April 22.

District celebrates history, impact with 150th anniversary

Shalin Bhatia
May 12, 2023
Daijah Suggs, the Five Points MARTA Market manager, provides a bag for a customer in the checkout line of the market. The transfer point between all rail lines, Five Points is run by a variety of managing and community partners.

MARTA Markets uniquely serve residents, pivot to outreach

Shalin Bhatia
April 12, 2023
Atlanta non-profit Midtown Alliance is working with contractor Astra Group to construct the Midtown Art Walk, a multi-phase public space project aiming to enhance Midtown’s creative identity. Current construction is focused on Phase 1 of the project, which follows the alignment of Peachtree Walk from 10th to 11th St.

Midtown Art Walk under construction, seeks to strengthen community

Shalin Bhatia
April 5, 2023
Junior Lawson Scott smiles in his AP English Language and Composition class.

Lawson Scott, junior

Shalin Bhatia
March 13, 2023
The Atlanta Department of Transportation (DOT) is overseeing the construction of a protected walk and bike lane on Empire Boulevard, which will serve students of Crawford Long Middle School in southwest Atlanta. Midtown organization Atlanta Students Advocating for Pedestrians (ASAP) is looking to get involved through bike repairs and construction assistance.

Pedestrian safety club works to improve school promenade

Shalin Bhatia
March 12, 2023
Jessica Johnson was appointed to the previously vacant At-Large Seat 9 immediately following the Atlanta Board of Education's unanimous vote for her appointment in early January.

Atlanta Board appoints community leader Johnson to fill vacant seat

Shalin Bhatia
January 23, 2023
In the complaint resolution process, a complaint of an alleged violation of HB1084 is made to a school principal, the principal investigates and informs the teacher of the violation, a meeting takes place between the principal and the person filing the complaint and a possible appeals process takes place.

District adopts divisive concepts complaint resolution process

Shalin Bhatia
December 5, 2022
Slaven delivers a lecture in his AP US History class about multiple choice strategies.

Social studies teacher Slaven brings passion to Midtown

Shalin Bhatia
November 28, 2022
Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker hosted an election night watch party at the Omni Hotel. After voting was tallied, the race between the Incumbent Raphael Warnock and Walker was too close to call and will be heading to a Dec. 6 runoff.

Warnock, Walker U.S Senate race heads to December runoff

Jamie Marlowe, Sayan Sonnad-Joshi, Greta Gustafson, Sierra Pape, Shalin Bhatia, and Lily Rachwalski
November 9, 2022
Protestors opposed to Iran's regime stand in downtown Atlanta on Oct. 1. This was one of the several protests which occurred in cities around the world at the same time.

Atlanta Iranian community backs Iranians in freedom fight

Shalin Bhatia
October 30, 2022
Evolv Technology body scanners function in the Spartanburg, South Carolina School District 6. The body scanners have led to the district being able to complete an average bag check in less than 20 seconds and sustain detection without security queues.

Atlanta Public Schools to install body scanners in middle, high schools

Shalin Bhatia
September 29, 2022
Fedorov holds his tennis racket during lunch.

Nick Fedorov, freshman

Shalin Bhatia
August 22, 2022
[From left to right] Former Muslim Student Association members Adham Attia, Ashley Sasser, Fatima Chaudhry, Mina Goldman and Xander Menor pose at MIST in 2019.

Muslim Student Association planning to return after two years

Shalin Bhatia
August 19, 2022
Sophomore Sawyer Miyake prepares sushi for the upcoming lunch period. Miyake, whose family is originally from Japan and lived in Hawaii before it was claimed by the United States, enjoys connecting to his heritage through food.

Stories of Asian Americans exemplified in Midtown community

Shalin Bhatia
May 25, 2022
GradyCares is hosting its first in-person fundraiser, a comedy night, at Red Light Cafe on May 12. Midtown parent Linda Brenner first founded GradyCares in 2018 after discovering the extent to which homelessness impacted her community.

GradyCares hosting comedy night, seeking donations

Shalin Bhatia
May 4, 2022
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris visited Atlanta on Tuesday, Jan. 11, to discuss the urgent need to pass federal voting rights legislation to prevent corrupt elections. Biden’s visit to Atlanta must immediately spark community movements aimed at improving statewide voting rights, such as more activism from citizens and voting rights groups for actual action in the Georgia General Assembly.

Biden’s Atlanta speech must spark voting rights measures

Shalin Bhatia
January 21, 2022
Nahornyi smiles in the courtyard prior to an FBLA meeting. Nahornyi reached nationals for FBLA last year in “Introduction to FBLA” and continued to participate throughout the summer.

Sophomore Nahornyi shares immigrant experience with peers

Shalin Bhatia
December 18, 2021
If transmission levels are at a moderate or lower level in Fulton County and DeKalb county, masks will become optional on Feb. 1. The status of mask requirements will be reevaluated on a weekly basis.

APS hopes to drop mask requirement in February

Aran Sonnad-Joshi and Shalin Bhatia
December 8, 2021
Larestani smiles in the courtyard during lunch.

Arshia Larestani, sophomore

Shalin Bhatia
October 26, 2021

Hispanic Heritage Month brings school community together

Shalin Bhatia
October 5, 2021
Militants associated with the Islamist extremist group, al Qaeda, target parts of the United States by hijacking four airplanes and conducting suicide attacks.

National unity after 9/11 absent two decades later

Shalin Bhatia
September 23, 2021
The healthcare classroom teaches students about skills in the healthcare field.

Future of healthcare science pathway remains unknown

Shalin Bhatia
September 15, 2021
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announces an executive order that allowed businesses to choose whether to follow local Covid-19 guidelines during an 11Alive news broadcast.

Kemp’s executive order symbolizes larger problem

Shalin Bhatia
September 3, 2021
The NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness, has been plentiful with upsets. The players are working at high-intensity levels, despite the lack of fans present in the stadiums. However, the athletes are not compensated for their outstanding performances and instead function as cheap labor for enormous college administrations.

Supreme Court should rule in favor of student-athlete compensation

Shalin Bhatia
April 2, 2021
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