Georgia Power’s Frank McCloskey will take on the role of principal at Washington High School on Wednesday, April 17, while Dr. Shirley Kilgore, the school’s everyday principal, will serve in McCloskey’s position as Georgia Power’s vice president of diversity and workplace ethics.

“I am looking forward to a thrilling experience and the opportunity to meet the students of Washington. I want to observe how they are investing in their school as well as share with them any information I can about Georgia Power, our commitment to diversity and even job opportunities with our company,” McCloskey said.

“I think everyone realizes that businesses like Georgia Power and schools can benefit tremendously from partnerships,” he added. “This is a great opportunity to hear from different perspectives – that of teachers and students – what a company like Georgia Power can do to help improve education in our state and make a direct contribution to the well-being of the school.”

Georgia Power and Washington High School have a business partnership through the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. The two have worked together since 1995 during The Atlanta Project when Georgia Power was a partner to the Washington Cluster. In transitioning from the Atlanta Project, Georgia Power narrowed its focus from the community to education at Washington High School. Georgia Power started the Ninth Grade Success Hook-up program to increase the success rates and the promotion rates of ninth grade students at Washington High School. Since the program`s inception the ninth grade promotion rate has grown from 51 percent in 1996 to 83 percent in 2000.

“I am looking forward to working at Georgia Power for a day, but more importantly, I am excited about Frank coming over to Washington High. Experiences like this help us to enhance and extend educational opportunities to our students,” Kilgore said.