Atlanta Public Schools will keep its accreditation with a national agency.

School board chairwoman Brenda Muhammad said Tuesday that the 50,000-student district has been taken off probation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The district will be on "accreditation with advisement," which is one step below full accreditation, for the next year.

“This is a compliment to the work this board has been doing,” Muhammad said. “I tell you, we’ve gone through more in this year than many boards go through in 10 years.”

The Atlanta-based SACS put Atlanta on probation in January because of its squabbling, ineffective school board and threatened to pull accreditation entirely if the board didn't get its act together. The board has elected new leadership since then and worked to heal rifts.

Losing accreditation would have put the 50,000-student district in danger of losing private grants and could keep students from gaining admission and winning scholarships at some colleges.

Contributors: WABE's Rose Scott contributed to this report.

Tags: Atlanta Public Schools, accreditation, SACS, SACS accreditation, CRCT cheating, school accreditation, Atlanta Public School Board, Brenda Muhammad