Georgia Department of Education E-Newsletter [Sept. 2008]

September 2008

A new school year is here: The hallways are once again brimming with excitement and potential as students and teachers return to the classroom for another academic journey.
It was a busy summer at the Georgia Department of Education, culminating with the release of our annual Adequate Yearly Progress report. As is often the case, the newspaper headlines and TV sound bites only told part of the story.
The truth is that making Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, is not easy. Schools have to meet standards in several different categories. Some of our schools have 15 or more statistical indicators they must achieve.
And this year, it was even harder. The bar schools had to reach went up in every major statistical category that is used to calculate AYP -- achievement in mathematics, English and reading, as well as graduation rate. On top of that, we continued to implement our new, more rigorous curriculum, the Georgia Performance Standards. This was especially true in mathematics, where Georgia is really increasing expectations of our students.
Put simply, the work was harder and the bar was higher.

Superintendent On the Road with Superintendent Cox Superintendent Cox's Presentations
State Board of Education September Meeting Update
August Meeting Update

And yet, despite those hurdles, nearly 1,500 of our schools made AYP and about 250 more missed in just one small area of the formula. In fact, it's very possible many of the schools that did not make AYP will do so when summer retest scores and summer graduates are added later this year.
But there was more good news in the AYP report.
There were 37 schools that shook the "Needs Improvement" label, some of them after carrying that burden around for 5, 6 or 7 years. Also, there were many schools that made AYP for the first time, some after having missed it for as long as a decade.
And, of course, there was a large group of schools that made AYP for the 8th, 9th and even 10th consecutive year, despite the fact that many of the students are economically disadvantaged and face other challenges.

Resources Online Print Materials Math Webpage Graduation Rule Toolkit GeorgiaStandards.org Online Assessment System Georgia Virtual School Media Matters

In this newsletter, we are going to highlight a few of our AYP success stories. These are the stories that too often get overlooked in the media: The stories about perseverance, innovation, focus and success.

While the AYP report is essentially a conglomeration of data, there are real students making real progress behind those numbers. I'd encourage Georgians to not only look at the AYP report, but learn the stories of these great schools.

Sincerely,

This was a hard year to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) the bar went up in every academic area and our schools continued to implement a more rigorous curriculum in all core subjects.

Still, there were many schools that were able to make AYP.

made it in 2008.

Nearly 1,500 of Georgia's school - about 69 percent - made AYP in 2008. Some of these schools shook the "Needs Improvement" label, meaning they made AYP for the second consecutive year. Other schools had never made AYP but with hard work and focus

East Hall Middle School, in Hall County, was one of Georgia's 19 "contract-monitored" schools in 2008, meaning it had not made AYP for at least seven consecutive years. But in 2008, East Hall made AYP and if they make it again next year, they will be out of "Needs Improvement" status.

Dr. Mark D. Wilson, of Morgan County High School, was named the 2009 High School Principal of the Year on August 28th, making it two years in a row that a principal from Georgia has received the award.
"Mark Wilson is an exceptional principal who has helped the students of Morgan County High School make tremendous strides in a fairly short period of time," said State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox. "He's innovative and motivated and uses creative strategies to get the most out of his students and his teachers. He's very deserving of this award and I am very proud of him and his team at Morgan County High School."
Officials from the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) surprised Wilson during a student assembly at his school. Local and state officials were also on hand to present Wilson with the award. A resolution from Superintendent Cox and the State Board of Education was presented to Wilson during the ceremony.
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2008 Georgia Department of Education, 205 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive S.E., Atlanta, GA 30334 Feedback | Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe