These are the schools in metro Atlanta designated as “reward” schools for high academic performance.
Cherokee County
Woodstock Elementary School
DeKalb County
DeKalb Early College Academy
DeKalb PATH Academy Charter School
Fayette County
Inman Elementary
Oak Grove Elementary School
Forsyth County
Cumming Elementary School
Otwell Middle School
Little Mill Middle School
Fulton County
KIPP South Fulton Academy School
River Eves Elementary School
Gwinnett County
Lovin Elementary School
Knight Elementary School
Harris Elementary School
Rockdale County
General Ray Davis Middle School
Honey Creek Elementary School
Barksdale Elementary School
Atlanta Public Schools
Early College High School at Carver
Charles R. Drew Charter School
Inman Middle School
West Manor Elementary School
Decatur City
Renfroe Middle School
Source: Georgia Department of Education
These are the schools in metro Atlanta designated as reward schools because of academic progress.
Clayton County
Elite Scholars Academy School
Charles R. Drew High School
Mundys Mill Middle School
Adamson Middle School
Lovejoy Middle School
Kendrick Middle School
Pointe South Middle School
Forest Park High School
Jonesboro High School
Forest Park Middle School
Morrow High School
Cobb County
Campbell Middle School
Smitha Middle School
Lindley 6th Grade Academy
Belmont Hills Elementary School
Osborne High School
Coweta County
Smokey Road Middle School
DeKalb County
Miller Grove High School
Cedar Grove High School
Eldridge L. Miller Elementary School
Cedar Grove Middle School
Lithonia High School
Redan Middle School
Stone Mountain High School
Sequoyah Middle School
The Champion Middle Theme School
McNair Middle School
Woodward Elementary School
Cross Keys High School
Douglas County
Annette Winn Elementary School
Fulton County
McNair Middle School
Hapeville Charter Middle School
Gwinnett County
Benefield Elementary School
Meadowcreek Elementary School
Partee Elementary School
Lilburn Elementary School
Henry County
McDonough Elementary School
Atlanta Public Schools
Early College High School at Carver
Booker T. Washington - Early College Small School
Kipp Strive Academy
Charles R. Drew Charter School
South Atlanta Law and Social Justice School
Buford City
Buford Middle School
Source: Georgia Department of Education
These are the metro Atlanta schools designated as alert schools because of low graduation rates, poor performance from specific groups of students or poor performance in a specific academic subject:
DeKalb County
Gateway to College Academy
Idlewood Elementary
Knollwood Elementary
Jolly Elementary
Stoneview Elementary
Flat Shoals Elementary
Gwinnett County
Phoenix High
Atlanta Public Schools
Bazoline E. Usher/Collier Heights
Scott Elementary
Thomasville Heights
Source: Georgia Department of Education
The Georgia Department of Education released a pair of lists Tuesday designed to tell parents whether their child's school is struggling or soaring.
One list includes “alert” schools — those with lower-than-average graduation rates, poor performance from specific groups of students, and schools where students struggled in a specific academic subject. Eleven schools in metro Atlanta made that list. Six of those schools are in the DeKalb County School District.
The other list includes “reward” schools, where students excelled or showed marked progress on state tests. Twenty-one metro Atlanta schools were designated as reward schools because of strong performance on state tests; 45 made the list for showing academic progress.
Four schools in Atlanta Public Schools were designated as reward schools because of strong academic performance. Gwinnett, Forsyth and Rockdale had three such schools. Fulton, DeKalb and Fayette each had two. Decatur City and Cherokee had one each.
The alert and reward designations replace those offered through the federal No Child Left Behind education law. Georgia sought and received a waiver from NCLB.
Last year, reward schools got a $10,000 slice of federal funds. This year, however, they’ll have to settle for bragging rights because the state’s federal funding was reduced.
Alert schools will get more district- and state-level assistance in the form of increased instructional support, more staff, and help for students with limited English-language skills.
Johnathan Clark, DeKalb’s director of research, assessments and grants, said some of his disctrict’s struggling schools have similarities: high transience, high levels of poverty and a lot of students with limited English-language skills.
“It’s difficult to get parents involved” at such schools, he said.
One of the DeKalb schools on the alert list is Jolly Elementary. “There are 35 languages spoken at that school,” Clark said.
While DeKalb had more alert schools than any other metro Atlanta district, it also had a dozen reward schools that made the list because of academic progress. In metro Atlanta, only Clayton County had as many schools with the reward designation because of academic progress.
Osborne High School Principal Josh Morreale said students at his school, one of five in Cobb County recognized for academic progress, showed improvements across every subject area, including geometry, biology, American literature and U.S. history.
He said the school focused on individualized student instruction so that teachers can target areas where kids need improvement.
“We’re constantly looking at the data and how we can improve, but also where our strengths lie,” he said. “We break it down to the individual student and adjust instruction to support learning all the standards in each class.”
Clint Terza, who is principal of Smitha Middle School in Cobb, said his school made progress in large part because it gave teachers room to do their jobs. He said the administration responded to teachers’ requests that classrooms not be interrupted by the PA system and that students not be pulled from class for other activities.
“They felt it was hard to communicate instruction to kids when there were constant disruptions,” Terza said.
The school also changed the length of its classes from 55 minutes to 75 minutes so they have more time on each subject.
Kim Montalbano, principal at Woodstock Elementary in Cherokee County, said the community has embraced the school, which made the reward list. That community support, plus teachers who focus on the individual needs of their students, has contributed to the school’s success.
“It’s a real strong collaborative effort,” she said.
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