For years, the University Community Academy has earned a spot on the state's Adequate Yearly Progress list as one of Atlanta's top-performing schools.
This little-known fact comes as no surprise to anyone at the small charter school in south Atlanta's Dixie Hills Community.
Although 88 percent of its 402 students live below the poverty line, UCA has consistently met or exceeded expectations on Georgia's Criterion-Reference Competency Tests, which determine if students in grades 1-8 have learned what the state says they should.
In metro Atlanta, six Title I schools —- schools in which at least 35 percent of students are from low-income families —- had a 100 percent passing rate for some grades on this year's CRCT.
Even schools that haven't reached the 100 percent mark are doing well despite considerable odds.
At DeKalb's Sequoyah Middle, which made the AYP list four years in a row, 70 percent of the students are Hispanics who take English as a second language.
Garrett Middle School in Cobb County has made the list five consecutive years. Nearly 80 percent of its students qualify for free and reduced-price lunches, said the school's former principal Phillip Page.
Their secret? School administrators and teachers point to fostering a familylike atmosphere in which they hold one another accountable for what students know and don't know.
And they teach to each child's learning style, provide tutoring and encourage them to take risks.
UCA is one of hundreds of Title I schools across the state that consistently perform well on the standardized exam, winning the "distinguished" designation for making AYP for three or more consecutive years. UCA has been on the state's distinguished list for four years.
"These schools are focused and determined —- and they are getting results," said state Superintendent Kathy Cox.
Both Page and Sequoyah principal Trenton Arnold, who was recently transferred to Stone Mountain Middle School, attributed student success to a dedicated staff, supportive parents and community.
"It's really just a group effort," Page said.
That relationship along with community support, Arnold said, made the difference.
UCA was what Zee Bradford was looking for when it came time for her grandson Amir to enroll in school two years ago.
"The classes are so small," said Bradford, who volunteers at the school and donates money and other resources. "It's like a private school without the fees."
Each year, Jim Harris, the principal at UCA, dedicates a portion of the school's Title I funds to hiring reading specialists to address students' specific needs.
In addition, he said, teachers teach to students' method of learning, whether it be visual, auditory or kinetic.
Most importantly, they make sure there is no stigma to learning so that neither teacher nor student is afraid of asking questions or saying "I don't know."
"We encourage kids to take chances," Harris said. "If one answers a question incorrectly, we don't embarrass him or leave him with the wrong answer. We say, 'Good answer, but is there a better answer?'
"We're not turf guardians," he added. "We don't teach here in fear. We ask questions and find solutions together."
Sequoyah's Arnold agreed, saying that approach engenders honesty and reveals weaknesses early on from the administrative level down to the student. "We're like family," Arnold said.
Establishing such relationships may be a more powerful and less expensive way to improve student achievement.
In this era of accountability, enhancing student-teacher relationships is fundamental to raising achievement, said Christi Bergin, associate professor in the University of Missouri's College of Education. Research shows that secure student-teacher relationships predict greater knowledge, higher test scores, greater academic motivation and fewer retentions or special-education referrals, she said.
Some Atlanta area teachers agree, saying they engage students in a way that lets them know they care about them.
Piper Cunningham, teacher and after-school tutorial coordinator at Sequoyah, said teachers hold "test talks" with each student about specific strengths and weaknesses to develop a plan for improvement.
The school also has "extended learning time" so that the first 20 minutes of each day is devoted to silent reading. And it offers a 90-minute after-school tutorial three days a week.
"We give them a snack and provide transportation home," she said.
UCA teacher Andrea Thompson said, "We pull together to get the best results for our kids." That includes hands-on involvement from the principal, she said.
Harris not only tutors students, he also holds a clinic to help shore up their math skills.
When Bradford, the Atlanta grandmother, stood in a grocery store checkout line recently with Amir, employees were amazed to hear him reading aloud from "For One More Day," a Mitch Albom best-seller.
"How old is he?" she recalled the cashier asking. "My son doesn't read like that."
Bradford bought the book. When she picks Amir up on weekends, he reads it to her.
"If he stumbles, he sounds the word out phonetically," she said.
The 7-year-old rising second-grader reads on the sixth-grade level, Bradford said.
Harris is not surprised.
"It's been said a lot, but any child really can learn. It's our job to find out how they learn."
Some success stories
Title I schools with 100 percent CRCT passing rates in results released last week:
Reading/Grade 3
District School
Atlanta Benteen
Atlanta Blalock
Math/Grade 3
District School
Atlanta Blalock
Reading/Grade 5
District School
Atlanta Capitol View
Atlanta West Manor
Math/Grade 5
District School
Atlanta Capitol View
Atlanta West Manor
DeKalb Wadsworth
Reading/Grade 8
District School
Atlanta KIPP West Atlanta
Terms
> Title I school: Any school in which at least 35 percent of students are from low-income families, as determined by the number of children who are eligible to receive free and reduced-price lunch.
> Distinguished school: A Title I school that has met state and federal testing goals for at least three consecutive years.
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