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November 20, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Six Cobb County School District elementary schools have received
national recognition from Standard & Poor’s School Evaluation Services
for efforts in closing the achievement gap for economically
disadvantaged students. Big Shanty, Birney, Cheatham Hill, Dowell,
Hayes and Powder Springs elementary schools were among 96
schools throughout Georgia recognized for making strides in the academic
achievement of key student subgroups.
The recognition serves as a solid benchmark for these schools, showing
that the work of teachers and administrators is paying off in student
success. “Our teachers are zeroing in on the needs of our students and
are working very hard to meet their needs,” said Hayes Elementary
Principal Reba Bachrach.
Laura Kelley, principal at Birney Elementary, attributes the
improvement to Birney’s teaching staff and to her school’s use of the
America’s Choice School Reform Design, a national school improvement
model that promotes consistent teaching methods and tight alignment of
curriculum with assessment. “The staff is the key,” said Mrs. Kelley.
“We hire teachers who enjoy working with students who may have extra
challenges and we work diligently to get teachers who will do whatever
it takes to see children succeed.”
Standard & Poor’s School Evaluation Services provides parents,
policymakers, and educators with independent educational data analysis.
The group analyzed test data from students of different ethnic groups,
as well as the economically disadvantaged, to determine whether schools
are closing the achievement gaps between those groups. To be recognized
by Standard & Poor’s, schools must meet three criteria:
1. Test at least 30 students in each student group being analyzed.
2. Reduce at least one achievement gap between groups in reading and
math proficiency rates by more than five percentage points and
simultaneously raise the proficiency rates for each group.
3. Reduce achievement gaps between student groups in a grade-level
reading test by 5 percentage points from one year to the next and
simultaneously raise that grade level’s reading proficiency rate for
each student group being compared.
Student Achievement is the primary purpose of the Cobb County School
District and the first priority of Superintendent Fred Sanderson’s FOCUS
plan that also includes Leadership Development, Fiscal Responsibility
and Building Relationships Through Enhanced Communications. The progress
made at these six schools is a direct result of that attention to
individual student success.
More information about Standard & Poor’s School Evaluation Services is
available at
www.schoolmatters.com.
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