With increased graduation rates and CCRPI scores, 61 schools moved off the list of lowest performing schools in the state.
The Georgia Department of Education made the announcement Tuesday that 61 schools have exited the Priority and Focus Schools lists. This comes as the state’s new Chief Turnaround Officer is beginning to compile the list of schools he will work with in his first year,
As part of Georgia’s ESEA waiver, which granted flexibility from some provisions of No Child Left Behind, the GaDOE was required to identify Priority and Focus Schools. Priority Schools represent the lowest-performing 5% of Title I schools based on achievement data, plus schools with a graduation rate below 60% for two consecutive years. Focus Schools represent the lowest-performing 10% of Title I schools based on achievement gap data.
That data examines the gap between a school’s lowest performing 25% of students and the state average, and the progress those students are making.
“We continue to see that underperforming schools can improve and move the needle for their students, even when they face difficult odds,” said State School Superintendent Richard Woods. “And we’ve seen once again that intensive, intentional partnerships between schools, districts, communities and our Department can equip schools with the resources they need to improve student achievement.
“These schools worked directly with our DOE staff and with Georgia RESAs, and their leaders and teachers deserve immense credit for the progress they’ve made. We view school improvement as a primary responsibility of our entire agency – not just the school improvement division – and with that focus guiding us, I’m confident we’ll continue to see schools making gains.”
Under the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Georgia will no longer identify Priority and Focus schools. Instead, the state Department of Education will be required to identify and support Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) and Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) schools beginning in 2018-19 (CSI) and 2019-20 (TSI).
Georgia’s draft ESSA plan has been submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, and is currently awaiting approval. That could come in early January.
