GAINESVILLE - Despite a negative report in the Atlanta Journal Constitution about Lanier Charter Career Academy, Hall County Schools Superintendent Will Schofield said LCCA is a viable choice for students who need help graduating from high school.
A Chestatee High School student told the newspaper he was forced to attend LCCA when he failed one portion of the state high school graduation test, meaning he would graduate with a certificate of performance rather than a traditional diploma. That, he said, would make Chestatee's graduation rate drop, a poor reflection on the school and the system.
"[The reporter] never talked to one of the hundreds of success stories out of Lanier Career Academy, but chose to focus on a couple of kids who did not have success, and that's unfortunate," said Schofield. "And I don't call that journalism."
Schofield noted that he was not surprised by the article, which appeared in the Atlanta newspaper on Sunday and was posted online at www.ajc.com Tuesday. Reporters had apparently contacted his office earlier in the month to get his reaction to accusations from the Chestatee High student.
"What's interesting is the Atlanta media never took us up on an offer to send a reporter to visit the Career Academy," noted Schofield. "We have nothing to hide. It's [transfer of struggling students to LCCA] a practice we've shared with everybody from the governor's office to the state superintendent of schools for the last three to four years."
Schofield said LCCA offers a graduation opportunity for Hall County students who might not otherwise receive a diploma.
"The Atlanta Journal pointed to 93 students who had transferred in the last days [of the school year] over the last four years," said Schofield. "Forty of those students ended up getting traditional diplomas, and we think that's a pretty darn good success rate with children who probably would have never stepped foot in school again."
Sunday
May 19th, 2024
1:33AM
