EHMS, SHMS make state's Reward Schools list

ATLANTA - The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) has released the list of Reward Schools as part of the state's waiver from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (No Child Left Behind) - and several northeast Georgia schools are included, East Hall Middle School and South Hall Middle School among them.

The category is reserved for schools with the highest performance or the biggest academic gains by students in the last three years.

"These schools are shining examples of what we can achieve in public education in Georgia," said State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge. "I want to take what's working at our Reward Schools and replicate that in every school in the state. These are the schools making education work for all Georgians."

Reward School Definition:

A "Highest-Performing School" is a Title I school among the 5% of Title I schools in the State that has the highest absolute performance over three years for the "all students" group on the statewide assessments. A Highest-Performing School must have made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the "all students" group and all of its subgroups in 2011. A school may not be classified as a Highest-Performing School if there are significant achievement gaps across subgroups that are not closing in the school.

A "High-Progress School" is a Title I school among the 10% of Title I schools in the State that is making the most progress in improving the performance of the "all students" group over three years on the statewide assessments. A school may not be classified as a High-Progress School if there are significant achievement gaps across subgroups that are not closing in the school.

Both EHMS and SHMS are on the list of High-Progress" schools. Other schools in the immediate Gainesville area which are included are:

High-Performaning

Otwell Middle School, Little Mill Middle School, Cumming Elementary School (Forsyth County); Hazel Grove ES (Habersham County); East Jackson ES and North Jackson ES (Jackson County); and, Jefferson MS and Jefferson Academy (Jefferson City School System).

High-Progress

Winder-Barrow MS (Barrow County); Demorest ES (Habersham); Blackburn ES (Lumpkin County); and, White County Intermediate School (White County).

Other schools in northeast Georgia are also included. Click on the link below to find out which ones and to view the complete lists.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2012/11/254715