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Memorandum
from
Mary Kay Murphy
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Mary Kay Murphy, Ph.D.
District 3
School Board Member
and 2004
Chairman of the Board |
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March
18, 2004
A Tale of Two
Communities
I
received a telephone call recently from a realtor
who asked me how the high schools in Norcross and
Duluth compare to those in other communities in
North Fulton and in Cobb Counties.
He had a client from Germany who was moving
to metro Atlanta and wanted to locate in an area
with an excellent high school for his children.
I
assured the realtor that by any measure these two
high schools compare most favorably with other high
schools in Gwinnett County, in Fulton and Cobb
Counties, and in other communities throughout
Georgia and the United States.
In
2003, for example, both Duluth and Norcross High
Schools had record SAT scores.
At Duluth, 98% of the seniors took the SAT,
scoring an average of 1066—10 points higher than
the nation, 30 points higher than Gwinnett County,
and 52 points higher than Georgia.
This
compares to 1994-95 when 60% of the seniors at
Duluth High School took the SAT, scoring an average
of 1029. Between
1994-95 and 2002-03, Duluth High School students who
qualified for free and reduced lunch programs
increased from 6% to 13%, while those with limited
English proficiency increased from 3% to 10% of the
Duluth student body.
Also,
in 2002-03, 96% of Norcross High School seniors took
the SAT, scoring an average of 1053, compared to 88%
of the seniors in Gwinnett County who took the SAT
and scored an average 1036.
In 2002-03, the Norcross High School included
34% free and reduced lunch program students and 12%
limited English language students. In 1994-95, 70% of the Norcross High School seniors scored
1018 on the SAT, with 15% free and reduced lunch
program students and 4% limited English proficiency
students.
In
Gwinnett County in 2002-03, 88% of the seniors took
the SAT and achieved an average score of 1036—the
highest ever in Gwinnett County.
In Georgia, only 66% of the seniors took the
SAT, while only 48% of the seniors in the nation
whose states use the SAT took the exam.
Of the 50 states in the country, only 23
states use the SAT as a measure of college entrance,
while the other 29 states use the ACT.
Following are highlights of some of the achievements
of Duluth and Norcross High Schools:
·
Norcross
High School produced 10
National Merit Finalists in 2003-04,
compared to two or three Finalists in one year in the
nation’s most selective high schools.
·
Norcross
High School received The College Board’s only
“2004 Access to Excellence for High Schools”
Award, recognizing one high school in the Southern
region of The College Board that scores the highest
on seven criteria related to Advanced Placement and
student diversity.
·
Duluth
High School won the State Cheerleading Championship
for AAAAA schools in 2003-04, while the Norcross
High Schools Boys Team completed its
first-ever-undefeated AAAAA season with a 26-0
record.
·
Duluth
High School’s Class of 2003 earned more than $3
million in scholarship offers, not including those
awarded under the HOPE Scholarship Program.
·
Duluth
and Norcross High Schools offer five foreign
languages, including French, German, Japanese,
Latin, and Spanish.
·
Norcross
High School is the only high school in Gwinnett
County and one of only 600 in the world to offer the
International Baccalaureate diploma and program, a
rigorous curriculum of first and second languages,
social and experimental sciences, math, arts, and
philosophy. In
2004, Norcross High School students in the IB
program took 120 exams, with 75% scoring 4 or better
and being eligible to use high school credit toward
college degrees.
·
Duluth
High School and Norcross High School have both been
selected to receive the Georgia School of Excellence
Award. In
1991, Duluth High School was honored at National
Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.
In
2001, Norcross High School opened its 414,000 square
foot, three-story $25 million facility one year
early and debt free.
The building is equipped with
state-of-the-art technology.
The campus provides performing arts and
athletic facilities to support a wide range of
curricular and extra curricular activities.
Capacity for Norcross High School is 3,000
students, with 2,633 students projected for
enrollment in 2004-05.
In
2005, Duluth High School will open its new
four-story, $13 million addition, complementing
state-of-the-art athletic and performing arts
additions to its campus since 2000.
The Georgia Department of Transportation will
develop a road that will provide a new entrance to
the school on Highway 120.
When the 2005 addition is complete, Duluth
High School will have capacity for 3,000 students.
As
District III School Board member, I urged the
realtor to bring prospective clients to meet with
Principal Mary Anne Charron of Norcross High School
and with Principal Pat Blenke of Duluth High School.
I
also urged the realtor to have international clients
learn more about Duluth High School at www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/DuluthHS/Principal.html
and to know more about Norcross High School at www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/NorcrossHS/principal/NewPrincipal.htm.
We
look forward to continuing to build strong
communities in Norcross and Duluth through strong
relationships with realtors who are among our
greatest ambassadors for public education—in
Norcross, in Duluth, in Gwinnett County, and
throughout the world.
031804
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