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Memorandum
from
Mary Kay Murphy
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Mary Kay Murphy, Ph.D.
District 3
School Board Member
marykaymurphy@aol.com
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August 11, 2008\
“Extremely Proud Day for
Gwinnett Schools”
Congratulations to
the principals, teachers, staff, students, and parents
of ALL the schools in the Norcross Cluster, the Duluth
Cluster, and the Peachtree Ridge Cluster, as well as
other schools throughout
Gwinnett
County
, for achieving a great distinction—passing the
2007-08 Adequate Yearly Progress standard as measured
by the No Child Left Behind Act.
With 105 elementary,
middle, and high schools required to meet
Georgia
’s accountability goals, a record 101 Gwinnett
County Public Schools met the standard, while the
State of
Georgia
’s public schools achieved only a 69% pass rate,
Gwinnett
County
produced a 97% pass rate of its 105 schools.
Results in surrounding
Metro Atlanta and the State of
Georgia
in 2007-08 were as follows:
Atlanta City
103 schools
72.8% pass rate
-10.7 % change
Cobb
111
81.1%
-
6.8%
Decatur
City
6
66.7%
-33.3%
DeKalb
140
53.6%
-25.5%
Fulton
91
83.5%
-
3.2%
Gwinnett
105
97%
+ 5.2%
Marietta
City
12
58.3%
-41.7%
STATE
2,153
68.8%
-13.4%
SOURCE:
Georgia
Department
of Education
About 31% of
Georgia
public schools did not meet testing goals, compared
with 18% last year that did not meet the standard.
In
Gwinnett
County
, by comparison, schools registered a 5.2% increase
over the previous year.
What are the reasons
for such dramatic success in
Gwinnett
County
—as well as in the Norcross Cluster, the Duluth
Cluster, and the Peachtree Ridge Cluster?
According to
CEO/Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks, this year’s
Adequate Yearly Progress results as measured by the
Georgia Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT)
are a direct result of the school district’s
emphasis on teaching and learning.
“As Gwinnett has
grown in size and diversity, achievement has remained
high even as the state standards have risen.
That has
not happened by accident, but rather because of our
intense focus on helping all students achieve their
potential.
“We are extremely
proud of the work going on at all of our schools.
That
said, we especially want to recognize the dedicated
teachers and staff at the schools that moved off the
Needs-Improvement list this year.
They have
made a concerted effort to raise academic achievement
by involving teachers, students, and parents in their
school improvement efforts.
“This year’s AYP
results also show that, while we are doing well
overall, we still have room to improve with some small
groups of students.
Our
school improvement efforts will continue to focus on
meeting the needs of students who come to us with the
most challenges, including those who are learning
English and those who have disabilities.”
To the communities
of Norcross, Peachtree Corners, Duluth, Berkeley Lake,
and all others in Gwinnett County’s District 3,
thank you for your continued support of our public
schools and of the dedicated principals, teachers, and
staff that have led the 2007-08 achievements of their
schools in meeting Adequate Yearly Progress.
The following are
the principals and schools in District 3 that achieved
100% success in achieving Adequate Yearly Progress for
2007-08:
Norcross
High School
Principal Jonathan Patterson
Summerour
Middle School
Principal Dana Pugh
Pinckneyville
Middle School
Principal Nancy Martin
Peachtree
Elementary School
Principal Jean Loethan-Payne
Norcross
Elementary School
Principal Dora Hill
Beaver
Ridge
Elementary School
Principal Esther Adamas-Jiminez
Stripling
Elementary School
Principal Clay Hunter
Simpson Elementary
Principal Bron-Gayna Schmit
New
List
Academy
Director Alphonsa Foward
Duluth
High School
Former Principal Pat Blenke and
Current Principal Jason Lane
Gwinnett
School
of Mathematics,
Science, and Technology
Former Principal Banks Bitterman
and Current Principal Jeff Mathews
Duluth
Middle School
Principal Deborah Fusi
Hull
Middle School
Principal Denise Showell
Berkeley
Lake
Elementary School
Principal Leigh Westcott
B.B.
Harris
Elementary School
Principal Laurie Burton
Chattahoochee
Elementary School
Principal Cynthia Burgess
Chesney
Elementary School
Principal Carlotta Rozzi
Mason
Elementary School
Principal Paula Deweese
Norcross
High School
achieved success with the AYP standard for the second
year in a row, thus removing Norcross High from the
Needs Improvement List.
Duluth
High School
achieved this distinction two years previously.
Norcross
High School
and
Duluth
High School
are both listed among the top 1000 high schools in the
nation by Newsweek magazine.
With Norcross High
off the Needs Improvement List, the Norcross Cluster
of schools joins the Brookwood, Collins Hill,
Duluth
, Grayson, Mill Creek, North Gwinnett, Parkview,
Peachtree Ridge, and
Shiloh
clusters in having every school in the neighborhood
making AYP.
As District 3 School Board member, I
extend congratulations to our students, parents,
teachers, staff, principals, and community.
It is,
indeed, an extremely proud day for
Gwinnett
County
schools.
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