Tuesday the Georgia Department of Education released its amended AYP determinations, which included the appeals, summer graduates, and CRCT summer retest scores. The new AYP determinations, increases the number of Gwinnett schools making AYP to 101 out of 105 schools, or 96 percent. Specifically, the recalculations updated the status for both Alcova Elementary and Snellville Middle to reflect both schools meeting the state standards. This means that every school in the Dacula and South Gwinnett clusters made AYP, an achievement also shared by the following clusters: Brookwood, Collins Hill, Duluth, Grayson, Mill Creek, Norcross, North Gwinnett, Parkview, Peachtree Ridge, and Shiloh.
 

For Snellville Middle, this achievement moves the school off the Needs Improvement list as it has made AYP for two consecutive years. With the change in its status, the school will no longer have to offer school choice or locally funded tutoring. Principal Linda Boyd is proud of her students, staff, and school, saying, “Making AYP serves as tangible evidence that collaboration, data-driven instruction, and a commitment from students, parents, and staff lead to student success. Over the last several years, we have made a conscious effort to establish high expectations and to provide rigorous and engaging lessons for all students. We have targeted our strategies to meet students’ needs and accelerate their learning. And, our staff and students have risen to the occasion!”

While there is much excitement about this news, Ms. Boyd is still keeping her eye on the school’s long-term goals. She explains, “It is not about simply passing a test; it is about increasing each child’s level of learning every day. Our focus will continue to be teaching and learning. We have data to show that what we do makes a positive difference in the lives of our students. Each level of success reaffirms we are on the right path and empowers us to continuously strive for excellence.”

Dr. Carolyn Ford of Alcova Elementary says that their community is thrilled with the latest news. “Since opening in 2004, Alcova has made AYP and we are very happy to continue this record. The spring scores indicated that only one group of students at the school did not meet the standard. Our teachers and staff set to work to be certain that those students got the extra help they needed during summer school. We thank our parents for their support, the students for their great learning, and especially our summer school teachers and assistant principals who quickly figured out just what these students needed to do to improve their achievement. We have reviewed all the test reports and have implemented plans this school year to improve and increase instructional time for all our students, especially those with special needs and those who have learning gaps. The school system has in place many resources and data sources to help with this plan and we plan to use them all! ”