Schools and system make AYP; EOCT and CRCT scores reviewed

An orientation meeting was held for new teachers on Tuesday, July 17, at the Lincoln County Board of Education office on Metasville Road. Pictured are: (l-r) Sheila Wilkes, Lisa Bentley, Mallory Thigpen, Nancy Pund, Vivian Jennings, Kelli Robertson, Britt McKinney, Eddie Roberts, Jennie McWhorter, Bryan Godsey, and Deborah Deason. Not pictured are Joe Hogan, Kathryn Harper, and Lacey Reed.

All three Lincoln County schools as well as the system or district made AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) for 2007.

The announcement was made at the regular meeting of the Lincoln County Board of Education held Tuesday, July 17.

This marks the fifth consecutive year that LCES and LCMS, both Title I schools, have made AYP, and the fourth consecutive year for LCHS. The high school failed to make AYP in 2003 because less than 95 percent of one of the subgroups did not take the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT).

Last year, the Georgia Department of Education named LCES, LCMS, and LCHS "schools of distinction." The schools will no doubt be awarded the same honor for 2007.

Even more amazing is the fact that Lincoln County is one of only 12 districts in the state in which 100 percent of the schools made AYP for four or more consecutive years. The other systems were Towns County, Rabun County, Oconee County, Fayette County, Webster County, Quitman County, Lee County, Buford City Schools, Jefferson City Schools, Commerce City Schools, and Bremen City Schools.

Concerning area schools, this marks the third consecutive year that 100 percent of Wilkes County Schools have met AYP standards and the first year for Columbia County Schools.

The following counties have never had 100 percent of their schools make AYP: Elbert, Oglethorpe, Greene, Taliaferro, McDuffie, Warren, and Richmond.

As for the Lincoln County School System as a whole, this is the second consecutive year the system has made AYP. It did not make AYP in 2005 because the Students With Disabilities subgroup failed to meet the state standards in mathematics. The scores did not count at the school level, but they were a factor at the system level.

In his comments, Dr. Randall Edmunds, Lincoln County superintendent of schools, said, "The AYP results show that our students are paying attention and performing well on the state tests. I'm very proud of our students, teachers, and administrators for this accomplishment."

Like most systems in the state, Lincoln County still has room for improvement, particularly in regard to Students With Disabilities.

AYP is a series of performance goals that every school, school system, and the state as a whole must achieve within time frames specified by law in order to meet the 100-percent proficiency goal of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

The state uses the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) as the AYP assessment tool for elementary and middle schools and the Enhanced Georgia High School Graduation Test (EGHSGT) for high schools. The focus is on Reading/ English-Language Arts and Mathematics.

The Georgia Alternate Assessment (GAA) serves as the assessment tool for the most severely cognitively-impaired students.

Federal guidelines likewise require 95 percent of the students in each school and district to participate in the testing. The regulations further mandate that 95 percent of each subgroup must take part in the testing as well. Included under the heading of subgroups are Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, Multi-Racial Students, Students With Disabilities, and the Economically Disadvantaged.

The secondary indicators for AYP are attendance for elementary and middle schools and the graduation rate for high schools.

Concerning graduation, Superintendent Edmunds reported that the graduation rate at LCHS climbed from 72.5 percent in 2006 to 80.2 percent in 2007.

Statewide, 1,713 or 81.6 percent of Georgia's 2,100 schools met AYP standards this year as compared to 79.3 percent in 2006. Moreover, a total of 53 school systems had every school in the district making AYP this year.

It must also be noted that the "Needs Improvement" label was removed from 44 Georgia schools.

For the full AYP report, visit the Georgia Department of Education's website at www.gadoe.org/ayp2007.

In other business, the board reviewed the results of the CRCT, which was administered to grades 1- 8 this past spring. Each of the 12 school districts served by the CSRA Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA) were ranked in various areas of academic achievement.

The rankings were as follows:

Grade 1: Reading, 2nd; English/ Language Arts, 2nd; and Mathematics, 4th.

Grade 2: Reading, 4th; English/Language Arts, 4th; and Mathematics, 4th.

Grade 3: Reading, 3rd; English/Language Arts, 2nd; Mathematics, 10th; Science, 2nd; and Social Studies, 3rd.

Grade 4: Reading, 2nd; English/ Language Arts, 1st; Mathematics, 2nd; Science, 2nd; and Social Studies, 2nd.

Grade 5: Reading, 2nd; English/ Language Arts, 1st; Mathematics, 1st; Science, 4th; and Social Studies, 1st.

Grade 6: Reading, 1st; English/Language Arts, 1st; Mathematics, 2nd; Science, 3rd; and Social Studies, 1st.

Grade 7: Reading, 6th; English/Language Arts, 10th; Mathematics, 5th; Science, 10th; and Social Studies, 10th.

Grade 8: Reading, 5th but has thirdhighest scale score; English/Language Arts, 2nd; Mathematics, 2nd but has the highest scale score; Science, 3rd but has highest scale score; and Social Studies, 2nd.

In his remarks, Dr. Edmunds said, "Our rankings generally ran from one to four for all grades except the seventh. This same class didn't do as well as the others last year at the sixthgrade level. Sometimes, this happens in small school systems like ours - some classes don't perform as well as others. However, it was a good report overall. We were ranked near the top, except for the seventh grade."

In a related item of business, the board also reviewed End-Of-Course Test (EOCT) scores for the Spring of 2007.

The average scores were:

Algebra I: LCHS, 633; CSRA RESA, 613; and the state, 620.

Geometry: LCHS, 633; CSRA RESA, 610; and the state, 615.

Ninth-Grade Literature and Composition: LCHS, 425; CSRA RESA, 410; and the state, 414.

American Literature and Composition: LCHS, 432; CSRA RESA, 423; and the state, 426.

Biology: LCHS, 418; CSRA RESA, 401; and the state, 408.

Physical Science: LCHS, 401; CSRA RESA, 399; and the state, 414.

United States History: LCHS, 625; CSRA RESA, 617; and the state, 624.

Economics/Business/Free Enterprise: LCHS, 658; CSRA RESA, 607; and the state, 627.

"These were good scores. With the exception of physical science, we did better than the CSRA and the state in all categories," said Dr. Edmunds. "And even in physical science, we beat the CSRA score by two points."

In further business, the board:

.. Voted to allow the Lincoln County Ministerial Association to hold a prayer walk at all three schools on Thursday, August 9, at 7 p.m.

.. Voted to grant a request made by parents, who currently reside in an adjoining county but plan to relocate soon to Lincoln County, to allow their children to start the school year at LCHS.

.. Heard an update from Dr. Edmunds on the construction of the new high school.

He noted that a topographical survey was currently underway at the school site, which is located next to the board of education office. "We need this before we can start prep work at the site - progress is being made," he said.

In a related item of business, the superintendent indicated that he is trying to set up a meeting with Senator Bill Jackson, Representative Barry Fleming, and a representative from the Georgia DOT to discuss the construction of an access road for the new school. The road will connect Metasville Road to the Washington Highway.

"The preliminary estimate for the state's portion of the project is $355,244.04, which represents 60 percent of the total cost ($592,000)," said Edmunds, adding, "We will have enough money in the site plan budget to cover our part of the project."

He then asked those present to encourage state and local officials to support the building of the road.

.. Was informed by the superintendent that the system has accepted an offer of $1,100 from the contractor, who is in the process of replacing the roof at LCES, for the school's old copper gutters.

.. Heard Dr. Edmunds discuss an article titled the "Economics of Education" that appeared in the "Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education" magazine.

In 2004, a high school graduate earned on the average of $9,000 more than an individual without a diploma, according to the superintendent. In turn, a college graduate earned $23,000 more than a high school graduate, who brought home about $19,000.

In addition, the unemployment rate for 2005 was higher for non-high school graduates (7.6 percent) than it was for high school (4.6 percent) or college graduates (2.6 percent).

Dr. Edmunds pointed out that obtaining a diploma economically benefits both the individual and taxpayer at large.

.. Agreed that Wayne Williford and Robert Hearst will represent the group on the GSBA (Georgia School Boards Association) Standards for Local Boards of Education Committee. Welcome Mason and Connie Arthur will be asked to serve as the community representatives on the committee, with Brian Campbell, assistant superintendent for instructional services, representing the system administration.

The committee will present its report to the board on Tuesday, September 4.

.. Reviewed propane gas bids and voted to accept the low fixed-price bid of $1.59 per gallon submitted by Dowdle Gas. The system used a total of approximately $8,000 gallons of propane last year.

.. Voted to approve a request from CSRA Transportation, LLC for use of school facilities to offer driver education classes at LCHS. The motion was approved contingent on the company agreeing to pay the system $25 per session to cover the cost of utilities and custodial services.

CSRA Transportation will charge $325 for 30 hours of classroom instruction and six hours of driving time, $275 for 30 hours of classroom instruction only, $210 for six hours of driving time, and so forth. The cost of the driving test is $55.

.. Agreed to set the millage rate for the 2008 Budget at the group's regular August meeting.

In his remarks, Dr. Edmunds said, "The good news is that due to an increase in the digest, we will get extra tax money without having to go up on the millage rate itself. We can keep it at the rollback rate."

.. Reviewed the SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) Summary Report through June 30, 2007, and the General Fund Financial Report for the period from July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007.

"Although we've seen some fluctuation from month to month, SPLOST revenues have picked up," stated Superintendent Edmunds. "We collected a total of $744,000 last year; this year, we saw an increase of about $100,000."

.. Held a review of the following policies: School Day for Students, Personnel/Middle School Principal, Pay for Performance Program, Honor Roll, Hospital/Homebound Instruction, Curriculum Development, Student Discipline Hearings, and Medicines. The policies were accepted with no changes.

.. Heard first readings of revisions to the State Salaries and Supplements Policy and the Bids and Quotations Policy.

.. Heard first readings of the following policies: High School Graduation Coach, High School Graduation Coach Evaluation, Middle School Graduation Coach, and Middle School Graduation Coach Evaluation.

.. Voted to enter into executive session to deliberate upon the employment of personnel. Upon returning to regular session, the board:

.. Voted to approve Shawn Davis to serve at the will of the board as the middle school graduation coach.

.. Voted to approve Billy Kirby to serve at the will of the board as the In-School Suspension (ISS) paraprofessional at LCMS and LCHS.

.. Voted to approve Carla Matthews to serve at the will of the board as a secretary in the office of Special Services and Instructional Services.

.. Voted to approve Georgianna Wiley to serve at the will of the board as the secretary to the superintendent.

The next regular meeting of the board will be held Tuesday, September 4, at 7 p.m. at the board office on Metasville Road.