More Bibb schools make AYP

More Bibb County schools made Adequate Yearly Progress this past school year, compared with the state’s initial report in July and the previous year’s results.

In the 2010-11 school year, 23 of Bibb County’s 39 public schools made AYP, including Howard High School, the only high school in the county to reach the goal. That’s eight more Bibb schools making AYP than were listed on an initial state report in July -- before results of several tests and graduation rates were factored in -- and three more than last year.

The Adequate Yearly Progress designation is used to determine whether schools are meeting standards under the federal No Child Left Behind Act by looking at test participation, academic achievement and other indicators such as attendance or graduation rates.

The additional eight Bibb schools that made AYP after factoring in summer tests were Barden, Brookdale, Bruce, Riley and Williams elementary schools, Howard High School as well as Bloomfield and Howard middle schools.

Other Bibb schools that learned they made AYP in July were Alexander II, Bernd, Carter, Hartley, Heard, Heritage, Ingram-Pye, Lane, Morgan, Porter, Skyview, Springdale and Vineville elementary schools as well as Appling and Miller middle schools.

“Our teachers are to be commended for their hard work and determination to ensure that all students receive the opportunity to excel academically,” Howard High Principal Matt Adams said in a news release.

Because the school has been open for fewer than four years, the school used its attendance rate as one of its measures of meeting standards instead of its graduation rate, as is the case for other high schools. This year, high schools must have an 85 percent graduation rate to make AYP.

This year, Bloomfield Middle was taken off the state’s Needs Improvement list, which means a school hasn’t met AYP standards for two or more years. An effort at the school to provide extra math and writing help to students based on individual need helped the school make AYP this year, said Efrem Yarber, Bloomfield Middle School’s principal.

“A lot of it is teamwork -- a team of parents, community, teachers. We all got on one page,” Yarber said.

Williams Elementary made AYP this year after not making it last year, the only year the school didn’t.

Like Bloomfield, Williams Elementary focused on the academic needs of individual students through efforts by parents, teachers and community partners, Principal Shandrina Griffin-Stewart said.

“We continue to work with students -- the whole group, small group and as individuals -- to focus on what they need in instruction,” Griffin-Stewart said.

In total, 12 Bibb County schools are considered Distinguished Schools, or schools that have made AYP for three or more years. Those schools are Alexander II, Carter, Heritage, Lane, Porter, Springdale, Vineville, Heard, Barden, Bernd, Morgan and Skyview.

AYP in Houston County

In Houston County, three more schools made AYP after summer test results were factored into the initial July report: Northside and Thomson middle schools and Warner Robins High School.

However, Northside and Perry high schools, as well as the Houston County Career Academy and Westside Elementary, did not make AYP. The rest of the system’s 37 schools made the list.

In a news release, Superintendent Robin Hines said he was pleased with the success of the additional schools that made AYP.

“All of our schools have focused school improvement plans, and it’s good to see that our strategies are making a difference,” Hines said.

AYP elsewhere

Elsewhere in the midstate, all Monroe County schools made AYP, one of just 49 school districts in the state to hit that goal.

“It is my belief that the success of Monroe County schools comes from the commitment of our administrators, faculty, staff, students, parents, and community partners as we seek to educate students from pre-K to 12th grade,” Monroe County Superintendent Anthony Pack said in a news release. “Teaching and learning at the elementary, middle, and high school levels are foundational for students receiving a high school diploma.”

In Peach County, Byron Middle was the only school in the system to make AYP. High schools in Twiggs and Crawford counties did not make AYP, and neither did Turner Woods Elementary and Jones County High School, both in Jones County.

Statewide, 72.71 percent of Georgia’s schools made AYP when factoring in summer test results, compared with the 63.2 percent rate from July. That figure is still lower than the 77.17 percent of schools that made AYP last year.

As the standards continue to get tougher every year, it’s more difficult for schools to make AYP. No Child Left Behind requires that all students pass standardized tests by the 2013-14 school year. Of the schools that missed AYP in 2010-11, slightly more that 41 percent of those failed to do so by one indicator. That’s compared with almost 32 percent last year.

In September, Georgia was one of the first states to seek a waiver for parts of No Child Left Behind after U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan offered states the waiver option. Instead of using the No Child Left Behind guidelines to determine AYP in the current school year, the state is looking to use the Georgia College and Career Ready Performance Index.

Along with state standardized tests, the state’s plan also would take into account factors such as student attendance, participation in career courses, students who enroll in public post-secondary schools and performance on SATs and ACTs.

To contact writer Andrea Castillo, call 744-4331.

This story was originally published November 3, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "More Bibb schools make AYP."