NOTE: I first heard of this story on this evening's news. The students shown in the piece attend Bethune Elementary, which is around the corner from the Convention Site. The Principal of Bethune Elementary is a Soror.
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Georgia Public Policy Foundation
6100 Lake Forrest Drive, Ste. 110 Atlanta, Georgia 30328-3835
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
May 6, 2002
Paula Havard (404) 256-4050
phavard@gppf.org
Foundation Releases "No Excuses Schools" List
ATLANTA (May 6, 2002) —The Georgia Public Policy Foundation (
www.gppf.org) today released a list of Georgia’s No Excuses Schools – schools that have posted academic achievements despite having poverty rates above the state average.
"These schools prove that if you have strong leadership, involved parents and a focus on the basics, students will excel," said Foundation President Rogers Wade. "We applaud these schools for beating the odds and proving that the most important components of a solid education are a strong curriculum, high expectations and dedicated parents and teachers."
The No Excuses Schools (see attached list) consist of every school in Georgia with a poverty rate above the state average and a poverty index of two or more. The poverty rate, a poverty level indicator, is the percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunches. The poverty index, an indicator developed by the Foundation, measures how well a school is performing relative to its poverty rate. A score above zero indicates better than expected performance, and below zero indicates lower than expected performance. Zero indicates the school is performing as expected.
Despite having above average poverty rates, every one of the No Excuses Schools posted academic achievements. These schools beat the odds by providing strong leadership, setting high expectations for students and focusing on continuous student improvement.
The Foundation compiled the list of No Excuses Schools using statistics in its interactive 2002 Report Card for Parents, which was released last month. The report card, available free of charge at
www.gppf.org, features an interactive database containing an enormous amount of statistical data about Georgia’s public schools. Parents can query and research the report card to help them make informed assessments about the quality of public education in Georgia. To date, the report card has had more than two million hits.
The Foundation, a think tank formed in 1991, is a nonpartisan, member-supported research and education foundation that promotes free markets, limited government and individual responsibility. It is the only private, independent research organization in Georgia that focuses on state policy issues.
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Georgia Public Policy Foundation
2002 No Excuses Schools
Bethune Elementary School (Atlanta City)
Beecher Hills Elementary School (Atlanta City)
Burke Elementary School (Bibb County)
Capitol View Elementary School (Atlanta City)
Cascade Elementary School (Atlanta City)
Dobbs Elementary School (Atlanta City)
F. L. Stanton Elementary School (Atlanta City)
Fifth Avenue Elementary School (Decatur City)
Glen Haven Elementary School (DeKalb County)
Johnson Elementary School (Muscogee County)
Johnson Magnet School (Richmond County)
M. A. Jones Elementary School (Atlanta City)
Nancy Creek Elementary School (DeKalb County)
Peyton Forest Elementary School (Atlanta City)
Terrace Manor Elementary School (Richmond County)
West Manor Elementary School (Atlanta City)
Clay County Elementary School (Clay County)
Glenn Hills Middle School (Richmond County)
Inman Middle School (Atlanta City)
Manchester Middle School (Meriwether County)
Calhoun County Middle/High School (Calhoun County)
Echols County High/Elementary School (Echols County)
Emanuel County Institute (Emanuel County)
Pelham High School (Pelham City)