Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee) July 15, 2009

HEADLINE: Half of North Georgia school systems meeting NCLB requirements

By Kelli Gauthier

Half of local Northwest Georgia school systems met federal requirements under the No Child Left Behind Law and half did not, according to information released Tuesday.

Dalton's and Chickamauga's city school systems and the Whitfield County district made what's called "adequate yearly progress," but systems in Catoosa, Dade and Walker counties did not.

The AYP status of all six systems remained the same as last year.

The rankings measure year-to-year progress on standardized test scores, attendance and graduation rates. Whole school districts and their individual schools are graded.

Nearly 80 percent of Georgia's public schools made AYP this year, said Georgia Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox.

"The initial AYP results demonstrate that our students are continuing to make excellent progress even as we raise expectations," Ms. Cox said in a prepared statement. "Clearly, our teachers and students are working harder than ever and we're seeing the results."

Ms. Cox released the initial 2009 AYP Report this morning while speaking at the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders conference in Jekyll Island. The final AYP report will be released in the fall and include summer retest scores and summer graduates.

Officials in Catoosa County said Tuesday they are confident the district will meet AYP once the final report is released.

The first time around, Catoosa's schools met 20 out of 22 achievement indicators. But elementary and middle school students with disabilities did not score high enough on the standardized Criterion-Referenced Competency Test, and poor high school students did not score high enough on the Georgia High School Graduation Test, officials said.

"Our target is to meet (AYP) on the first release," said Catoosa Assistant Superintendent Kim Nichols. "We're working to put structures in place to make that happen."

Walker County also failed to meet AYP, and spokeswoman Elaine Womack said the district is working to improve in all areas where it fell short.

"We started with a graduation coach program, then added middle school graduation coaches," Ms. Womack said. "We've also added mentoring programs, online classes and test preparation."

Whitfield County Schools met AYP this year, and spokesman Eric Beavers said officials attribute the success mostly to teachers creating work that engages their students.

Tennessee's AYP report is to be released in August.