On May 22, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation announced
Georgia's 17 "No Excuses" schools. Three MCSD elementary schools made the
Atlanta-based foundation’s list. Rigdon Road, Phyllis Jones, principal; Benning
Hills, Dr. Mary Sanks, principal; and Dimon, Lura Reed, principal. During the June Board,
meeting, Dr. Sanks received congratulations on behalf of the three
principals.
According to the foundation, these schools excel despite the
challenge of student bodies largely from the poverty ranks. The 2007 Report
Card for Parents, the basis for the school rankings, numerically ranks 1,176
public elementary schools, 476 middle schools and 369 high schools in
Georgia by achievement score and the percentage of students exceeding
standards. Due to the strong link between poverty and test scores, the
report includes two other criteria, the poverty rate or percentage of
students in each school who qualify for federal/reduced-price lunches and
how well a school is performing relative to its poverty rate.
