Three Coweta County schools were named “High Progress Reward Schools” at the annual Title I conference held over the summer in Atlanta.
School system spokesman Dean Jackson said Jefferson Parkway Elementary School, Arnall Middle School and Evans Middle School were recognized by the state during the 2012-13 school year in the “Reward” category. Receiving the recognition places these three schools in the company of only a small number of high-performing Title I schools state-wide, Jackson added.
“The designation is given each year by the Ga. Dept. of Education as a part of the state of Georgia’s waiver from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA),” Jackson said. “It is reserved for schools with the highest performance or the biggest academic gains by students in the last three years.”
The school system’s Title I Monitor, Lisa Copeland, said 2012-13 was the first year of the designation.
“By definition, ‘Reward School’ status is given to Title I schools that are among the 10 percent of Title I Schools in the state that are making progress in improving the performance of all student groups over a number of years on the statewide assessments,” said Copeland.
Jackson said the “Reward” designation goes only to Title I schools. Eighteen of Coweta’s 28 regular program elementary, middle and high schools receive federal Title I funding. Non-Title I schools are not eligible for “Reward School” designation, Jackson noted.
Other categories under the state’s ESEA waiver include Priority, Focus and Alert schools, indicating Title I schools which need greater focus on student academic achievement. No Coweta schools were designated as Priority, Focus or Alert Schools.
