Braelinn

Elementary School and McIntosh High School were

both ranked academically second in the state

among elementary and secondary schools this week

According

to Dr. Bob Martin, principal of Braelinn, the

rankings for the states' 1,065 elementary schools

were based primarily on scores from the Iowa Test

of Basic Skills, administered to fifth graders

last spring. "The Center for Education

Policy is a private group of individuals

concerned about public education," said

Martin. "They do a number of things related

to education, and the report card is one of

things they do," he explained.

"This is a very simple report card,"

Martin added. "It ranks schools; lots of

people don't like to see this done. They have a

formula to apply to those [ITBS] scores which

takes in the poverty level," he said.

Braelinn does not have students that meet poverty

level criteria, Martin said, but the

interpretation of rankings also gave the school a

"One Plus," which means students are

actually scoring better and performing above the

norm expected for a school of its kind.

Martin

said much of the school's success is due to

Braelinn's supportive parents, prepared students

and great teachers. "For a school principal,

Braelinn is a dream world," he admitted.

"Every day I'm thankful to be here,"

Martin said of the three years he has been

principal.

"We'll

take all the accolades we can get," Martin

added, noting that all schools in the county are

"doing very well." All Fayette County

elementary schools fell within the 25th

percentile ranking from number two Braelinn,

which came in behind the number one school, a

magnet school in DeKalb County, to North Fayette

Elementary ranking 256th in the state.

Martin

said parental involvement in their children's

education sets Braelinn and other Fayette County

schools apart from those, for instance, in south

Georgia, "where mom and dad are working like

dogs to put something on the table.

"It

makes a huge difference," he said. "Our

parents send their children to school with a good

breakfast, they read to them, practice numbers

with them, travel with them..." He went on

to say that other schools also have good

teachers, but teach children whose homes are at

or close to the poverty level, who may not get a

decent breakfast, and have no reading matter in

the house.

Based

on the center's Report Card, Fayette County's

elementary schools are ranked as follows:

Braelinn two, Peeples 15, Kedron 36, Huddleston

103, Brooks 132, Burch 141, Spring Hill, 144,

Fayette Elementary 162, Tyrone 175, Oak Grove

190, Peachtree City 203, East Fayette 236 and

North Fayette 256.

The

county's high schools ranked among the top 30 in

the state. McIntosh was graded number two out of

319 secondary schools. The number one school was

a magnet school in Augusta. Starr's Mill was

ranked 11, Fayette County High 21 and Sandy Creek

28.

McIntosh

principal Greg Stillions said, "I have to

give credit to the staff," regarding the

school's top ranking. He praised the school's

teachers for pushing students to reach their high

expectations. "If things are going well in

the building, we'll take the glory where it's

headed... we're blessed at McIntosh."

Despite

the high calibre of students teachers have to

work with at McIntosh, Stillions said it was

still up to the staff "to reach a level of

above average performance." Parent

involvement with their students also runs high at

the school. "They're concerned with what's

happening with their grades... with their kids'

lives."

To

maintain the quality education McIntosh now

provides, Stillions said he and his staff must

continue to strive to find better ways to do

things.

The

high schools' ranking is based on SAT scores,

graduation statistics and the degrees and tenure

of staff, according to Stillions.

Among

the state's 410 middle schools, Rising Starr

ranked 15, Fayette Middle 27, Whitewater 28, J.C.

Booth 30 and Flat Rock 49.

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