Braelinn

Elementary School and McIntosh High School were both

ranked second in the state among elementary and secondary

schools this week by The Center for Education Policy in

Atlanta.

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

(ITBS) administered to fifth graders last spring.

"The Center for Education Policy is a private group

of individuals concerned about public education. 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

scores (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 gave

a lot of credit 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's 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 2, 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.