In addition

to new construction, the sales tax capital program includes renovations

to existing facilities, such as the addition this year of 10 general-purpose

classrooms and five science laboratories at Bear Creek Middle School,

along with funding for equipment and technology purchases. The capital

program helps to close the gap between school capacity and student enrollment

and funds certain equipment and technology purchases.

Early into

the 2001-2002 school year, the Board of Education will begin to plan what

happens after the sales tax expires in 2002. One option could be to ask

voters to continue the sales tax for another five years.

As part of

the process to plan future renovation programs, needs assessments have

been conducted on all Fulton facilities. This new process mirrors a 1998

study that resulted in 1,200 identified items, with more than 90 percent

currently completed.

New to Fulton

this year also will be two additional charter schools. Woodland Elementary

in Sandy Springs becomes the first existing Fulton school to convert to

charter status. The Fulton County Charter High School for Mathematics

and Science, modeled after the Bronx High School of Science in New York

City, is Fulton's first charter high school and is in Roswell at 2000

Holcomb Wood Parkway. Victory Elementary, Fulton's first charter school,

begins its second year of operation in a new site, 1312 Knotts Ave., East

Point.

Enrollment

Growth

Number of Schools

Elementary

49

(includes two

charter schools)

Middle 15

High 13

(includes 2

alternative schools and one charter)

TOTAL 77

Reduced class

sizes in certain grades and changes in middle school programming result

from the state's A+ Education Reform Act of 2000. The Fulton County School

System goes beyond the mandates of the reform act by staffing classrooms

at lower ratios and providing additional teaching assistants. This year,

the school system decreases student-teacher ratios by two students at

the kindergarten level, and by one student in grades 1-3 and 6-8.

Grade

Fulton's Ratio State Requirements

Kindergarten

22:1, with full-time assistant 20:1, with no assistant; 24:1, with assistant

Grades 1-3

22:1, with part-time assistant 23:1, with no assistant; 27:1, with assistant

Grades 4-5

26:1 31:1

Grades 6-8

27:1 31:1

Grades 9-12

26:1 32:1

One of the

biggest changes as the result of the legislation occurs in the middle

schools. The law adds 30 minutes of instructional time to the core subjects

of language arts, mathematics, science, social studies and reading/foreign

language. To meet this additional time requirement, Fulton middle school

students now have fewer minutes per day in Connections (formerly called

Exploratories ) courses; however, the length of Connections classes

has expanded from six to nine weeks. This means students will have eight

Connections classes yearly instead of the 12 Exploratories previously

offered.

Other changes

in the instructional program include:

Revised learning

objectives that specify what elementary students should know in each content

area and at each grade. These objectives were first presented in draft

form last year with opportunity provided for parent input before being

finalized.

All students

receive new mathematics textbooks this year. The new texts reflect the

more rigorous mathematics curriculum taught in Fulton schools.

To address

the needs of a growing international population, additional ESOL resources

will be provided this year, including increased ESOL instructional time

and more ESOL counselors.

The eight-step

instructional process, a teaching model that includes a yearlong instructional

calendar, daily instructional focus, assessments to monitor progress,

and enrichment or tutoring as needed expands from 25 to 34 schools. This

targeted focus on achievement contributed last year to significant academic

gains, school system officials say.

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