No Fayette or Coweta schools

qualified for Cox's list of nominees, which included eight urban

schools that showed dramatic increases in student achievement during the

past year.

In addition to Seaborn, Cox

included three schools from Muscogee County: Columbus High, Britt David

Magnet School and Edgewood Elementary School. The others are Capitol View

Elementary (Atlanta), Lincoln Fundamental Elementary (Dougherty), Davidson

Magnet School (Richmond) and Kittredge Magnet School (DeKalb).

"I can't be more

proud of these schools," said Cox, a Peachtree City resident and

former high school teacher in Fayette County. "The effort that the

teachers and students have made to help bridge the achievement gap is

outstanding. These schools are models for the state, and they are moving

forward to provide all children with the educational foundation upon which

their dreams and future success will be built."

U.S. Secretary of Education

Rod Paige established the "No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools"

program to honor public and private K-12 schools that are either academically

superior in their states or that demonstrate dramatic gains in student

achievement. The program requires Blue Ribbon recipients to meet specific

assessment criteria: dramatic improvement in schools with significant

populations of students from disadvantaged backgrounds or schools scoring

in the top 10 percent on state assessments regardless of student background.

"President Bush has made

it a priority to improve public education in America, and in Georgia we

are working hard to lead the nation in improving student achievement,"

said Cox.

Paige will announce the 2004

Blue Ribbon Schools next September, and the selected schools will be honored

at a ceremony in Washington D.C.