Title I Distinguished Schools and Districts Awarded

824 Schools Made AYP Three Consecutive Years or More

State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge today named 824 Georgia Title I Distinguished Schools and four Title I Distinguished Districts.

"These schools are showing that high expectations, coupled with effective educators in the building, produce outstanding student achievement," Superintendent Barge said. "I'm very pleased to recognize the educators, students and parents in these schools and school districts."

Title I schools have significant populations of students who are economically disadvantaged. These schools receive federal money to assist with the education of their students. There are two National Title I Distinguished Schools among the total 824 Georgia Title I Distinguished Schools. Title I Distinguished Schools have made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) at least three years in a row.

"With the academic bar increasing each year, it is not easy to continue making AYP," Superintendent Barge said. "These 824 schools have proven that it can be done even when there are challenges."

Title I Distinguished Schools that have made AYP for three consecutive years are awarded a certificate, while those who have made AYP eight or more years receive a monetary award, paid for out of federal funds.

TITLE I DISTINGUISHED DISTRICTS
There are also four Title I Distinguished Districts, recognizing school systems in four different size categories -- Large District, Medium District, Small District and Very Small District. The awarded districts have closed the achievement gap the most between economically disadvantaged students and students who are not economically disadvantaged in each category. The results of the reading, English language arts and mathematics portions of the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) and the Georgia High School Graduation Tests (GHSGT) are used to determine achievement.

The 2011-2012 Title I Distinguished Districts are:
- Large District: Spalding County
- Medium: Carrollton City
- Small District: Ben Hill County
- Very Small District: Chickamauga City

The winning districts each received $50,000 from federal funds.

NATIONAL TITLE I DISTINGUISHED SCHOOLS
The National Title I Distinguished Schools program recognizes two schools that receive Title I funding. One school is recognized for closing the achievement gap between economically disadvantaged students and students that are not economically disadvantaged. The other school is recognized for exceeding the benchmarks required to make AYP. The CRCT and GHSGT results in reading, English language arts and mathematics are used to determine the winning schools.

The two National Title I Distinguished Schools are:
- Closing the Gap: Brooks County Middle - Brooks County
- Meets and Exceeds Performance: Fayette Middle School - Fayette County

Each school received $15,000 in addition to their FY11 Title I Distinguished Schools allocation.

Distinguished Schools List - https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/Meetings/Attachment.aspx?S=1262&AID=350010&MID=21836