From the Desk of Mr. York

AYP Under Appeal

If you’ve watched the news or read the newspaper this summer then you know that Georgia schools are having a difficult time making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).  Here in Cobb County, the district failed to make AYP by less than 200 students (out of over 108,000).  The struggles continue because of the strict ‘absolute’ model used to measure progress for the federal No Child Left Behind program.

At Griffin things are no different.  We struggle to make AYP however, if you look past the superficial data of AYP you will see that great things are happening at Griffin.  Over the past four years we have continued to increase the number of students making AYP.  Our sub-groups of students have continued to show growth.  During the past school year Griffin made AYP in 16 of 17 categories.  Following the summer re-tests Griffin actually missed making AYP by only one student.  To be more precise, we missed AYP by 2 out of 229,871 questions.

Upon close review of our data it was found that the state has included students in our data that we don’t think should have been included.  The state determines that students are Full Academic Year (FAY) students based on their enrollment.  For the 2007-2008 school year, Griffin had several FAY students with multiple medical conditions.  Some students were absent from school for more than an entire month and yet counted as full-time students.  Based on this data we have appealed our AYP standing to the state.

Within the next few weeks we should know the outcome of the appeal.  Regardless of the state’s response, however, we know that Griffin continues to make great academic gains.  Unfortunately AYP is not measured by growth but rather by an absolute bar.  What we do know is this – Griffin is a better school now than we were last year and we will be a better school at the end of the year than we are now.

We Almost Made It!

As we enter our second month of school, I am so excited about what I am seeing at Griffin.  Last year we made AYP in 16 of 17 categories. For those who are finite numbers folks, our “almost” means that of the 229,871 CRCT questions answered by Griffin students last spring, Griffin missed AYP because of 2 incorrect answers. So close! But that's how No Child Left Behind works.

That’s okay, though.  Through Griffin’s Restructuring Plan our teachers are providing great performance based learning opportunities for our students.  Students are engaged in their learning, teachers are working together and great things are happening at Griffin.

This year we have adopted an instructional model known as America's Choice.  Through this model we are focusing on five critical elements of school improvement.

1. Creating a standards-based system with assessments that monitor progress and inform instruction
2. Aligning instruction to standards and focusing teaching on moving students from where they are to where they need to be
3. Strengthening instructional leadership
4. Building professional learning communities
5. Engaging parents and the community

Through a special federal grant the Georgia Department of Education we are also providing additional support and professional learning through curriculum specialists and a state director.

I invite you to become, not just involved, but engaged in your child’s education. “How?” you may ask.  Start by having discussions about what students are learning in class.  Your child should be able to share with you’re the specific standards they are working on each day.  If you every have any questions please feel free to contact your child’s individual teachers.