Cobb County parents are faced with several choices when deciding which school to send their children to. For parents in the Griffin community however, the choice is easy. By far Griffin is the best choice.
I recently read an article in the AJC concerning a parent who was upset that he could not send his daughter to a different high school. He felt that the choice high school had a far better cheerleading squad. Frankly I was appalled. Parents wanting to take advantage of Georgia HB251 for academic reasons is one thing; but athletics - please. I would hope this was not the intent of HB251.
You may be asking - How does school choice impact Griffin?
Over the past few years Griffin has been required to offer school choice under the Federal 'No Child Left Behind' (NCLB) program. As a result we have seen a small number of families opt to send their children to other middle schools. Parents have elected to put their children on a bus for 45 to 60 minutes rides to schools on the other side of the county. Almost every one of these families have sent their children to other schools without ever visiting Griffin. It is unfortunate that the all-or-nothing approach of NCLB has placed Griffin on the 'Needs Improvement' list. It is even more unfortunate that some parents don't fully understand the reason Griffin is on the list.
However, things are changing. Last year (2008) Griffin missed making Annual Yearly Progress (AYP), the measurement used by NCLB, by only one student. This year, Griffin made AYP for the first time since the inception of NCLB. As a matter of fact, Griffin was the only middle or high school in the Smyrna area to make AYP without using summer school re-take test scores. Griffin has made tremendous gains in student achievement over the past three years and it shows. While we must still offer NCLB choice, it is my hope that parents will take time to investigate Griffin and find out what truly great things are happening here.
Based on the guidelines for HB251, Griffin will not be accepting transfers from other schools this year. Our goal is to continue to provide a quality education for those students in our community. Griffin is like a grand puzzle. As we continue putting all the pieces together, Teachers, Students, Parents, and Community, we will see even greater growth in student achievement.
Thank you to all who have stayed with Griffin and been a part of the puzzle. For those who have thought of exercising 'choice' let me tell you that Griffin is your best choice. Come join our family and see what great things are happening at Griffin.
