One local school among 243 in state honored as Title I Reward School

One local school is among the 243 in the state to be honored this year as a Title I Reward School for academic achievement or progress while teaching students from a significant percentage of low-income families.

Early College Academy of College is on the prestigious list the Georgia Department of Education released Friday.

Reward Schools come in two categories:

Highest-Performing Schools are among the top 5 percent of Title I schools with the best scores during the past three years on the state's standardized tests.

Highest-Progress Schools are among the 10 percent of the state's Title I schools making the most improvement during the past three years on the state's standardized tests. They are disqualified if they were identified as a Priority or Focus School. Priority Schools are among the state's lowest 5 percent of Title I schools in terms of academic achievement. Focus Schools are among the state's lowest 10 percent of Title I schools in terms of academic achievement gap - the size of the gap between the state average and the degree to which that gap is closing.

This year's Title I Reward Schools in Georgia comprise 162 Highest-Performing Schools and 81 Highest-Progress Schools. Early College was recognized for its progress.

"I'm extremely excited and happy for our students, teachers and parents," Early College dean Susan Willard said in a phone interview. "They've works so hard for this."

The Georgia Department of Education didn't show in its release the progress the schools made to earn the award. It's difficult to compare this year's standardized tests to previous years because the state changed the exams and increased the rigor. But looking at the graduation rate, the ultimate measurement for a high school, Early College clearly has improved.

Early College increased its graduation rate from 91.7 percent in 2013 to 100 percent in 2015, meaning all 46 members of the cohort that began high school four years ago graduated this year.

Asked what fueled the improvement, Willard noted Early College requires students who score below 80 percent on a summative exam, such as a test at the end of a chapter or unit, to attend remediation sessions before or after school or during the period called ILT (Increased Learning Time).

"Yes, 70 percent is passing," she explained, "but that's not college readiness."

And that's the mission of Early College, where students take dual enrollment courses to earn college credit while still in high school.

Title I schools may receive extra federal funding, called targeted assistance, if at least 35 percent of their students are identified as eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunch. That means only those qualified students can receive services funded by the Title I money, such as remedial instruction or intervention programs. The poverty threshold is 40 percent for school-wide Title I funding, meaning all students at that school may receive services funded by Title I.

For this school year in Georgia, the annual household income limit for a family of four is $31,525 for free lunch and $44,863 for reduced-price lunch to qualify for the program. Title I combines those two categories to define the poverty rate at each school.

Early College's poverty rate for its 181 students this year is 75 percent.

"We are small and function very much like a family," Willard said. "We know our kids and have a chance to build a relationship with them, so it's easier for them to be successful."

Mark Rice, 706-576-6272. Follow him on Twitter@MarkRiceLE.

This story was originally published December 11, 2015 at 8:55 PM with the headline "One local school among 243 in state honored as Title I Reward School ."