Students in DeKalb County, Georgia return to school on Monday. Most of the middle school and high school students in predominantly Black will be going to schools that did not meet federally mandated academic standards. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the number of schools that Mettheir federally mandated academic standards dropped precipitously to 53.6 percent — a 23-point decline from last year — according to results released Friday by state officials."There is no magic wand that I have," said DeKalb Schools Superintendent Crawford Lewis, who presented those results to outspokenly disappointed school board members Friday. "Staff and I certainly acknowledge we have a lot of work to do."
Thirty-four DeKalb elementary schools did not make adequate yearly progress this year. Last year, that number was five. The culprit? Mathematics, just as in schools statewide, said Deputy Superintendent Gloria Talley, who leads the system's instructional efforts,
Nine DeKalb high schools made AYP this year, down from 12 in 2007. Eleven DeKalb middle schools made AYP this year, a two-school increase over 2007. Still, among the nine middle schools that did not make AYP this year, Talley said, mathematics scores impacted eight of them.
Although, the school board was upset with the findings, to date, there have been no reports of county-wide initiatives to correct this disturbing trend.
2008 AYP results for DeKalb County, Georgia
(Middle & High Schools, only)
(Middle & High Schools, only)
| Avondale High School | Did Not Meet |
| Avondale Middle School | Met |
| Cedar Grove High School | Did Not Meet |
| Cedar Grove Middle School | Met |
| Chamblee Charter High School | Met |
| Chamblee Middle School | Met |
| Chapel Hill Middle School | Met |
| Clarkston High School | Did Not Meet |
| Columbia High School | Did Not Meet |
| Columbia Middle School | Did Not Meet |
| Cross Keys High School | Met |
| Dekalb Academy of Tech and Environment | Met |
| Dekalb Early College Academy | Met |
| DeKalb High School of Tech-North | Did Not Meet |
| DeKalb PATH Academy Charter School | Met |
| DeKalb School of the Arts | Met |
| Destiny Academy of Excellence Charter School | Did Not Meet |
| Druid Hills High School | Met |
| Dunwoody High School | Did Not Meet |
| Freedom Middle School | Did Not Meet |
| Henderson Middle School | Met |
| Heritage Educational Center | Did Not Meet |
| Lakeside High School | Met |
| Lithonia High School | Did Not Meet |
| Lithonia Middle School | Met |
| Margaret Harris High School | Did Not Meet |
| Martin Luther King, Jr. High School | Did Not Meet |
| Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School | Did Not Meet |
| McNair High School | Did Not Meet |
| McNair Middle School | Did Not Meet |
| Miller Grove High School | Did Not Meet |
| Miller Grove Middle School | Met |
| Open Campus High School | Did Not Meet |
| Peachtree Middle School | Did Not Meet |
| Redan High School | Met |
| Redan Middle School | Did Not Meet |
| Salem Middle School | Did Not Meet |
| Sequoyah Middle School | Met |
| Shamrock Middle School | Met |
| Southwest DeKalb High School | Met |
| Stephenson High School | Met |
| Stephenson Middle School | Met |
| Stone Mountain High School | Did Not Meet |
| Stone Mountain Middle School | Did Not Meet |
| The Champion Middle Theme School | Met |
| Towers High School | Did Not Meet |
| Tucker High School | Did Not Meet |
| Tucker Middle School | Did Not Meet |
Read the AJC article on DeKalb County Public Schools here.
Read the 2008 AYP Results for DeKalb County Public Schools here.
plez sez: this is a very disturbing report on the heels of CNN's Black in America documentary from a week ago. this national trends showing increasing breakdowns of the family, an increasing number of Black boys choosing not to graduate from high school, and a very high incarceration rate for men who do not graduate from high school (over 60 percent).
dekalb county, georgia is predominantly Black, but far from the urban, lower class environment that is normally portrayed on the news and on television. there is a burgeoning middle-class Black population here. rolling subdivisions with large McMansions, manicured lawns, a big mall with all the fixin's, and a failing education structure. the sorry state of the public schools in dekalb county will help to depress the already depressing housing market, it will not be attract businesses, nor will it attract homeowners (and taxpayers) who look hard at the quality of neighborhood schools.
this educational ship must be righted soon or dekalb county schools will go the way of clayton county schools. the clock is ticking...
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