46 APS Schools Beat the Odds

APS Exceeds the State; APS is Second Among Large Metro Districts

This information is hot off the press, and I’m so pleased to be sharing it with you!

According to new analysis just out today from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA), 46 APS schools, or 52 percent of our schools, “Beat the Odds!” Based on the calculations released by the state, APS has the second-highest percentage of schools that Beat the Odds when compared to other metro-area districts. In addition — wait for it — APS beat the overall state rate, which came in at 32 percent!

Beat the Odds Percentages for State and Metro-Area School Districts:

Gwinnett County Public Schools 56%
Atlanta Public Schools 52%
State of Georgia 32%
Fulton County Schools 29%
Clayton County Public Schools 29%
DeKalb County Schools 25%
Cobb County School District 14%

I share with you all the time how proud I am of our students, our teachers, our principals and other school leaders and staff for the new gains they continue to make. We are striving toward excellence and we continue to be on a Journey of Transformation. We’re stepping forward toward new gains each day and are excited about the traction we’re making.

I want to highlight our 46 schools that Beat the Odds and give a special shout out to each school principal for a job well done!

APS Schools that Beat the Odds School Principal
Barack and Michelle Obama Academy Robin Christian
Beecher Hills Elementary School Crystal Jones
Benteen Elementary School Andew Lovett
Boyd Elementary School Joi Kilpatrick
Brandon Elementary School Jay Bland
Brown Middle School Tiauna Crooms
Burgess-Peterson Academy David White
Carver Early College Marcene
Thornton
Centennial Academy Tequila Lamar
Charles R. Drew Charter School Gregory
Leaphart /
Peter McKnight
Charles R. Drew Charter School Elementary Academy Monishae O’Neill
Cleveland Avenue Elementary School Anyee’ Payne
Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership
Academy
Eulonda
Washington
Dobbs Elementary School Charnita West
Fickett Elementary School Benita Grant
Finch Elementary Forrestella
Taylor
F.L. Stanton Elementary School Phyllis Earls
Henry W. Grady High School Betsy Bockman
Hollis Innovation Academy Diamond Ford
Hope-Hill Elementary School Maureen
Wheeler
Kimberly Elementary School Joseph L. Salley
Kindezi Old 4th Ward Rajvee Bhalakia
KIPP Atlanta Collegiate Academy Chanika Perry
KIPP STRIVE Academy Kim Karacalidis
KIPP STRIVE Primary LaKeesha
Ramdhanie
KIPP WAYS Academy (5-8) Nathaniel
Snyder
Long Middle School Lisa Hill
Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School Paul Brown
Mary Lin Elementary School Sharyn Briscoe
Maynard H. Jackson High School Adam Danser
Miles Intermediate Elementary School Thalise Perry
Morningside Elementary School Audrey Sofianos
Parkside Elementary School Timmy Foster
Perkerson Elementary School Tony Ford
Peyton Forest Elementary School Cynthia Gunner
Ralph J. Bunche Middle School Octavius Harris
Samuel M. Inman Middle School Kevin Maxwell
Sarah Smith Elementary School Emily Boatright
South Atlanta High School Patricia Ford
Sutton Middle School Gail Johnson
Sylvan Hills Middle School Artesza Portee
The Kindezi Schools (Kindezi West) Hyla Penn
Tuskegee Airmen Global Academy Yolanda Weems
Warren T. Jackson Elementary School Brent McBride
Wesley International Academy Donald Mason/
Debbie
Satterfield
Westside Atlanta Charter School Delana Reeves

I also want to recognize Deputy Superintendent David Jernigan and the entire Schools and Academics team, especially our Associate Superintendents Dr. Danielle Battle, Yolonda Brown, Dr. Emily Massey, Dr. Dan Sims, and Tommy Usher; our Chief Accountability and Information Officer Bill Caritj and his team, including Michael LaMont and the Data Information Group for providing us with a full analysis of these results.

As we work toward achieving improved results, we must continue to look at our schools’ overall academic performance holistically. We can’t and don’t look at just one indicator or another to measure progress. We have to look at all of it.

Beating the Odds is just one piece of information we use to analyze school performance,and it serves as a complement to this year’s CCRPI data that came out in October of this year (click here for my blog post on that). But, it also shows us that there are measurable academic gains happening across our school system.

Now, to give you a broader perspective on the Beat the Odds analysis, here’s a little more background and more information that explains this year’s calculation and why it can’t be compared to previous years:

  • The Beat the Odds calculation represents whether a school’s performance on the College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) was higher than schools with similar characteristics across the state. Due to changes in the Beating the Odds calculation and changes in CCRPI, this year’s analysis is not comparable to previous years.
  • The new calculation for this year includes variables that are outside of a school’s control, such as school size, percent directly certified, percent English language learners, percent of students with disabilities, percent of students in each race (excluding Native American), school churn rate, whether a school is defined as non-traditional and the school type.

Also, in previous years, schools were designated as “Beat the Odds” or “Did Not Beat the Odds,” but the new calculation this year has separated “Did Not Beat the Odds” into two tiers — Within the Expected Range and Below the Expected Range.With this new framework, in addition to the 46 APS schools that Beat the Odds,26 were classified as “Within the Expected Range” and 16 were classified as“Below the Expected Range.” This means a total of 72 APS schools, or more than 80%, either Beat the Odds or performed Within the Expected Range.

You can learn more about this year’s Beat the Odds analysis on the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement’s website at https://gosa.georgia.gov/beating-odds-analysis.

Thank you for being engaged in the work of APS and for supporting our efforts to prepare all of our students for the choice-filled lives they deserve!

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