The Community Times Dispatch

On Friday, January 22, the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) released the Final School Improvement Ratings for the 2009-2010 school year. This year we are proud to announce that five of Colleton School District’s Title One schools made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP): Cottageville Elementary, Forest Hills Elementary, Hendersonville Elementary, Northside Elementary, and Ruffin Middle Schools. A school is identified as needs improvement based upon the school’s not meeting the state’s definition of adequate yearly progress (AYP) for two years consecutively. These ratings impact the way Title One schools allocate and spend federal dollars to improve student achievement. The following list identifies the AYP ratings Colleton County Title One schools as published by the SC Department of Education January 22, 2010:

SCHOOL MADE AYP? IMPROVEMENT STATUS OBJECTIVES MET

YES or NO

Bells Elementary NO Restructuring 16 out of 17

Black Street Elementary NO Restructuring 14 out of 15

Cottageville Elementary YES Continuing School Improvement-Delay 17 out of 17

Forest Hills Elementary YES Continuing School Improvement-Delay 17 out of 17

Hendersonville Elementary YES Continuing School Improvement-Delay 17 out of 17

Northside Elementary YES Plan to Restructure-Delay 17 out of 17

Colleton Middle NO Restructuring 19 out of 21

Forest Circle Middle NO Restructuring 16 out of 21

Ruffin Middle YES Continuing School Improvement-Delay 17 out of 17

This school year, Edisto Beach Elementary served as the elementary school of choice. Edisto Beach Elementary is not a Title I school and it has met AYP. Parents of kindergartners attending Bells, Cottageville, and Hendersonville Elementary Schools had the opportunity to request Choice transfer to the kindergarten class at Black Street Early Childhood Center. The Early Childhood Center is classified as a new Title I school and is not identified for Improvement for the 09-10 school year.

Middle school students, however, did not have the option to request Choice transfer this school year because all three middle schools are identified for Improvement. Moreover, Colleton County also sent a letter to the school districts in the eight counties that border Colleton to see if any of their middle schools would agree to accept our students if parents elected to Choice transfer their children out of Colleton County. An agreement with the other districts could not be reached. It is also important to note that students on free or reduced lunch prices and who did not transfer had the opportunity to sign up early this school year for Supplemental Educational Services (SES), free tutoring. There was a large response to the offer of free tutoring and As a result, there is a waiting list for these services.

Colleton County School District missed 5 required targets to meet district AYP, two in English/language arts and three in math. The district’s improvement status for 09-10 is Corrective Action. It is important to note that no district in the state made AYP on this final school and district improvement list.

Colleton County School District, with the support from the SC Department of Education, has initiated several improvement initiatives district wide. Five years ago, Colleton County instituted a new curriculum approved by the State Department of Education’s Office of Federal Programs to improve student performance on state assessments. This curriculum has now been adopted by the SC Department of Education to be available for implementation in all districts. In addition, teachers are provided throughout the school year appropriate staff development focused on our schools’ efforts to make AYP and the district’s mission and goals. Colleton teachers across grade spans and schools are working collaboratively to design assessments to prepare students for mandated standardized tests, tweaking and modifying curriculum guides, and adding resources that support and enhance the curriculum. Students take common grade level assessments in the middle and elementary schools to determine instructional needs. In addition to student performance, teaching performance is monitored frequently and feedback is provided to teachers in a timely manner.

For more information, please contact the Title I Office at 843-782-4522.