Floyd schools earn Distinguished Schools awards from the state

Media release: Five Title 1 schools in Floyd County Schools have been recognized as Title 1 Distinguished Schools this year by the Georgia Department of Education. The purpose of the Title 1 Recognition and Distinguished Schools program is to recognize and honor those Title 1 elementary and secondary schools that make adequate yearly progress three or more consecutive years.  

Floyd County schools earning Title 1 Distinguished status are: Alto Park Elementary, Cave Spring Elementary, Garden Lakes Elementary, McHenry Primary, and Midway Primary.  Title I schools have significant populations of students who are economically disadvantaged. These schools receive federal money to assist with the education of their students.

State School Superintendent John Barge named 824 Georgia Title I Distinguished Schools in a release from the Department of Education on Thursday.  "With the academic bar increasing each year, it is not easy to continue making AYP," Superintendent Barge was quoted in the release. "These 824 schools have proven that it can be done even when there are challenges."  Title I Distinguished Schools that have made AYP for three consecutive years are awarded a certificate, while those who have made AYP eight or more years receive a monetary award, paid for out of federal funds.

Garden Lakes Elementary has met the criteria for the most consecutive years with eleven-years meeting AYP and nine-years in Distinguished status and will receive a monetary award of $2,295.  Cave Spring Elementary is a close second with ten-years meeting AYP and eight-years Distinguished.  Cave Spring will receive a monetary award of $1,530.  Alto Park Elementary, Midway Primary and McHenry Primary have each attained AYP for nine-years and Distinguished status for seven-years.  Those three schools will each receive a certificate for their accomplishment.    

 "We continue to strive for academic excellence even as we are faced with the challenges of these difficult economic times that especially impact students in communities served by Title 1 schools," said Dr. Lynn Plunkett, superintendent of Floyd County Schools. "I am delighted by this recognition for the teachers, students, parents and communities of these schools because consistent, quality performance over time is the mark of a quality school,"  The Title I Distinguished Schools Program is a joint project of the National Association of State Title I Directors (NASTID) and the U.S. Department of Education. The Title 1 Distinguished Schools Recognition Program was established as part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.