2009 No Child Left Behind - Blue Ribbon Schools Program
Type of School: (Check all that apply) / [ ]Elementary / []Middle / []High / []K-12 / [X](PK through 8)
[]Charter / []Title I / []Magnet / []Choice
Name of Principal: Mrs. Linda Grace
Official School Name: Our Lady of Victory Catholic School
School Mailing Address:
211 Kirkley Road
Tyrone, GA 30290-1504
County: Fayette State School Code Number*: N/A
Telephone: (770) 306-9026 Fax: (770) 306-0323
Web site/URL: www.olvpatriots.orgE-mail:
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge all information is accurate.
Date
(Principal‘s Signature)
Name of Superintendent*: Mrs. Diane Starkovich
District Name: Archdiocese of Atlanta Tel: (404) 888-7833
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
Date
(Superintendent‘s Signature)
Name of School Board President/Chairperson: Mrs. Meg Stitt
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
Date
(School Board President‘s/Chairperson‘s Signature)
*Private Schools: If the information requested is not applicable, write N/A in the space.
Original signed cover sheet only should be mailed by expedited mail or a courier mail service (such as USPS Express Mail, FedEx or UPS) to Aba Kumi, Director, NCLB-Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Office of Communications and Outreach, US Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Room 5E103, Washington, DC 20202-8173.
The signatures on the first page of this application certify that each of the statements below concerning the school‘s eligibility and compliance with U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) requirements is true and correct.
1. The school has some configuration that includes one or more of grades K-12. (Schools on the same campus with one principal, even K-12 schools, must apply as an entire school.)
2. The school has made adequate yearly progress each year for the past two years and has not been identified by the state as “persistently dangerous” within the last two years.
3. To meet final eligibility, the school must meet the state’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirement in the 2008-2009 school year. AYP must be certified by the state and all appeals resolved at least two weeks before the awards ceremony for the school to receive the award.
4. If the school includes grades 7 or higher, the school must have foreign language as a part of its curriculum and a significant number of students in grades 7 and higher must take the course.
5. The school has been in existence for five full years, that is, from at least September 2003.
6. The nominated school has not received the No Child Left Behind – Blue Ribbon Schools award in the past five years, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, or 2008.
7. The nominated school or district is not refusing OCR access to information necessary to investigate a civil rights complaint or to conduct a district-wide compliance review.
8. OCR has not issued a violation letter of findings to the school district concluding that the nominated school or the district as a whole has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes. A violation letter of findings will not be considered outstanding if OCR has accepted a corrective action plan from the district to remedy the violation.
9. The U.S. Department of Justice does not have a pending suit alleging that the nominated school or the school district as a whole has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes or the Constitution‘s equal protection clause.
10. There are no findings of violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in a U.S. Department of Education monitoring report that apply to the school or school district in question; or if there are such findings, the state or district has corrected, or agreed to correct, the findings.
PART II - DEMOGRAPHIC DATAAll data are the most recent year available.
DISTRICT (Questions 1-2 not applicable to private schools)
Does not apply to private schoolsSCHOOL (To be completed by all schools)
3. Category that best describes the area where the school is located:
[ ] Urban or large central city
[ ] Suburban school with characteristics typical of an urban area
[ X ] Suburban
[ ] Small city or town in a rural area
[ ] Rural
4. 3 Number of years the principal has been in her/his position at this school.
If fewer than three years, how long was the previous principal at this school?
5. Number of students as of October 1 enrolled at each grade level or its equivalent in applying school only:
Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade Total / Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade TotalPreK / 8 / 9 / 17 / 7 / 8 / 15 / 23
K / 13 / 13 / 26 / 8 / 18 / 18 / 36
1 / 17 / 11 / 28 / 9 / 0
2 / 9 / 8 / 17 / 10 / 0
3 / 10 / 15 / 25 / 11 / 0
4 / 12 / 16 / 28 / 12 / 0
5 / 7 / 17 / 24 / Other / 0
6 / 14 / 24 / 38
TOTAL STUDENTS IN THE APPLYING SCHOOL / 262
6. Racial/ethnic composition of the school: / 1 / % American Indian or Alaska Native
9 / % Asian
21 / % Black or African American
9 / % Hispanic or Latino
3 / % Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
56 / % White
1 / % Two or more races
100 / % Total
Only the seven standard categories should be used in reporting the racial/ethnic composition of your school. The final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic data to the U.S. Department of Education published in the October 19, 2007 Federal Register provides definitions for each of the seven categories.
7. Student turnover, or mobility rate, during the past year: 3%
This rate is calculated using the grid below. The answer to (6) is the mobility rate.
(1) / Number of students who transferred to the school after October 1 until theend of the year. / 1
(2) / Number of students who transferred from the school after October 1 until the end of the year. / 7
(3) / Total of all transferred students [sum of rows (1) and (2)]. / 8
(4) / Total number of students in the school as of October 1. / 275
(5) / Total transferred students in row (3)
divided by total students in row (4). / 0.029
(6) / Amount in row (5) multiplied by 100. / 2.909
8. Limited English proficient students in the school: 6%
Total number limited English proficient 16
Number of languages represented: 3
Specify languages:
Gujarati, Spanish, Vietnamese
9. Students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals: 6%
Total number students who qualify: 17
If this method does not produce an accurate estimate of the percentage of students from low-income families, or the school does not participate in the free and reduced-price school meals program, specify a more accurate estimate, tell why the school chose it, and explain how it arrived at this estimate.
10. Students receiving special education services: 3%
Total Number of Students Served: 9
Indicate below the number of students with disabilities according to conditions designated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Do not add additional categories.
0 / Autism / 0 / Orthopedic Impairment0 / Deafness / 0 / Other Health Impaired
0 / Deaf-Blindness / 8 / Specific Learning Disability
0 / Emotional Disturbance / 0 / Speech or Language Impairment
1 / Hearing Impairment / 0 / Traumatic Brain Injury
0 / Mental Retardation / 0 / Visual Impairment Including Blindness
0 / Multiple Disabilities / 0 / Developmentally Delayed
11. Indicate number of full-time and part-time staff members in each of the categories below:
Number of StaffFull-Time / Part-Time
Administrator(s) / 1 / 1
Classroom teachers / 15 / 5
Special resource teachers/specialists / 1 / 2
Paraprofessionals / 4 / 3
Support staff / 6 / 4
Total number / 27 / 15
12. Average school student-classroom teacher ratio, that is, the number of students in the school divided by the Full Time Equivalent of classroom teachers, e.g., 22:1 17 :1
13. Show the attendance patterns of teachers and students as a percentage. Only middle and high schools need to supply dropout rates. Briefly explain in the Notes section any attendance rates under 95%, teacher turnover rates over 12%, or student dropout rates over 5%.
2007-2008 / 2006-2007 / 2005-2006 / 2004-2005 / 2003-2004Daily student attendance / 96% / 97% / 97% / 98% / 97%
Daily teacher attendance / 95% / 97% / 97% / 91% / 98%
Teacher turnover rate / 25% / 17% / 17% / 30% / 24%
Student dropout rate / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Please provide all explanations below.
During 2004-2005, several teachers suffered injuries and illnesses with long-term disabilities.
A significant number of teacherswith military spouseshave relocated.The school has many young teachers who have started families. Several teachers have retired, and several have moved out of state related to spousal job relocations.
14. For schools ending in grade 12 (high schools).
Show what the students who graduated in Spring 2008 are doing as of the Fall 2008.
Graduating class size / 0Enrolled in a 4-year college or university / 0 / %
Enrolled in a community college / 0 / %
Enrolled in vocational training / 0 / %
Found employment / 0 / %
Military service / 0 / %
Other (travel, staying home, etc.) / 0 / %
Unknown / 0 / %
Total / 100 / %
PART III - SUMMARY
In 1999, the Archdiocese of Atlanta opened Our Lady of Victory Catholic School in response to the overwhelming need for Catholic education on the south side of metro Atlanta, Georgia.
The school, in partnership with family and Church, has flourished since its inception. The school’s mission is to provide a community where faith, trust, hope, and love for God is encouraged and developed. The school is dedicated to teaching the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church in a challenging, academic environment, and it strives to promote life-long learning through critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, and social responsibility.
Our Lady of Victory Catholic School is an Atlanta Archdiocesan regional school, enrolling students from eleven area feeder parishes. The school serves a diverse population of students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, including many students from military families. Current enrollment is 262 students. The faculty and staff include 20 teachers, 63% of whom have at least a master’s degree, 7 paraprofessionals, a media specialist, school counselor, nurse, cafeteria staff, and building maintenance. The school has a speech-language pathologist available to support its students.
In the Spring of 2002, the school received its initial accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). In February of 2007, the school’s pre-kindergarten program was successful in receiving full accreditation by SACS. The school applied for accreditation by the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS), along withre-accreditation by SACS in 2007, and was successful in receiving dual accreditation bySAIS and SACS. In addition to SAIS and SACS, the school isa member of the National Catholic Educational Association, Georgia Independent School Association,National Council of Teachers of Mathematics,National Junior Honor Society, National Junior Beta Club, andNational Association of Secondary School Principals.
Our Lady of Victory Catholic School is in its tenth year and has continued to maintain its strong Catholic identity and academic excellence. The curricula is based on sequential skill development and acquired knowledge in religion (including sacramental preparation), science, mathematics, reading, language arts, social studies, music, physical education, art, guidance, library science, Spanish, and computer. The resource department includes both support services and enrichment services to ensure that all students reach their full potential. The Archdiocese of Atlanta provides a defined set of benchmarks and standards for core curricula areas.
Student learning is further enriched with state-of-the-art technology, including, but not limited to, interactive whiteboards in all academic classrooms, a full-capacity computer lab, and its own weather station, which facilitates interactive applications and enables 100% student participation. Our Lady of Victory Catholic School has its own television production studio, WOLV, which provides opportunities for students to learn broadcasting and reporting skills.
The school continues to enhance its technology, as a result of the generous donations received from the school community and the promotion of its annual fund. The Home and School Association, comprised of parent volunteers, supports the school through community and fund-raising events, including the school’s annual auction.
The school’s traditions enhance community relations. The school hosts a monthly “family” spaghetti dinner to foster family and community unity. Some traditions include Grandparents’ Day, interscholastic sports program, drama program, school choir, student-led yearbook and newspaper, Sunshine Math Program, St. Jude’s Math-A-Thon, Duke TIP Program, John Hopkins University Enrichment Program, student-led weekly Masses and/or prayer services, and school-wide and faculty retreats. With minimal staff, the school continues to offer a wide range of opportunities to accommodate the multiple intelligences of its students.