2005-2006 No Child Left Behind - Blue Ribbon Schools Program
U.S. Department of Education
Cover Sheet Type of School: (Check all that apply) X Elementary __ Middle __ High __ K-12 __Charter
Name of Principal Ms. Penny E. Smith .
(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., Other) (As it should appear in the official records)
Official School Name Alexander II Magnet School .
(As it should appear in the official records)
School Mailing Address 1156 College Street .
(If address is P.O. Box, also include street address)
Macon Georgia 31201-1700 . City State Zip Code+4 (9 digits total)
County Bibb State School Code Number* 1050 .
Telephone ( 478 )751-6708Fax ( 478 ) 752-5249 .
Website/URL E-mail
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2, and certify that to the best of my knowledge all information is accurate.
Date______
(Principal’s Signature)
Name of Superintendent* Mrs. Sharon Patterson
(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., Other)
District NameBibb CountyTel. ( 478 ) 765-8501 .
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2, and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
Date______(Superintendent’s Signature)
Name of School Board
President/Chairperson Mrs. Susan Middleton
(Specify: Ms., Miss, Mrs., Dr., Mr., Other)
I have reviewed the information in this package, including the eligibility requirements on page 2, and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
Date______
(School Board President’s/Chairperson’s Signature)
PART I ELIGIBILITY CERTIFICATION
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.
- The school has some configuration that includes grades K-12. (Schools with one principal, even K-12 schools, must apply as an entire school.)
- The school has not been in school improvement status or been identified by the state as "persistently dangerous" within the last two years. To meet final eligibility, the school must meet the state’s adequate yearly progress requirement in the 2005-2006 school year.
- If the school includes grades 7 or higher, it has foreign language as a part of its core curriculum.
- The school has been in existence for five full years, that is, from at least September 2000 and has not received the 2003, 2004, or 2005 No Child Left Behind – Blue Ribbon Schools Award.
- The nominated school or district is not refusing the OCR access to information necessary to investigate a civil rights complaint or to conduct a districtwide compliance review.
- The 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 the OCR has accepted a corrective action plan from the district to remedy the violation.
- 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.
- 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.
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PART II DEMOGRAPHIC DATA
All data are the most recent year available.
DISTRICT (Questions 12 not applicable to private schools)
1.Number of schools in the district: __27 _ Elementary schools
6 Middle schools
_____ Junior high schools
6 High schools
5 Other
44 TOTAL
2.District Per Pupil Expenditure: $6,052 (FY05)
Average State Per Pupil Expenditure: $6,728 (FY04) – last available data
SCHOOL (To be completed by all schools)
3.Category that best describes the area where the school is located:
[ X]Urban or large central city
[ ]Suburban school with characteristics typical of an urban area
[ ]Suburban
[ ]Small city or town in a rural area
[ ]Rural
4. 1 Number of years the principal has been in her/his position at this school.
5 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: (Count based on October 1, 2005 data)
Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade Total / Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade TotalPreK / 7
K / 46 / 38 / 84 / 8
1 / 47 / 39 / 86 / 9
2 / 45 / 43 / 88 / 10
3 / 42 / 44 / 86 / 11
4 / 42 / 43 / 85 / 12
5 / 31 / 53 / 84 / Other
6 / 25 / 40 / 65
TOTAL STUDENTS IN THE APPLYING SCHOOL / 578
6.Racial/ethnic composition of 50 % White
the students in the school: 47 % Black or African American
1 % Hispanic or Latino
2 % Asian/Pacific Islander
% American Indian/Alaskan Native
100% Total
Use only the five standard categories in reporting the racial/ethnic composition of the school.
7.Student turnover, or mobility rate, during the past year: 5 %
[This rate should be 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 the end of the year. / 1(2) / Number of students who transferred from the school after October 1 until the end of the year. / 26
(3) / Total of all transferred students [sum of rows (1) and (2)] / 27
(4) / Total number of students in the school as of October 1 / 578
(5) / Total transferred students in row (3) divided by total students in row (4) / .047
(6) / Amount in row (5) multiplied by 100 / 5%
8.Limited English Proficient students in the school: 1% .
Total Number Limited English Proficient 4
Number of languages represented: 3 .
Specify languages: Gujarati, Marathi, Dutch
9.Students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals: 39%
Total number students who qualify: 225 .
If this method does not produce an accurate estimate of the percentage of students from lowincome families or the school does not participate in the federallysupported lunch 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: _ _6__%
___33__Total Number of Students Served
Indicate below the number of students with disabilities according to conditions designated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Do not add additional categories.
__2 Autism____Orthopedic Impairment
____Deafness__1_Other Health Impaired
____Deaf-Blindness____Specific Learning Disability
_2_ Emotional Disturbance_24_Speech or Language Impairment
_3__Hearing Impairment____Traumatic Brain Injury
_1__Mental Retardation____Visual Impairment Including Blindness
_1__Multiple Disabilities
- Indicate number of fulltime and parttime staff members in each of the categories below:
Number of Staff
Full-timePart-Time
Administrator(s) 2 ______
Classroom teachers 26 ______
Special resource teachers/specialists 6 7
Paraprofessionals 4 ______
Support staff 8 1
Total number 47 8
- Average school student-“classroom teacher” ratio, that is, the number of
students in the school divided by the FTE of classroom teachers: 17:1
13.Show the attendance patterns of teachers and students as a percentage. The student dropout rate is defined by the state. The student drop-off rate is the difference between the number of entering students and the number of exiting students from the same cohort. (From the same cohort, subtract the number of exiting students from the number of entering students; divide that number by the number of entering students; multiply by 100 to get the percentage drop-off rate.) Briefly explain in 100 words or fewer any major discrepancy between the dropout rate and the drop-off rate. Only middle and high schools need to supply dropout rates and only high schools need to supply drop-off rates.
2004-2005 / 2003-2004 / 2002-2003 / 2001-2002 / 2000-2001Daily student attendance / 97% / 97% / 94% / 97% / 98%
Daily teacher attendance / 97% / 92% / 94% / 93% / 95%
Teacher turnover rate / 0% / 0% / 18% / 21% / 6%
Student dropout rate (middle/high) / % / % / % / % / %
Student drop-off rate (high school) / % / % / % / % / %
PART III – SUMMARY
In the movie, A Perfect Storm, elements of nature combined to create a storm as none other. Alexander II Magnet School, in many ways, is the antithesis of a perfect storm. As a three-time winner of Georgia’s School of Excellence Award and most recently receiving state recognition through the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement as a 2005 Silver Award Winner (awarded for greater than 96% of our students meeting or exceeding standards on the state competency tests), our school is a combination of the very best in life. An innovative instructional program addressing diverse needs of all learners, supportive parents who value education, a dedicated professional staff who constantly seek to study and implement research-based best practices, a community that supports our programs through their time and resources, a facility that combines the charm of a rich historic past with the demands of the future and a student population reflective of the whole of society combine to create an atmosphere where excellence is the norm.
As the state’s first magnet school and one of the oldest schools in Georgia in continuous operation, we are proud of our rich history. Built in 1901 in the style of Greek Revival Architecture, our school is in the heart of Macon’s historic district. An article in USA Today, on August 28, 2000, featured our school as a significant school for preservation by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. A community-based effort resulted in a 6.1 million dollar renovation and expansion of Alexander II, expanding it from a building that accommodated less than 300 students to a capacity of up to 600. Currently on the U.S. Department of Interior’s National Register of Historic Places, our school received the 2005 Georgia Preservation Award for Excellence in Rehabilitation.
Alexander II is a school that serves the entire Bibb County area. In a community where desegregation in the 1970’s led to an explosion of private schools and “white flight” from the public school system, Alexander II is a school where black families, white families, international families, those with great economic means and those in poverty apply en masse for the opportunity for their children to learn in a diverse and challenging environment. Annually we have more than 400 applications for approximately 100 openings. This deliberate choice results in a large contingency of parents who value education, maintain high expectations for their children and who support the programs within our school. Most parents and staff alike find that becoming a part of Alexander II is like gaining an extended family. In 2004-2005, our parents donated more than 15 hours per student in “their” school.
While our magnet program stresses a curriculum that is rich in math, science, and technology, we seek to motivate all students to become confident, self-directed lifelong learners in every area. Parents, teachers, administrators and the community share the responsibility of our mission and together set high expectations for students. Constantly seeking the most effective in best practices, our dedicated teachers (with an average of more than 14 years experience per teacher and with 72.5% possessing advanced degrees) focus on providing a hands-on, applicable approach to learning and develop programs that challenge all students regardless of their skill level.
Alexander II is fortunate to have tremendous community support and resources. Across the street from one of our city’s finest parks and adjacent to the campus of Mercer University and a redeveloped historic neighborhood that serves as a national prototype for combining public housing along with single family homes, our location is ideal. We maintain a symbiotic relationship with Mercer University (as well as other local colleges) as we mentor student teachers, serve as guest presenters for student groups, teach night classes, collaborate with professors and share facility resources. Additionally, our school has a partnership with the Medical Center of Central Georgia and benefits from the generosity of local benefactors, such as the Elam Alexander Foundation, who has contributed approximately $75,000 in the past four years alone.
Although our school has changed drastically over the past 104 years, our commitment to excellence has not. We are excited to be able to serve a larger portion of our community and are proud that, as our doors have opened wider, our students continue to excel in a warm, loving environment that has not lost that feeling of family.
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PART IV – INDICATORS OF ACADEMIC SUCCESS
1. Assessment Results
The State of Georgia mandates a curriculum based on adopted state standards which are currently in transition from the Quality Core Curriculum Standards to the Georgia Performance Standards. The state assessment system requires the administration of the Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) in the spring of each year to all students in grades one through eight; however, Georgia administered the CRCT to only fourth and sixth grade students in 2001 and 2003. Overall student success is measured in terms of “Not Meeting Standards,” “Meeting Standards,” or “Exceeding Standards.” In order to meet standards, a student must score from 300 to 349; to exceed standards, a student’s score must be 350 or above. Students scoring below 300 do not meet standards. “Adequate Yearly Progress” (AYP) for Bibb County Schools is determined using attendance rate, percentage of test participation, and CRCT results for students in grades 3-6 in the areas of reading/language arts and mathematics.
Data from the past five years for Alexander II shows a consistent pattern of outstanding overall performance as well as outstanding performance in each identified subgroup. According to our 2005 AYP report, 97% of all students in AYP grades (3-6) met or exceeded standards in the areas of reading/language arts. There was only a 3.4% discrepancy between black and white students in this area with 95.3% of black students meeting/exceeding standards and 98.7% of white students meeting/exceeding standards. This margin was even less between all students and other subgroups with 93.9% of students who are economically disadvantaged meeting/exceeding standards (a difference of 3.1%) and 95.5% of students with disabilities meeting/exceeding standards (a difference of 1.5%). Remarkably, 57.3% of all students actually exceeded the standards in the area of reading/language arts.
In the area of mathematics, 96.2% of all students in AYP grades met or exceeded standards with a discrepancy of 6.2% between black and white students (99.1% of white students met/exceeded standards and 93.5% of black students met/exceeded standards). There was only a 2.8% difference in the total number meeting/exceeding and the number of economically disadvantaged students (93.4%) meeting/exceeding while 100% of students with disabilities met/exceeded standards in this area.
For AYP purposes, the state does not include first and second grade data; however, we are very proud of our progress in these areas. In first grade, 100% of our students met standards in the area of reading in 2002, while 95% met standards in 2004 and 99% in 2005. In both 2001 and 2004 71% of our first grade students exceeded standards in this area. The average number of first grade students who exceeded standards in reading in the state of Georgia was 46%. First grade math scores are comparable with 95% of students meeting/exceeding in 2002, 99% in 2004 and 97% in 2005. At first grade, there was a 10% difference in the number of black students and the number of white students who met or exceeded math standards and a 7% difference between males and females with a success rate for males at 93%. We feel this discrepancy may exist due to the developmental rate of boys at this young age and the high correlation between black students and economically disadvantaged students in our community, who often come with less vocabulary development and limited prior knowledge on which to build.
Ninety-eight percent of second grade students met or exceeded standards in reading as well as English/language arts in both 2004 and 2005. In the area of mathematics, 97% of second graders met/exceeded standards in 2005 with 95% meeting/exceeding in 2002 and 2004. There was only a 1% difference in the number of students meeting and exceeding standards in math among subgroups.
In summary, Alexander II has consistently exhibited the ability to teach students of varying genders, races, and socio-economic levels with little disparity among subgroups. Our success has been particularly noteworthy since our population has grown by almost 50% over the past 4 years. Our efforts are concentrated on continual improvement for all students with a focus on systemically and deliberately increasing the skills and knowledge of each child so that they not only meet standards, but exceed them.
Data for this section was taken from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement and the AYP link at the Georgia Department of Education. The sites are as follows:
2.Using Assessment Results:
Our staff is well trained in disaggregating data and using that data to plan effective instructional activities designed to alleviate gaps in knowledge and prevent disparity of success among subgroups. Prior to beginning a new year with students, each teacher examines the test scores of individuals within the class, identifying common trends as to strengths and weaknesses. Teachers then analyze his or her personal performance based on the test scores of students taught the previous year. Once areas of weakness are identified and prioritized, teachers systemically develop an instructional calendar that ensures all skills are taught to mastery, with special attention placed on skills not yet mastered. Periodically, students are administered benchmark assessments, which are used diagnostically to further identify unmastered skills. Once these skills are identified, teachers revisit the instructional calendar, adding in daily focus mini-lessons which are taught prior to every class. Teachers use frequent mini assessments to check for understanding and use a variety of assessment methods. This constant cycle of “Plan, Do, Check, Act” is a collaborative effort involving teachers, parents, students and administrators.
A five year plan for improvement along with measurable goals in each curriculum area has been developed with yearly action steps to ensure attainment. These goals are in line with the expectations specified through the “No Child Left Behind” legislation. Additionally, we have developed target goals in every area to increase the number of students who not only meet expectations, but exceed expectations. Our goal is to focus on the maximum level of competency, not settle for the minimum level.
The specific needs of students (identified through numerous sources of data) are addressed in many ways. Teachers use a variety of methods to differentiate instruction, and identified students are offered tutoring through our guidance program, classroom teachers and math lab. Student teachers, interns and volunteers work diligently with individuals and small groups, while teachers schedule weekly remediation and enrichment sessions. Our after school enrichment program offers tutoring for attending students and has offered scholarships to struggling students who are unable to pay the after school tuition.