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ACC Government Turns To Citizens For Ideas In Poverty Fight
by David Agee  This map shows poverty levels throughout Clarke County. The darker the red, the higher the percentage of impoverished inhabitants. graphic courtesy of UGA's Fanning Institute On March 27, concerned citizens and community leaders filled the Cedar Shoals High School auditorium to learn about what they could do to help diminish the 28 percent poverty rate in Athens-Clarke County. The turnout was larger than expected, as crowd of nearly 800 people listened to startling statistics that ranked ACC as one of the poorest counties in the nation. Matt Bishop, the Associate Director of the University of Georgia's Initiative on Poverty and the Economy, said "We have extreme poverty in Athens-Clarke County," and he read a barrage of statistics that painted a grim picture of ACC. But as the citizens of the county looked on in hopes of helping the Partners for a Prosperous Athens form long-term solutions for the future of ACC, the great irony of the evening was that they were sitting in the auditorium of a school that continues the cycle of poverty with low graduation rates. From 2004 to 2005, the graduation rate for ACC was 60.5 percent. For the entire state of Georgia, the graduation rate is nearly 9 percent higher. The gap between the rest of the state and ACC widens when the number of students who graduate on time is considered. From statistics gathered by the Kids Count network, only 50.3 percent of high school students in the county graduate on time, while 65.4 percent graduate on time statewide. The Kids Count network also reported that nearly 10 percent of high school students in ACC drop out entirely. At the Partners for a Prosperous Athens meeting, Dr. Maxine Easom, the principal of Clarke Central High School said, "State law and School Board rulings have impaired graduation rates." She also said that it is unfair that Georgia's students have to take five graduation tests while other states are only required to take two. Currently, students throughout the state of Georgia are required to pass graduation tests in science, math, social studies, language arts, and writing in order to receive their diploma. The Fanning Institute published the rankings of ACC students for those graduation tests. In those rankings, the county's students rank 83rd in science, 85th in social studies, 95th in math, 96th in writing, and 113th in language arts. However, those rankings have since been removed from the Profile of Athens link on their website. The statistics were replaced with a copy of the handout that those in attendance at the March 27 meeting received. Georgia's students are not alone in the amount of testing they undergo. The Southern Regional Education Board reports that Alabama, Texas, and Louisiana also require comprehensive tests in subject areas other than math and language arts in order to graduate. Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia require that students pass end of course subject tests rather than single comprehensive exams. Citizens and Educators at the meeting agreed that the testing culture that has been implemented in school systems across the country greatly diminishes what children are taught and how much they actually learn. But the passage of the No Child Left Behind act in 2002 requires that students show progress through a testing system in order to meet Academic Yearly Progress goals. Both Cedar Shoals High School and Clarke Central High School failed to meet their AYP standards for 2005. While trying to help more students pass the graduation tests is a positive objective, many people believe that the focus of where student achievement is actually molded needs to be changed. Whitnie Thompson from the Greenwood Foundation said improving graduation rates can be done, and inspiring students while they are in elementary and middle school can help achieve that goal. Of the 13 elementary schools in ACC, only Fourth Street Elementary failed to meet their AYP goals. However, Chase Street, Whit Davis, Winterville, and Whitehead Road had lower than expected performance. The subcommittee focusing on education within Partners for a Prosperous Athens hopes to influence long term plans to deal with less than desirable performance in ACC's schools. The next meeting is set for April 24 at Cedar Shoals High School. Comments [post a comment]Comments are closed |
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Wednesday, February 08, 2012
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