8 Fulton Schools Removed From State's Priority, Focus List

ATLANTA, GA -- Eight Fulton County schools will be removed from the Georgia Department of Education's list of Priority and Focus Schools due to their increased student achievement, the system said Tuesday.

The state uses the Priority and Focus designation to identify schools exhibiting the greatest need for additional support using data from the College and Career Performance Readiness Index. Priority schools are the lowest-performing 5 percent of Title I schools based on three-year achievement data as well as schools with a graduation rate below 60 percent for two consecutive years. Focus schools represent the lowest-performing 10 percent of high poverty schools based on Achievement Gap data.

In Fulton County, eight schools are being removed from the list: Banneker High School, Creekside High School, Hapeville Charter Career Academy and Tri-Cities High School from the Priority Schools list, and Bethune Elementary School, Hamilton E. Holmes Elementary, Hapeville Charter Middle School and Seaborn Lee Elementary School for being removed from the Focus Schools list. Fulton County has the most Priority Schools coming off the list than any other district in Georgia.

“This is extraordinary news," said Superintendent Dr. Jeff Rose. "We have a focused school board, dedicated staff and a supportive community. We put our students first. Although we are pleased with their progress, this is just the beginning. We know these schools will continue to achieve at even greater levels.”

To be removed, each of the schools had to exhibit increased scores in the 3-year average of Achievement Gap score on the CCRPI. Priority Schools had to increase their Content Mastery Category Performance by 5 percentage points or have graduation rates at or above 60 percent. Focus Schools had to increase their Achievement Gap points by 2.5 points or exceed the state level 3-year average of Achievement Gap Points.

In future years, as Georgia transitions to the Every Student Succeeds Act, the Georgia Department of Education will no longer identify Priority and Focus schools. Instead, it will identify and support Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) and Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) schools.

Schools on the GDOE’s Priority or Focus Schools list should not be confused with those identified by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement for its Turnaround Eligible Schools list, as the list uses different criteria and time periods for measurement.

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