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Vol. 126 Issue No. 26 ?b0 Peach County's « Newspaper July 27,2011
Legal Organ For Peach County, City of Fort Valley and City Of Byron
OT201I
Schools Foil Further
Behind As
State Raises Bar
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
Peach County schools lost ground
on Adequate Yearly Progress in 2011,
with Byron Middle School the only
school making AYP. Three of six
schools made AYP in 2010. The
Peach County School District has
made AYP only once since AYP begin
in the 2003-2004 school year.
Peach County High School suffered
steep declines in the Georgia High
School Graduation Test. The meets/
exceeds total for the math test fell 6.6
points, from 72.1 in 2010 to 64.5%
in 2011. The drop was steeper for
the English/Language Arts GHSGT: a
9.9-point drop from 89.8 to 79.9. The
graduation rate improved 79.4% in
2010 to 82.7% in 2011. but the mini¬
mum rate set by the state rose from
80% to 85%. The school is in Needs
Improvement status for the fourth
year, according to the Georgia
Department of Education AYP
report.
Adequate Yearly Progress is the
most prominent part of the federal
No Child Left Behind Act. The law
requires public schools in every state
to make year-to-year improvements
in math and English/language arts,
as well as high school graduation
rate. In Georgia, elementary and
middle schools take the Criterion
Referenced Competency Test, while
high schools take the Georgia High
School Graduation Test, which stu¬
dents first take in their junior year.
Both tests assess how well students
have learned material in the Georgia
Performance Standards, which man¬
date what should be in school cur¬
ricula.
For math, the 2011 minimum
meets/exceeds total was 75.7% for the
math CRCT and 80.0% for English/
Language Arts. That is up from
67.6% for math and 73.3% for ELA.
The state sets the minimums with
approval from the federal govern¬
ment.
System-wide, the percentage of ele¬
mentary and middle school students
meeting or exceeding expectations on
the CRCT math test was exactly the
same in 2011 as in 2010: 66.4%. That
put the system even further behind
Continued to page 3 _
Peach County Schools
2011 vs. 2010 AYP Report
Below are system-wide scores for the Peach County Schools for 2011 and 2010. ELA stands for English/
Language Arts. AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) is a cornerstone of the federal No Child Left Behind Act,
which requires school systems to meet minimum test scores for math and English/Language Arts and High
School Graduation rate. Each school must make AY&in all categories for all groups to make AYP as a
school. All groups of students with at least 40 members count tow ard AYP. All schools in a system must
make AYP for the system to make AYP. Students are graded according to whether they don’t meet
expectations for their grade level, meet expectations, or exceed them.
Final 2011 AYP results could change pending summer retests, summer graduates and appeals.
2011 Doesn't
Moot
t - -
2011 M—ts
2011 Exceeds
! 2011 Moots
-t-Exceeds
2011 M+E
Minimum
2011 AYP?
2010 Doesn't
Moot
2010 Meets_
2010 Exceeds I
2010 Meets
+Exeeedt
2010 M+E
2010 AYP?
Source: Georgia Dept, of Education: HYPERUNK ■http://www.doo.k12.go.us/*
Chart prepared by Victor Kulkosky, Nows Editor
O l, I Pens h >/// * N 1 It A/
Bank
Robber in County Jail
Mother Also Facing Charges
— ■— —
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David Lanier; Regional President for BB&T Bank, reads a plaque just before presenting
it to Byron Police Chief Wesley Cannon last week. BB&T staff and officials thanked BPD
investigators for their quick response and identification of the accused, Christopher Joel
Taylor. To l-r: La nier's imm ediate teller; right is Larry Threatt, Wilder, Fraud Corporate Coordinator; Investigator and for BB&T, Afcfi
pictured, DorHtrdson, Beaty Branch MtthagWt
Anita Harvey. Photo by Victor Kulkosky
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
The man accused of robbing the
BB&T Bank in Byron is now in the
Peach County Jail.
Byron Police Chief Wesley Cannon
said Christopher Joel Taylor was extra
dited to Peach County last Wednesday.
Peach County AYP at a Glance
Made AYP: Byron Middle
Did Not Make AYP: Byron Elementary. Hunt Elementary, Kay Road
Elementary, Fort Valley Middle, Peach County High
Needs Improvement Year I: Kay Road Elementary: musi offer either
tutoring or Public School Choice and inform parents as to which option is
offered
Needs Improvement Year 4: Peach County High; must offer tutoring and
Public School Choice. In Corrective Action.
Dept, of Education
CRCT Moth %
33.6
50.4
16.0
66.4
75.7
N
33.6
15.0
66.4
67.6
N
CRCT ELA %
15.0
63.4
21.6
85.6
80.0
Y
11.6
68.8
21.6
88.4
73.3
Y
GHSGT Moth %
35.5
37.0
27.5
64.5
76.0
N
27.9
26.5
45.6
74.9
N
Taylor, a Warner Robins resident, was
arrested in Nashville, Tenn. earlier
this month by U.S. Marshals.
Cannon said police hope to get an
indictment on Taylor for Robbery and
Criminal Attempt to Commit Robbery
when the Peach County Grand Jury
meets in August,
Cannon also said police are seeking
GHSGT ELA %
20.1
41.3
38.6
79.9
90.8
N
10.2
39.5
502
89.8
87.7
Y
Grad Rot* %
N/A
N / A
N/A
82.7
85.0
N
N/A
N/A
N/A
79.4
80.0
N
to arrest Glenda Taylor, the accused
robber’s mother, for obstructing law
enforcement in pursuit of a fugitive.
Cannon Spoke after BB&T officials
presented him with a plaque and served
desert and coffee to several Byron
Police detectives who helped solve the
case. BB&T Regional President
Continued to page .?_
Black Officials
Express
Doubts About
Redistricting
State Rep. David Lucas criticizes
the reapportionment and
redistricting process at a forum
on the FV51/ campus. Photo by
Victor Kulkosky
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
__ _
“Nothing’s been fair about this pro¬
cess."
That unqualified declaration from
State Representative David Lucas
could sum up the opinions of sev¬
eral Democratic legislators who spoke
at a forum on reapportionment and
redistneting held at Fort Valley State
University last Thursday. The panel of
state representatives and a state senat
Condnued to page 3 _
Commissioners
Soled
Revised
Voting Map
Publit Hearing
Set hr Aug. 2
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
Post 2 Commissioner Walter Smith
had his idea of a good revised Peach
County voting map, but it didn’t fly
with other commissioners at the July
12 regular commissioners meeting.
A revised map of voting districts in
the county is required by law following
the 2010 Census. State legislators in
Georgia are drawing revised districts
for Congress and the state House and
Senate, it falls on county commission¬
ers to redraw the maps within counties.
County voting districts apply to both
the Board of Commissioners and the
Board of Education. There are four
districts that cover parts of the county,
while the fifth district comprises the
entire county.
Smith offered Proposal 3 out of
three at the meeting. He said it would
expand his district out of Fort Valley
and allow him to gain some constitu¬
ents along Highway 96. Proposal 3
would also be "perfect" for Board of
Educati on dis tricts, Smith said.
“Smith* s*1tRi( ion to accept Proposal 3
failed for lack of a second.
Post 4 Commissioner Martin
Moseley then said Chairman Melvin
Walker, himself and the school board
chairman and vice chairman came up
with a different proposal - Proposal I
- that would be “less distorting."
"I applaud Walter for bringing this
one out,” Moseley said.
“It's not so much for me,” Smith
said. “I felt like I had a voice to speak
up. Instead of my constituents bottling
me up and that’s all you get - when
I see something is wrong. I’m gonna
fight it."
Post 1 Commissioner Roy Lewis
said Proposal 1 was balanced both
racially and by population.
“It’s easier to see where they are,"
he said.
Michael Dinkins seconded lewis’s
motion to approve Proposal I.
“People should get a map," Smith
said. "Everybody likes chaos. There’s
no voice of reason.”
The vote in favor of Proposal I was
4-1. with Smith opposed.
A joint public hearing of commis¬
sioners and the Peach County Board of
Education is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
on Tuesday, August 2 at the hearing
room at the Commissioners’ offices
at 213 Persons Street (next to the 911
Center) in Fort Valley.
Citizens can go on to review the
proposed map at http://www.middle
georgiarc.org/peach I .php.
Printed copies are available at the
Peach County Board of Commissioners,
213 Persons Street in Fort Valley, (478)
825-2535; and the Peach County Board
of Education. 523 Vineville Ave., Fort
Valley. (478) 825-5933.