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Study: Pre-K program
shows positive results
Eight Out of 10 second
graders involved in an ongoing
study of Georgia’s Pre-kinder
garten Program were considered
by their teachers to be ready for
promotion to the next grade
level at the end of the 1999-2000
academic year, according to a
new state-funded research
report.
“Eighty-two percent of the
children we followed were ready
for promotion, and more than
half 52 percent were
judged to be ‘extraordinarily
good’ to ‘good’ in their prepara
tion for third grade,” said Gary
Henry, director of Georgia State
University’s Applied Research
Center.
The center just completed the
fourth year of a 12-year study of
the state’s Pre-Kindergarten
Program.
During their second-grade
year, student scores increased
most in math, science and lan
guage arts, the latest data shows.
The least change occurred in
social behaviors overall, but the
children’s attitudes toward learn
ing and independence increased
significantly during the year,
Henry said.
“Very small differences in 4-
year-olds have become large dif
ferences four years later,” Henry
added.
“By the end of the year, fami
ly income emerged as a signifi
cant factor in explaining differ
ences in performance, with stu
dents from families with lower
incomes performing significant-
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During their sec
ond-grade year,
student scores
increased most in
math, science and
language arts.
99
ly lower on academic and social
skill measures.”
Students assigned to remedial
work, known as Special Instruc
tional Assistance, fell even far
ther behind their peers, indicat
ing that those services were not
effective in reducing the acade
mic gap between students.
As part of a set of education
al reforms approved by the
General Assembly last year, SIA
was replaced with a program
designed to reduce class sizes
for students whose academic
performance is lacking.
The study also showed:
• Older students significantly
outperformed students who
turned age 4 the summer just
before beginning Pre-K.
Students who were barely four
when entering the program
scored about 10 percent behind
their peers in math, for example.
Data suggests that policy
leaders may want to consider
allowing parents of children who
have birthdays in June or later to
delay enrolling their kids in Pre-
K perhaps saving the state
money in the long run by avoid-
Brandy
Johnson
earns top
honors
Forsyth County’s
Brandy Johnson has
been announced as
the recipient of the
Dewey Henderson
Memorial Youth
Sportsmanship
Award at the Pro-Am
Benefit Horse Show
Classic in Atlanta.
She is a sophomore
at Forsyth Central
High School and a
member of the Lady
Bulldog Varsity bas
ketball, volleyball and
track teams.
Photo/Submitted
ing repeated grades and special
education, Henry said.
• Children who attended Pre-
K in classes with more disrup
tive students fared worse
through the second grade, espe
cially with regard to classroom
behavior.
• Teachers who used “child
centered” methods of instruction
outperformed others during Pre-
K and kindergarten and contin
ued to be more effective in
classes, with a higher number of
disadvantaged students through
the fourth year of the study.
• Just more than two-thirds of
parents involved in the study
69 percent gave their chil
dren’s schools and teachers an
“A” for performance.
For the fourth year of the
Georgia State study, which com
bines surveys of teachers and
parents, researchers followed
3,639 children into second-grade
classes.
Funded by the state Office of
School Readiness, the longitudi
nal study follows a sample of
children from Pre-K through the
12th grade to analyze the effects
of Georgia’s lottery-funded pro
gram for 4-year-olds on future
educational success. Georgia’s
Pre-K program, established in
1993, serves about 62,500 chil
dren in the state.
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The North Forsyth High Schobl drama department will present “Annie” in performances May
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6637, Ext. 355.
STUDENTS from 9A
Jackie Alexander
... of Cumming has been
named to Brenau University’s
honor roll. She is the daughter of
Susan Alexander. To be named to
the honor roll, a student must have
an overall average of 90 or higher.
Jessica Leigh Barker
... of Cumming has been
inducted into the National Alpha
Lambda Delta Honor Society for
First Year Students at Brenau
University. Membership is
reserved for students who finish in
the top 20 percent of their class
academically.
The Georgia Association of
Educators
... has honored Forsyth County
teacher Karen Weinmann for hav
ing receiving become a 2000
National Board Certified Teacher.
Weinmann earned the designation
for middle childhood/generalist.
Ashley Peel
... of Cumming has been
named to the president’s list at the
Art Institute of Atlanta for earning
a perfect 4.0 grade point average
in her studies in the graphic
design bachelor of arts program.
Cumming’s Stephanie L.
Pruitt
... has been named to the
dean’s list at Reinhardt College at
the campus in north Fulton
County. She has a 4.0 grade point
average.
Gainesville College
... has announced that James J.
Bryan Family Dentistry, P.C.
Lucian Bryan, DMD Rebecca Bryan, DMD
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, April 28,2001
Lorence has been selected to serve
as its first Eminent Scholar of
History Chair. Lorence was select
ed from candidates from through
out the United States. He current
ly is a professor of history at the
University of Wisconsin Center-
Marathon County in Wausau. He
will assume his post at Gainesville
College this fall.
Two graduates of Forsyth
Central High School
... have been inducted into the
Lambda Alpha chapter of Phi
Theta Kappa at Young Harris
College. Tracy Lorraine Coombs
in the daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Wyatt Wade Coombs of
Cumming. She is a sophomore.
Leslie Nicole Tubandt is the
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Richard
Tubandt of Cumming. She is a
freshman.
Chelsea Erin Dixon
...is scheduled to graduate
from the State University of West
Georgia with a bachelor of sci
ence degree in chemistry. She is
the daughter of Scott and Cindy
Dixon and granddaughter of
OPMIi
optimum performance machines
i Serving Forsyth County
for seven years
Thomas K. White, all of
Cumming. Chelsea is a 1996
graduate of South Forsyth High
School.
The Foreign Language
Association of Georgia
... has announced that Dr. Beth
B. Reynolds of the Forsyth
County school system has
received the 2001 FLAG Award
for Administrative Support.
Reynolds is the foreign language
coordinator for the school system.
She was honored for her extra
ordinary accomplishments in
implementing the K-12 acquisi
tion model targeted toward profi
ciency.
FLAG officials noted that,
thanks to Reynolds’ initiative, ele
mentary and high school students,
and selected middle school stu
dents, now enjoy foreign language
classes on a daily basis.
Over the past three years, die
number of certified teachers has
risen from 21 to 64 in the state.
During a special FLAG recep
tion and honors program,
Reynolds was presented with a
plaque honoring her achievement.
PAGE 11A