Yearly progress numbers dip

Inasmuch as neither Dana Bedden nor Charlie Nagle is a magician, reasonable citizens should not expect instantaneous improvements in student learning in the initial year of his superintendency. What reasonable people should expect from the leadership of each of these highly competent and committed educational professionals are significant and substantial upward trendings of student scores on CRCT, ITBS, EOCT, GHSGT, AP and SAT testings in his school system over the next several years.

Great job bedden, keep smiling, holding out your hand for more money and keep working on "rightsizing".. Ever thought of buckleing down and attacking the problem head on instead of giving it lip service and asking for more money. Are you and barack hussien brothers?

Firefighthamer, did you happen to notice that some of the RC schools did make AYP this year that had previously not done so? They did, but they have to make the cut two consecutive years to be taken off of the "needs improvement" list.

CraigSpinks, you noticed you said " Reasonable citizens" then this IDIOT posted after you. You would think that this mental midget would get tired of be so negative, or at the very least changing names. You is the poster child for someone that was left behind.

redapple, that was not me, note the name please.

The date and time changes, that is fact, but somethings never change...Like when my family and I moved from the north to settle in this area many many years ago the educational programs taught here were far behind those taught up north...The dumbing down of an area in order to seek some sort of level playing field is ridiculous and shameful...Children have a great potential for learning as long as teachers, parents(real parents) decide to put their children's well being ahead of their own agendas.

A sane person that cares about his community would go crazy just reading this article. Standards are so low at the schools. The apparent expectations are pitiful. 50% need to pass math and 88% English. This is America. English is our language. Math is math and is a simple relative puzzle which, when explained properly, is simple to grasp, especially at an early age. What's up with the low expectations? And attendance is a deciding factor, and race? and defined poverty and disabilities? Diversity and political correctness count as much as the readin', writin' and 'rithmatic? Of course the schools preform poorly with those parameters and low expectations. I hope Dr Bedden is up to the task of returning individual responsibility to the school system.

Patriciathomas I agree. I have noticed the standards are low anyway and we are working on lowering them as Cathy Cox said a few weeks ago. No wonder Georgia is at the battom when it comes to education. I moved here from germany. Both of my kids were in Dodds schools and I had the impression that they will be behind back in the states. What a dissapointement that was... My kids were so far ahead compare to dodds that I could knock my head on the wall for bringing them in richmond county.

It's been a long painful road with lots of effort by students, teachers, parents and society in general. But I don't think we have reached rock bottom yet. The first change must come from parents. They must learn to expect more from their kids. Discipline and common sense have to make a come back with young parents. Everyday is not Christmas. Stop showering your kids with everything they want and teach them to earn it or at least to be deserving of it. Students them have to feel self worth and pride in themselves and their community. Then teachers can do their jobs effectively. If in our desperate attempt to fill the class rooms with instructors and aides we find we have hired unqualified folks, make the necessary changes quickly. Look at the aides. If their kids aren't doing well socially and academically, they're not the one we want training our kids. Empower our teachers to handle unruly kids by removing them from the classroom. Establish a code of justice and layout the punishment for not obeying these rules. Have the parents sign agreeing with these acts and dispel any possible law suits when things are handled as agreed. Let schools be learning institutions again.

A few weeks ago people were upset about Social Studies scores but I can't see where SS scores count into the yearly progress process. Only Language Arts and Math scores count?

Wonder how the suckers are bitin today?

Justus: I agree. I believe the reason northern children coming south find the work so easy, is because here you have to know someone in order to get a good job. Parents know this and teach it to the kids that education is pointless, whereas up north, a person can get a job based on qualifications. Parents therefore teach their kids to excel in academics because it will have real value. My own children are examples of this fact. BTW: Dr. Frazier deserves a medal for his ongoing work in turning around Tubman. Find more wonderful people like him.

Both counties are very lucky that the State Department of Education changed the standards for AYP for math after the test results were released. The standards was suppose to be raised to about 66%, however since so many schools did poorly in math this year, the state decided to lower the bar to 59.5% so the list of schools not making AYP wouldn't be so many. What is going to happen when the percentage starts breaking 70% and eventually makes its way up to 100% by 2013?

We have spent countless years reforming education, but honestly it hasn't been reform. School choice has been the answer for many, whether it is public, private, charter or home school choice. The fact remains that school reform has only meant public schools. I have an interesting proposal. Why not reform public schools using the same models that private and some charter schools use. Let's selectively determine what students are able to attend schools based on criteria established by the SCHOOLS! Let's copy the magnet school concept and let it apply to all public schools, utilizing the same admission criteria. Or better yet, let's use the same standards that other countries use that are considered our competitors. Let's lengthen the school day from seven hours here to nine hours like it is in India. Let's lengthen the school year from 180 days to 220 days, similar to what it is in China and Japan. Let's change foreign language to be taught in the elementary schools, like it is done in many states in the New England region. Why can't we do these things? Because in Georgia and other states, we based educational decisions on what is best for adults, not children. This is not just RC!

l4PUTT, I think you said it best.

We've spent countless dollars over the past 45 years bringing change and hope to our schools. Let's go back to bringing improvement instead. Education needs a foundation of accountability, responsibility, positive effort and concentration on the 3 R's. The social engineering has dumbed down our population to the point where success depends on a government hand out.

PT, you can always lower the standards again in an effort to benefit one segment of the population while dumbing down the rest!

Am I the only one who thinks that the comments made by the associate superintendent of Columbia County schools as extremely racist? Why does she have to place the blame on the black students for these schools not making AYP? It is totally unecessary for her to have done that. When they were making AYP she didn't say that the small precentage of black students caused them to make AYP so why does she feel the need to state that they are the reason that the school did not make it. All black students and parents need to protest and demand an apology from this racist!! I am a teacher in a Richmond County school and the white students who are the minority did worse than the black students on the test but you don't see Dr. Bedden blasting that on the front page of the paper. She should be let go from her position because she obviously is a racist and the black students in her county won't ever be treated fairly. I don't live or teach in Columbia County but I am outraged. The Augusta Chronicle needs to also apologize for printing such racist comments. If my principal or Dr. Bedden were to say that white students caused my school to miss AYP, they both would be fired on the spot!!!

Does anyone here have an idea how to return to that foundation of reform PT speaks of when society has not shown the willingness to support it? How can we make parents realize that wanting their children to be hard working and respectful should be more important than wanting them to be happy? What should public schools do differently when they are the only educational institutions under such scrutinity? How many of you here are willing to lobby your elected officials to give public school districts the same autonomy private schools have? Or are we going to promote real reform by promoting the same standards to all educational institutions? Let's be real, there are many private schools that fail to education their students, but AYP does not apply to them. Therefore, it is not public knowledge. When those private schools fail the students they are PAID to educate, where to they end up? That's right....in public schools!!!

I'm not shocked Laney is still on it since Dr. Welcher is still there, everybody's screaming he's good for Laney, yes for keeping order ONLY. Laney has been on this list 5 years (every year he's been there). I ask Dr. Bedden here online months ago this questions: Principals who's schools have been on AYP for 3 years or more, why are they still principals?

Chill daninicole. Dr. Williams was just stating the results of the test; the sub group of black students caused North Harlem Elementary and Evans High schools to fall short. At Harlem High, the sub groupings of economically disadvantaged students (read black and latino) and the overall student population did not make AYP. The school system as a whole also did not make adequately yearly progress among black students and those with disabilities. The outcry should be that Columbia County is doing a poor job of educating its poor and black citizens, and those that have special needs. Don't shoot the messenger, ask her what is going to be done about educating these children?

Dani, when you have azzes like the punk that posted at 12:01pm, she feel bold enough to make a statement like that. She could have said that a lot of the students did not meet the requirements.

I thought that they are students plain and simple. You might as well broke it down by hair color, weight or income. TELLTHE, why did'nt Richmond County feel the need to report it that way.

Daninicole, you are right, the Columbia Co. Associate Superintendent was awful for saying it as if the students failed the school. We live in an age when teachers need to step up to the plate in all public schools especially low performing schools

why must political correctness be used when expediency and accuracy of reporting gives the most information with the least spin? no one's feelings should be hurt over dr. williams reporting the data; if dr. bedden's statistics indicate white failures are THE reason (emphasis added) that a school failed, then he would be remiss in not noting that fact. dr. williams stated that the single reason for failures at two schools were the minority subgroup BLACK students failing the mathematics portion of the test. how is this racist? should she have been politically correct and said "african american students?" the test results are given with each subgroup's results clearly identified; why is it wrong to accurately give information that provides the most clear, objective reason for a school not making AYP? get a grip, dani - you're making this a racial issue when the information is (pardon the expression) black & white.

I was sadden to see the statement by Dr. Williams blaming black students for the low test scores. The last I checked, educators are to educate. If their is a weakness in the system then it needs to be addressed. There needs to be a plan implimented to address the weakness. Instead of blaming there should be action taken to strenthen areas that are not meeting the standard. One writer commented that this is racial, well, really the issue is what is the suggested solution (if any). Why not, "this is what we plan to do to correct this outcome". I guess I am looking for the educators teaming with the parents to have a game plan. This is where we are, but this is where w need to be , and this will be our plan of action. The comment came off as , "if it were not for the black students scores we would really be better off", and that is a divisive attitude. It comes off as if one group is the "problem", and those who are professionals expected to educate, must be careful not to do that. You see if I am drowning don't just tell me how I should have taken swimming lessons, help me to get out of this drowning perdicament, chances are I may already be well aware that I am drowning,send help!!

Intheknow, my guess is that Richmond County did not see a need to offer why specific schools failed when an alarming 50% of our schools (I live in R.C.) were in that category. Dr. Williams offered to us the reasons why those Columbia County schools failed to meet AYP. It is the disaggregated subgroups with 40 or more pupils, such as race, poverty and students with disabilities. The intent is to see that schools are educating ALL students. A school can meet all other measures but miss just one subgroup and not make AYP.

dr. williams is NOT an educator; truth be told, she should have taken the hint when she was passed over for promotion in favor of sandra carraway last year and just left columbia county - she is not well liked nor highly thought-of. black students were NOT blamed for low test scores, roscoe; instead, a school's failure to meet AYP due to one subgroup was reported. this was done in the past when students with special needs were the subgroup whose failure on the test caused a school to not meet AYP. if you are interpreting the reporting of a quantifiable fact as calling a particular group a "problem," may i suggest that YOU are the one with a bias, not the person who reports the information. again, let me state that i am not in any way defending dr. williams: if this causes enough of a firestorm to require her resignation, then i say "good riddance to bad rubbish."

By your typing intheknow, we can tell you are a member of the minority being discused! If blacks are bring down the scores that should be so stated!