2008-2009 Review
Every year I write a summary of how Morgan County Schools did that year. As we taste our first cool mornings and SAT numbers finally roll in, it’s time again to evaluate where we stand.
Student population has been growing slowly at about 45 new students per year over the last nine years, from 2930 to 3336 students. Because of the slow growth, the new elementary school in Rutledge has been postponed until at least 2012 in order to conserve tax payer money.
The Primary, Elementary, and Middle School did better on the state-wide CRCT test than ever before. Like last year, they beat the state in every single category. Even more exciting, they raised their “exceeds standards” in nearly every category, and improved their scores in 26 out of 40 categories.
The Primary School scored above 91% in every category.
The Elementary School was the best in the entire region! They scored above 90% in every category (except for three categories where they scored 87%).
The Middle School continues to make the greatest gains, scoring above 92% in Math and English, though lower in Science and Social Studies.
As to the High School, they were named 545th out of the 1500 top best schools in
MCHS continues to sport massive Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs. 37% of MCHS seniors took at least one college-level course, and an amazing 21% got college credit - which was better than GA (16%) and the nation (15%). Believe it or not,
The number of students who earned college-level credit on AP tests increased seven times! 22% of the students at MCHS who took an AP test got college credit. 20% of their sophomores - even freshman - are taking AP classes, and 20% of them got college credit. Many juniors already have 3 college courses under their belt!
MCHS had a 60% college credit pass rate in IB. Combined with their AP scores, 30% of their students who took a college-level test got college credit.
The graduation rate was higher than it’s ever been at 87%, which is better than the state (78%) and the nation (70%). MCHS also had the highest percentage ever (82%) of graduates who either went to college or the military. And I’m especially proud of the voluntary random drug testing that tested 20% of the student population and found that 97.3% of them were clean. Discipline hearings were down by 20%, disrespect to teachers was halved, and we had zero weapon violations.
On the other hand, MCHS lost 25 points on the SAT. In 2003 and 2005, we were above both the GA and national average. We are now 102 points lower than GA, and 151 points lower than the nation. If you rank local counties top to bottom on the SAT they are Oconee, Walton, Jasper,
MCHS also failed to make AYP for the first time. To be fair, while 79% of GA schools made AYP, most GA high schools had difficulty, as state-wide success rate was only 47%.
On the fiscal front, I continue to be impressed. 75% of our kids eat school lunch and 46% are on free or reduced meals – in a program that literally pays for itself. The 2010 budget of $27.8 million is $1.6 million less than last year and $0.5 million less than the year before. Because all the schools did a fantastic job reigning in spending throughout the year, the BOE was able to set the millage rate at the rollback rate for the 4th year in a row. That means that taken as a whole, the BOE has not raised your taxes in four years.
Overall, I firmly believe we have one of the best school systems in the state. The Primary, Elementary, and Middle Schools continue to do everything we ask them to, nurturing your children while maintaining rigorous standards. MCHS does most things very well, including a graduation rate and advanced curricula that are well above what would be expected of much wealthier counties.
Having said that, I fully maintain that if your child wants rigorous, healthy, college-prep experience, they need look no further than the IB and AP courses at MCHS. All children are different, of course. And I totally respect the different choices that families sometimes make. But I do not believe you will find a better education at a private school, just a more expensive one.
Students who seek excellence at
Life got harder.
I’m not sure when it happened – probably around the time I was flying helicopters over the Pyramids on the Nile or airplanes into
Globalization is a funny word. It summons many different connotations – both good and bad. Whether or not you’re a fan of Globalization, however, one thing is abundantly clear: our children will have to be much smarter than you and I. India and
Well, that was a pretty “pie-in-the-sky” sort of statement – and it wasn’t even very clever. Turn on your television to any business program and they’ll tell you the same. But what does that really mean to you?
It means that the days of cruising through High School and getting a good, stable job are over. It means that your children will have to compete for things you and I took for granted.
Now please don’t paint me as an Isolationist. I’m not saying
What I am saying is that your children MUST compete – they’ll have to fight for the same financial and economic security that you and I enjoy.
And for those who have made their fortune and will soon be retiring – please remember that these are the same workers who’ll be fueling our economy, funding your social security, and keeping the stock markets alive and vibrant. Those who think they needn’t worry about a well-educated work force need to think again.
Which leads me to my salient point. Believe it or not, your children – from the wee little ones in the Primary School to those oh, so unflappable teens – are scoring better than they’ve ever had before. The reason they’ve done so - in my opinion - is because
Now, rigor isn’t a funny word. It reminds me of sweat and toil, and that Marine Corps Gunny Sergeant who, in less than flowering terms, informed me what a maggot I was for not climbing up that wall as fast as he wanted. Rigor means more difficult, more engaged. It means harder.
All our schools have increased their rigor – and they’re all showing positive results. But perhaps the most visible change has been at the High School with their new IB (International Baccalaureate) program.
Believe it or not, one third of the students at MCHS are taking college-level courses. That is an amazing feat, and something we should be very proud of.
But college-level means more work – it means more rigor – it means harder.
Harder is not a beloved word in today’s lexicon. With today’s cornucopia of cool technology - GPS direction finders, ipods, cell phones, satellite radio and the internet - it’s obvious we desperately want things to be easier - not harder.
But harder is a vital necessity in the education of today’s teens – at least if they want to prosper in a world of Globalization.
That’s why I like the philosophy of our IB teachers. They talk of challenging students with ever increasing difficulty - all while offering a “scaffolding” or “bridge” of support. In other words, the teachers are personally invested in every teen. If a teen starts to slip under the weight of the more rigorous work, the teacher can “catch” him with the underlying support that only a local high school can provide.
This “scaffolding of support” will not be present at college. Anyone who has been to the halls of higher learning knows that no one is going to hold your hand – no one cares whether you graduate or not. In fact, nation-wide, only one fourth of students who start college ever graduate from anywhere! That is a sobering and daunting fact.
That’s why I’m so supportive of the AP and IB programs we have at MCHS: because they allow our teens to challenge themselves in an environment where teachers are there to actually support them.
But there’s not much point offering college-level courses to students who will only do high school level work. Our school system has done an amazing job offering high-level courses that you and I could have only dreamed about when we were teens. But teachers can’t make kids study – they can’t make them work hard. That is a job for us parents, and of course, for the students themselves.
Parents – do your kids a favor and convince them study. Encourage them to “raise the bar” on their own expectations - and work even harder to achieve them.