News Release
Griffin-Spalding County School System 
Contact: Anna Burns 770-229-3710 ext. 341

For immediate release November 16, 2011

District Accreditation recommended for Griffin-Spalding County School System

After three days of interviewing 324 individuals, listening to numerous presentations, and examining  boxes of artifacts, the AdvancED (SACS-CASI) Quality Assurance Review team recommended re-accreditation for the Griffin-Spalding County School System.

Dr. Michael Lodico, the lead evaluator of the eight-person Quality Assurance Review Team, commended the school system at a called board of education meeting Wednesday afternoon

• “for developing a continuous improvement process that is showing significant increases in student performance;
• aligning leadership and communications protocol internally and externally to support the district’s initiatives;
• demonstrating commitment to the success of each student; and
• supporting instruction through the systemic use of a variety of data analysis tools.”

On behalf of the review team, Dr. Lodico also challenged the school system through these “required actions:

• Align and connect curriculum, student support services, and assessment systems from pre-K through high school.
• Research systemic frameworks for developing human capital to ensure the capacity of each staff member  to engage each student and
• Fully engage the community in addressing budgetary challenges.”

The AdvancEd review team visit was part of the district accreditation process, which is “an international protocol for school districts committed to systemic, systematic, and sustainable improvement,” according to the oral exit report of the review team.

Dr. Curtis Jones, Superintendent, said, “I am extremely proud of the work of the review team. In three days they gave our school system an extensive look in all facets of schooling. We can take pride in the commendations the review team gave. What is more, their assessment validates the hard work of the schools, teachers, and students. We are a good school system on the journey to becoming great!”

 In 2006 when last reviewed by SACS CASI, an accreditation division of AdvancED, the school system was one of the first 57 in the United States to receive district accreditation and one of the first 100 in the United States to be accredited with quality.

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SACS Preparation Documents

Community meeting to be held

The public is invited to attend a community meeting on Thursday, October 27, 2011 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the Griffin High School cafeteria.

This meeting will familiarize participants with

• the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI) accreditation process,
• how accreditation ensures a quality education for our students and
• the standards the school system must meet to retain district accreditation.

The school system will be visited by the SACS CASI accreditation team November 2011. Community involvement is a vital component of the visit.

For more information please contact Stacy Wilson at stacy.wilson@gscs.org.

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Fast Facts about the Griffin-Spalding County School System

• Our vision: “We will be a leader in the State in student achievement
• Our mission: “to prepare each student for tomorrow by providing a quality standards-based education today”

There are five areas in the Strategic Plan

• Increase student achievement
• Increase student and stakeholder engagement
• Increase teacher effectiveness
• Be a reliable organizations
• Increase learning and growth

School system strategic plan and performance measures in eBoard

• The Balanced Scorecard for the system performance
• Common assessments for student data on skills and knowledge in Performance Matters

School system values are:

• Competency
• Open Communication
• Loyalty
• Defined Autonomy
• Respect

18 schools

• 11 elementary schools;
• 4 middle schools,
• 2 traditional high schools, and
• 1 non-traditional high school that gives credit recovery opportunities.

In addition to core academic subjects we offer

• variety of curricular and extracurricular programs
• instruction in health and physical education and fine arts at all levels
• foreign language
• Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) programs at the middle and high school levels
• 14 of the district’s schools have been designated as Title I schools. (9 of 11 elementary schools, all four middle schools, and Griffin High School)

One elementary school, Futral Road, is a charter school.

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All schools:

• have a nurse
• have a certified counselor
• use the Positive Behavior Instructional Support (PBIS) program to promote a safe and secure learning environment.

The district partners with the Spalding County Sheriff’s Department and the City of Griffin Police Department to provide School Resource Officers in all middle and high schools.

Over 270 businesses, industries, churches, and organizations volunteer as Partners in Education to support student achievement.

Area colleges, Southern Crescent Technical College, UGA-Griffin, and Gordon College, provide dual enrollment for high school students and other programs for teachers and students.

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Highlights in Student Achievement & AYP:

The district’s graduation rate increased 5.5% from 68.6% in 2010 to 74.1% in 2011. Over the past seven years, the graduation rate has risen 26%.

Griffin High School was recently awarded a $3.2 million School Improvement Grant to support the Transformation Model for school reform.

• 17 of the 18 schools will make 2010-2011 Adequate Yearly Progress
• Cowan Road Middle School, on the Needs Improvement list for 7 years, has made AYP for 2 consecutive years and will be removed from the list.
• Griffin High School, which has not made AYP since 2003-2004, will make AYP for 2010-2011.
• A. Z. Kelsey, the district’s non-traditional high school is the school that did not make AYP.

• 68.9% of Grades 3-8 Students with Disabilities (SWD) met or exceeded grade level standards in reading while 57.8% met or exceeded in math. These performance scores resulted in SWD making AYP.
• 89% of 3rd and 5th grade students met or exceeded standards in reading on the Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT).
• 95% of 8th grade students met or exceeded standards in reading on the CRCT.
• 79% of 3rd grade students, 87% of 5th grade students, and 68% of 8th grade students met or exceeded standards in math on the CRCT.
• 86% of high school students passed the English/Language Arts section of the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) while 78% passed in math.

District Strengths:

• Teacher Effectiveness
• Reliable organizations
• Increase in graduation rate

District Needs/Challenges:

• Developing human capital
• Accountability Determination after AYP
• Financial Revenue