Clarke County School District’s David C. Barrow Elementary (left) and Chase Street Elementary (right) Schools have been recognized by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement. Both schools were recognized for their steps towards closing the achievement gap based on their College and Career Readiness Performance Index (CCRPI) scores. “The good news is we’re receiving awards for doing a good job at this. The bad news is that there’s actually a gap that we have to close, that they have to make an award for this at the national and state level,” Chase Street Elementary School Principal Adam Kurtz said. Photos by Julie Alpaugh.
By MACKENZIE CAUDILL – Staff Writer
Athens’ own David C. Barrow Elementary and Chase Street Elementary Schools were recognized by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement. Barrow received silver status and Chase Street received bronze status on the state’s list.
Clarke County School District Schools, David C. Barrow Elementary (BES) and Chase Street Elementary (CSES), were included on Gov. Nathan Deal’s Greatest Gains in Student Academic Achievement List for 2016, which was updated on Jan. 5.
“It’s a real honor to be recognized from the Governor’s Office. I think that it means that we continue to make progress year after year with our students and their achievement,” BES Principal Ellen Sabatini said. “It shows that our students are working hard and our teachers are working hard and that the work that we do is making a difference in the way students perform.”
The list uses College and Career Readiness Performance Index (CCRPI) scores to determine the schools’ contribution to closing the achievement gap. CSES principal Adam Kurtz believes the achievement gap is important to resolve and there is need for awards such as this.
“The good news is we’re receiving awards for doing a good job at this. The bad news is that there’s actually a gap that we have to close, that they have to make an award for this at the national and state level,” Kurtz said. “It’s recognized as being that important. So it keeps the emphasis and importance where it rightfully should be and that is on educating all of our children.”
Clarke Central High School Foreign language department teacher Kelli Bivins has been a CSES parent for 11 years and feels an attachment to the school. According to Bivins, the way the staff handles the students makes them stand out from other schools.
“There’s so many teachers that have been there since before the current population and they know how to deal with all populations. I think that’s one of the reasons we have so much success there,” Bivins said. “The teachers are so well-equipped. They’re just so well-trained. I have the most respect for elementary teachers.”
CCHS junior Jack Byrne was a student at BES from 2004 to 2010 and believes educators there hold students to a high importance.
“It was great. I learned a lot of things and it helped me get through all my years of education,” Byrne said. “I would say that if you learn a lot more when you’re younger and in your younger years you’re gonna be more successful in your older years. The teachers care about the students and they put that in front of everything else. When teachers care about students it leads to good things.”
CCHS sophomore Sophie Mitchell was a student at CSES and agrees her primary education has helped her throughout her academic life.
“It put me on a better track to be successful in high school because I was taught from a young age to do my homework, not procrastinate, get my work done, pay attention in class because they enforce that so much at Chase Street in an encouraging way,” Mitchell said. “It set me up with a better work ethic and so I’m doing better now because I had a good foundation.”
According to Sabatini, BES’ success can be credited to the strategies used by teachers and staff such as collaborative planning. The teachers use data from students’ assessments and work together to create lesson plans. Sabatini hopes to continue the collaboration and success.
“I think this just confirms that the different strategies that we’re trying to help students learn all that they can is making a difference,” Sabatini said. “We want to keep at it, keep making progress and we know that we have a lot of progress we can still make. I think it helps our teachers and motivates them to know that things they’re doing in the past is making a difference and that they’ll continue to work together.”
