Timothy Road Elementary School Principal Cedric Payne poses outside the Clarke Central High School Main Entrance on Jan. 29. On Jan. 9, TRES was recognized as a Title I Reward School by the Georgia Department of Education. “I think my staff really deserves it. They come in every single day and they work tirelessly. They’re there, long hours at times. (Being an) educator can be both mentally and physically challenging, and to get an award (that) says ‘OK, what you’re doing matters,’ I think is really significant,” Payne said. Photo by Liya Taylor
On Jan. 9, Timothy Road Elementary School was designated a Title I Reward School by the Georgia Department of Education.
Timothy Road Elementary School was recognized by the Georgia Department of Education on Jan. 9 for its progress in boosting student achievement, marking TRES as a Title I Reward School.
All 21 public schools within Clarke County School District are Title I schools, a designation based on the percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch due to household income. Being classified as a Title I Reward School places TRES among the top 5% of Title I schools statewide that showed the improvement in combined English Language Arts and math Content Mastery scores from the Georgia Milestones Assessment System between the 2021-22 and 2022-23 statewide assessments.
“I am incredibly proud of the students, staff, and leadership at Timothy Road Elementary for their remarkable achievement,” Jennifer Scott, CCSD Deputy Superintendent of Academics and Student Support, stated in a Jan. 16 CCSD press release. “This recognition as a Title I Reward School highlights their commitment to academic excellence and their dedication to ensuring every student reaches their full potential.”
The Roadrunners boosted their overall Content Mastery score by nearly 12 points – from 67.7 to 79.3. This improvement reflects their overall math score, 87.8, and their overall English Language Arts score, 79.6.
“I’m really proud of our ability to support students from an instructional, curriculum-based (standpoint) and then from a social, emotional perspective,” Timothy Road Elementary School Principal Dr. Cedric Payne said. “We’re still working on it, it’s not 100% right, but students feel comfortable coming to school in a learning environment where they feel like they’re being supported.”
“This recognition as a Title I Reward School highlights their commitment to academic excellence and their dedication to ensuring every student reaches their full potential.”
— Jennifer Scott,
CCSD Deputy Superintendent of Academics and Student Support
In addition, the Roadrunners continued upward progress during the 2023-24 school year, raising their overall Content Mastery score to 80.4. According to Payne, this continual growth has demonstrated their devotion to academic success.
“It is an honor for Timothy, our school community, our students (and our) staff,” Payne said. “It goes to the hard work that we put in the last (few) years, particularly coming back from COVID.”
