GaDOE: 74 Schools Removed from Priority and Focus Lists
Wednesday, April 12th, 2017
The Georgia Department of Education announced that 74 out of 243 schools have exited the Priority and Focus Schools lists.
As part of Georgia’s ESEA waiver, which granted flexibility from some provisions of No Child Left Behind, the GaDOE was required to identify Priority and Focus Schools. Priority Schools represent the lowest-performing 5% of Title I schools based on achievement data, plus schools with a graduation rate below 60% for two consecutive years. Focus Schools represent the lowest-performing 10% of Title I schools based on achievement gap data. That data examines the gap between a school’s lowest performing 25% of students and the state average, and the extent to which that gap is closing.
“Every school that made the necessary improvements to exit Priority or Focus School status deserves to be commended,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “The ongoing work of these schools, coupled with supports from GaDOE staff and RESAs, continues to move the needle and prove that underperforming schools can improve, even when they face difficult odds.”
The following schools were removed from the Priority and Focus lists because they no longer meet the definition of a Priority or Focus school and have made the required improvements to exit:
System Name |
School name |
Exit List |
Atlanta Public Schools |
Benteen Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Atlanta Public Schools |
Brown Middle School |
Exit Focus |
Atlanta Public Schools |
Cleveland Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Atlanta Public Schools |
Dobbs Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Atlanta Public Schools |
Fickett Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Atlanta Public Schools |
Maynard H. Jackson, Jr. High School |
Exit Priority |
Atlanta Public Schools |
Parkside Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Atlanta Public Schools |
South Atlanta School of Health and Medical Science |
Exit Priority |
Atlanta Public Schools |
The John Hope-Charles Walter Hill Elementary Schools |
Exit Focus |
Barrow County |
Kennedy Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Carroll County |
Bowdon Middle School |
Exit Focus |
Chatham County |
Windsor Forest Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Cherokee County |
Canton Elementary |
Exit Focus |
Cherokee County |
William G. Hasty, Sr. Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Cobb County |
Birney Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Cobb County |
Milford Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Cobb County |
Osborne High School |
Exit Priority |
Colquitt County |
Odom Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Colquitt County |
Okapilco Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Colquitt County |
Sunset Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Coweta County |
Eastside Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
DeKalb County |
Allgood Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
DeKalb County |
Bob Mathis Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
DeKalb County |
Columbia Middle School |
Exit Focus |
DeKalb County |
Kelley Lake Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
DeKalb County |
Redan High School |
Exit Priority |
Dodge County |
Dodge County Middle School |
Exit Focus |
Dougherty County |
Radium Springs Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Dublin City |
Moore Street School |
Exit Priority |
Fulton County |
Asa Hilliard Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Fulton County |
Gullatt Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Fulton County |
High Point Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Fulton County |
Jackson Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Fulton County |
Lake Forest Elementary |
Exit Focus |
Gainesville City |
Centennial Arts Academy |
Exit Focus |
Greene County |
Greene County High School |
Exit Priority |
Greene County |
Greensboro Elementary |
Exit Focus |
Gwinnett County |
Berkmar High School |
Exit Priority |
Gwinnett County |
Meadowcreek High School |
Exit Priority |
Gwinnett County |
Rockbridge Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Hall County |
Lyman Hall Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Hall County |
White Sulphur Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Hancock County |
Hancock Central Middle School |
Exit Focus |
Houston County |
Miller Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Jasper County |
Washington Park Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Jeff Davis County |
Jeff Davis Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Jefferson County |
Louisville Academy |
Exit Focus |
Johnson County |
Johnson County High School |
Exit Priority |
Jones County |
Mattie Wells Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Lanier County |
Lanier County Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Macon County |
Macon County Middle School |
Exit Focus |
Marietta City |
Marietta High School |
Exit Focus |
Meriwether County |
Greenville Middle - High School |
Exit Priority |
Mitchell County |
North Mitchell County Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Montgomery County |
Montgomery County Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Montgomery County |
Montgomery County Middle School |
Exit Focus |
Muscogee County |
Jordan Vocational High School |
Exit Priority |
Muscogee County |
Rigdon Road Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Newton County |
Flint Hill Elementary |
Exit Focus |
Pelham City |
Pelham Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Polk County |
Westside Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Randolph County |
Randolph County Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Richmond County |
Bayvale Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Richmond County |
Copeland Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Rockdale County |
Sims Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Taliaferro County |
Taliaferro County School |
Exit Priority |
Thomaston-Upson County |
Upson-Lee High School |
Exit Focus |
Tift County |
Annie Belle Clark Primary School |
Exit Focus |
Vidalia City |
J. R. Trippe Middle School |
Exit Focus |
Walker County |
Rossville Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Wayne County |
Bacon Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Whitfield County |
Beaverdale Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
Wilcox County |
Wilcox County High School |
Exit Priority |
Wilkinson County |
Wilkinson County Elementary School |
Exit Focus |
As Georgia transitions to the Every Student Succeeds Act, GaDOE will no longer identify Priority and Focus schools. Instead, GaDOE will be required to identify and support Comprehensive Support and Improvement and Targeted Support and Improvement schools. The criteria for CSI and TSI schools are currently being developed in consultation with Georgia’s ESSA working committees. A draft of the criteria will be available for public comment this summer, prior to Georgia’s submission of its ESSA plan to the U.S. Department of Education in September.