WG Nunn Elementary named a 'No Excuses' School

Atlanta - Thirty-five schools from across Georgia were announced as "No Excuses" schools at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 22, at a news conference by the Georgia Public Policy Foundation during KIPP WAYS Academy's awards ceremony at the Georgia Tech Student Center.  WG Nunn Elementary School in Valdosta, was named one of the "No Excuses" schools.

KIPP WAYS Academy was selected for the announcement because of the school's outstanding student achievement. Ranked in the Foundation's 2008 Report Card for Parents released Wednesday as second in the state overall for achievement, the charter middle school is a leader among the No Excuses schools. These schools have above-average percentages of low-income students with significantly higher academic scores than statistical projections.

The selection of No Excuses schools is based on the Foundation's 2008 Report Card for Parents, available at www.gppf.org. A No Excuses school has a poverty rate above the state average of 50 percent, meets Adequate Yearly Progress as defined by the No Child Left Behind law, and has a Poverty Indicator of 2 or above on the Foundation's Report Card for Parents. These schools are highlighted for demonstrating the impact of highly motivated, highly qualified, dedicated teachers, dynamic school leadership and high expectations for all students.

The 2008 Report Card for Parents numerically ranks 1,190 public elementary schools, 486 middle schools and 380 high schools in the state by an achievement score based on the percentage of students meeting and exceeding standards. Because there is a strong link between poverty and test scores (the higher the poverty rate, the lower the test scores), the report includes two other criteria for information purposes only. The first is the poverty rate - the percentage of students in each school who qualify for the federal free/reduced-price lunch program. The second is a poverty index that measures how well a school is performing relative to its poverty rate.

The Georgia Public Policy Foundation, formed in 1991, is a nonpartisan, member-supported research and education foundation that promotes free markets, limited government and individual responsibility.

Media: For more information on the No Excuses schools or the 2008 Report Card, please contact Kelly McCutchen at 404-256-4050 or kmccutchen@gppf.org.