Schools awarded for Reading Growth

Schools awarded for Reading Growth

By Zach HesterReporter • marla@southerntorch.com

DEKALB COUNTY, Ala. — The Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) announced the 50 schools across the state that will be recognized for their achievement in showing the most improvement in last year’s 3rd grade reading results.

The selected schools will share $1 million allotted by the state legislature during the last session. Each school is set to receive a $20,000 check from ALSDE as a way of recognizing and incentivizing teachers and students who have worked hard to achieve proficiency in reading by the 3rd grade in last year’s Scantron Performance Series Reading Assessment.

Three DeKalb County schools were selected for this award: Fyffe, Henagar and Sylvania.

“It is a tremendous honor to have three of our schools be in the top fifty in reading growth across our state,” said DeKalb County Superintendent Dr. Jason Barnett. “It is a testament to the hard work of our students, teachers and administrators.”

“This increase in student achievement is evidence of believing that we, as educators, can and do have a tremendous impact on student learning and then carrying out that belief in what they do daily,” he continued.

A special recognition and awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, September 13 after the September meeting of the Alabama State Board of Education in Montgomery. Governor Kay Ivey, state legislators and others will be on hand to personally congratulate these fifty schools. For a full list of the schools honored, please visit our website at southerntorch.com.