Radium Springs Elementary removed from state’s Focus List

ALBANY — Radium Springs Elementary School has been taken off a list of underperforming schools, Georgia Department of Education officials announced Tuesday.

Radium had previously been on the state’s “Focus” list – a grouping of schools that are in the lowest 10 percent of Title I schools in the state in terms of achievement gap, based on a three-year average.

“We’ve worked hard to do what’s best by our students,” Radium Principal Bruce Bowles said. “When I first got here as principal, we identified those students who needed some additional help … and got them into school earlier so that we could focus on areas where they needed that help.”

Bowles also said that school officials have increased opportunities for students to take advantage of Saturday school and have collaborated with the Regional Educational Services Agency, or RESA, to develop educational strategies meant specifically to target achievement gap.

With Radium Elementary coming off the list, that leaves the system with just one school on the Focus list (Radium Middle School), and administration officials say they are confident that next year that school will come off the list as well.

The DCSS, however, still has four schools — Albany, Dougherty and Monroe high schools, in addition to Martin Luther King Elementary — that remain on the state’s Priority Schools list. That list represents schools that are in the lowest 5 percent of Title I schools in the state in terms of achievement gap, based on a three-year average.

Title I provides federal funds through GaDOE to local educational agencies and public schools with high numbers or percentages of poor children to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic content and student academic achievement standards.

“There’s a concerted effort by our principals, our teachers and our students to improve academically. That is our focus,” Ufot Inyang, the school system’s associate superintendent and Chief Academic Officer, said. “We continue to reduce the number of schools on the state’s needing improvement lists. We will continue to work extremely hard until all of our schools are off the state’s lists.

“The state has said that our schools are beating the odds compared to other schools in the state with similar demographics and challenges. It is our intention, given our focus, commitment and direction, that come this time next year, all of our schools will be off the state’s list.”

Bowles said that he and his staff continue to work on setting high academic expectations for students and changing the culture and climate of the school.

“The biggest strength that Radium has is that we have great people working here,” he said. “They are people who are self-motivated and who will go out of their way to help our students succeed.”