Southwest Georgia Education Briefs

Three Andrew College students to present at writing conference

CUTHBERT — Three Interdisciplinary Writing and Reading Center tutors and Caroline Collins, director of the IWRC at Andrew College, will partner with tutors from Georgia Southwestern State University to present two sessions at the annual SWCA conference to be held in mid-February at the University of Mississippi. The sessions will focus on information gathered during the two groups’ collaboration this year. The collaborative work was made possible due to a grant received from the Southeast Writing Center Association in August.

Andrew College students who are presenting at the conference are Ayreon (Shay) Oliver of Columbus, Agnes Evangelista of Sweden and Jaylan Ogletree of McDonough.

The IWRC is open to community members. Everyone is encouraged to visit for assistance with tasks that involve writing and/or reading. The center is open from 1 to 3 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 1 to 3 p.m. Fridays, and 7 to 9 p.m. on Sunday. The Center is located in the Pitts Library.

Southland Academy 2016 class excels on ACT scores

AMERICUS — Southland Academy’s 2016 graduating class left behind a legacy of Academic Achievement and raised the bar for future graduates.

The class’ success was evident in the recently released ACT fall score report, in which Southland students exceeded both the national and state average scores in each category of the test.

The ACT is one of the leading U.S. college admissions test, measuring high school aptitude as an indicator of college readiness.

“I am very proud of the 2016 senior class of Southland Academy, and I’m extremely pleased with the tremendous scores they achieved on the ACT,” Southland Headmaster Ty Kinslow said. “According to the ACT, college readiness is directly linked to the rigor of the course. Southland Academy prides itself on the rigor of is courses.”

Kinslow also praised Southland’s faculty and staff for their diligence.

“We have an exemplary group of teachers here at Southland,” he said. “They are all excellent in their fields, and they make preparing each student a priority.”

Why does DCSS have 23 schools, but some reports say the number is 27?

ALBANY — The DCSS has 23 traditional schools: four high schools, five middle schools and 14 elementary schools. The district also has four non-traditional schools: The Southwest Georgia Regional Achievement Center, Dougherty PreK, the Oak Tree Center, and the College and Career Performance Learning Center.

Those four schools were included in the Jan. 1 enrollment numbers along with the traditional schools, which accounts for 27 schools.

DCSS has five included on GaDOE chronically failing schools list

ALBANY — Earlier this month, the Georgia Department of Education released an updated list of the state’s chronically failing schools. GaDOE considers a school to be chronically failing if its CCRPI (College and Career Readiness Performance Index) scores fall below 60 for three consecutive years.

The current list is based of the 2014-16 school years.

Dougherty County had five schools included on the list: Morningside, Alice Coachman, Northside and Turner elementaries, along with Southside Middle School.

Calhoun County had two schools listed: Calhoun County Elementary and Calhoun County Middle schools. Sumter County had one school on the list: Americus Sumter 9th Grade Academy.

GaDOE’s list excluded alternative, special education and non-traditional schools.