Hayes Named 'Focus' School

was designated as a "focus" school by the Georgia Department of Education Tuesday and will receive additional state funding to boost student achievement. 

The new designation, which applies to 156 schools around the state, was required as part of the state's recent waiver from certain No Child Left Behind mandates. 

The announcement comes on the heels of the state’s designation last week of 78 “priority” schools, the lowest-performing 5 percent. Focus schools represent the next 10 percent in achievement. 

According to the Georgia DOE, Hayes was placed on the focus school list because of large performance gaps between their highest- and lowest-achieving student subgroups. 

Hayes failed to meet criteria in academic performance in the 2010-11 school year, according to Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards. Students with disabilities, Hispanic students, students with limited English proficiency and economically disadvantaged students failed to meet the mark in CRCT math standards. Students with disabilities and those with limited English proficiency failed in Reading and Language Arts.

The new designation calls for direct state assistance for the next three years to close the gaps, including tutoring for students and professional development for teachers and staff that the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported could begin as early as June. 

The full list of Georgia schools on the focus list can be found here.