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All Long County schools make AYP
0719 Long AYP report
Long County Assistant Superintendent Dr. Glenn Purcell delivers a report on AYP results to the board of education. - photo by Photo by Mike Riddle
Long County Assistant Superintendent Dr. Glenn Purcell told the Board of Education July 9 that all Long County schools attained Title I distinguishment through Adequate Yearly Progress standards for the 2008-09 school year.
According to Purcell, this was the fifth time Smiley Elementary School earned Title I status, the third time for Walker Middle School and the first time for Long County High School.
“Each school has to meet the AYP standards for three years to be recognized as a Title I school so this is a really big deal for our school system,” Purcell said.
Smiley Elementary School has now made AYP standards for seven years, Walker Middle School for five years and Long County High School for three years.
“One area that really jumps out at you is our graduation rate. Last year, we had a rate of 73.5 percent and this year it was 79.2 percent. That’s a pretty impressive increase,” Purcell said.
He also mentioned the schools’ achievements in mathematics, another of the district’s AYP highlights. According to Purcell, there are 186 school systems in the state and, out of those systems, Long County was ranked 28th in math.  
“Our school system was one of only 49 out of that 186, where all of the schools made the AYP standards for the year,” Purcell said. “We’re extremely proud of all of our schools, our staff, the students, the parents. It’s a great accomplishment and we’re going to do all we can to continue to support them so that we can continue with this success.”
AYP is the cornerstone of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2002, more commonly referred to as the No Child Left Behind Act. It is a yearly measure of students’ progress in reading and math. Each year, AYP standards increase, with the eventual goal being that 100 percent of students meet the designated standards by the 2013-14 school year.
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