Carnesville Elementary Among Highest Performing in State in 2014

For the second year in a row, Carnesville Elementary School in Franklin County has made the State Board of Education’s list of Reward Schools as one of the highest performing schools in 2014.

Reward Schools are designated as part of the state’s waiver from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).   Each Reward School is a Title I school that falls into one of two categories: A Highest-Performing School or a Highest Progress School.

A Highest Performing School is among the top five percent of the state’s Title I schools with the highest absolute performance over three years for the “all students” group on the statewide assessment tests.

A school may not be classified as a Highest-Performing School if it has been identified as a Priority, Focus, or Alert School. 

Franklin County School Superintendent Dr. Ruth O’Dell credits Carnesville Elementary school principal Jennifer Gaines for the prestigious recognition.

“They’re very good. I’ve got to tell you that the common denominator for the two years that they’ve been a high performing school is the leadership,” O’Dell said. “Ms. Gaines is a phenomenal leader.”

Last year, Carnesville Elementary was split into two separate schools, Primary and Intermediate.  But O’Dell said Gaines has the skills to bring the staff at both schools together.

“Any task she is given with any group of teachers, any group of students, she is going to know how to bring teachers together and help be a professional learning community,” O’Dell said. “Now the teachers have to want to do that. So, these are great teachers, but she knows how to build that teamwork and it’s wonderful.”

O’Dell said the school’s classification by the State is based on the CRCT scores in the Intermediate school.

According to O’Dell the designation also means the school and its teachers and staff are moving in the right direction.

“The schools on this list represent some of the finest efforts being put forth in Georgia education,” State Superintendent Dr. John Barge said. “The educators, parents, students, and communities who came together to move these schools forward should take great pride in the results.”