CTAE Graduation Rate Hits High of 96 Percent
Career Pathways prepare students for multiple paths after high school
The graduation rate for students involved in Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) programs has risen to 96 percent in Georgia.
This rate – which applies to students who complete a Career Pathway – exceeds the statewide graduation rate by 15.4 percentage points.
“Students need to be engaged and see the relevance of their education – and CTAE makes that happen,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “We continue to see that students who complete a Career Pathway are prepared for their future – whether that’s higher education, serving in the military, accepting an apprenticeship or going directly into their career. CTAE connects Georgia’s K-12 schools with business and industry, building a qualified pipeline of students who are ready to participate meaningfully in Georgia’s industries and communities. It’s a win for Georgia’s economy and a win for Georgia’s graduates.”
On December 5, 2017 the Georgia Department of Education announced that 61 schools have exited the Priority and Focus Schools lists, due to recent across-the-board CCRPI increases and Georgia’s rising graduation rate.
As part of Georgia’s ESEA waiver, which granted flexibility from some provisions of No Child Left Behind, the GaDOE was required to identify Priority and Focus Schools. Priority Schools represent the lowest-performing 5% of Title I schools based on achievement data, plus schools with a graduation rate below 60% for two consecutive years. Focus Schools represent the lowest-performing 10% of Title I schools based on achievement gap data. That data examines the gap between a school’s lowest performing 25% of students and the state average, and the progress those students are making.
“We continue to see that underperforming schools can improve and move the needle for their students, even when they face difficult odds,” Superintendent Woods said. “And we’ve seen once again that intensive, intentional partnerships between schools, districts, communities and our Department can equip schools with the resources they need to improve student achievement. These schools worked directly with our DOE staff and with Georgia RESAs, and their leaders and teachers deserve immense credit for the progress they’ve made. We view school improvement as a primary responsibility of our entire agency – not just the school improvement division – and with that focus guiding us, I’m confident we’ll continue to see schools making gains.”
High School Students Invited to Compete in 2nd Annual Farm to School Student Chef Competition
Georgia public high school students are invited to apply to compete in the Second Annual Farm-to-School Student Chef Competition, part of the Georgia Department of Education School Nutrition Program’s Shake it Up initiative. The competition will be held Wednesday, March 14, 2018 at Williams S. Hutchings College & Career Academy in Macon.
The top three winning teams will be awarded scholarships and the top team will move on to compete in the Southeast Regional Junior Chef Competition from May 9 to 10, 2018 at Sullivan University in Louisville, Kentucky.
“GaDOE’s Shake it Up in School Nutrition initiative is all about changing the culture of school nutrition,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “Our school nutrition staff and their colleagues across the state are shaking up school meals by providing updated, kid-tested and -approved recipes and other training and resources. The Student Chef Competition gets students directly involved in that process and gives them a great opportunity to put in practice what they’re learning in school.”
