MEDIA CONTACT: Matt Cardoza, GaDOE Communications Office, (404) 651-7358, mcardoza@gadoe.org - Follow us on Twitter and Facebook February 3, 2011 -- State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge named the 2010 Georgia Schools of Excellence in Student Achievement today, honoring 22 schools that have shown the greatest improvement or highest achievement across the state. Each of these schools will receive a $1,000 check from Georgia Natural Gas to be used however they wish. "These schools are showing that excellence can be achieved when they are focused on providing a world-class education for their students," Superintendent Barge said. "I offer my sincere congratulations to our 2010 Georgia Schools of Excellence and my appreciation to Georgia Natural Gas for their continued support of our schools." “Helping schools continue to strive for excellence is one of our key community goals,” said Georgia Natural Gas CEO Mike Braswell. “That’s why we are a Georgia Partner in Education and proud sponsor of the 2010 Georgia Schools of Excellence and Georgia Teacher of the Year.” “We also support education in Georgia through our TrueBlue Schools fundraising program, helping schools raise $2 million to pay for books, art supplies, music programs, field trips, classroom technology and anything else they may need,” Braswell said. The Georgia Schools of Excellence are honored in two categories. Qualifying schools are chosen from each Congressional District in the following categories (full criteria attached below): - Top 10%: Schools that are in the top 10 percent in Georgia as measured by assessments in reading and mathematics. - Greatest Gains: Schools that demonstrated greatest continuous gains in student achievement for the past three years as measured by assessments in reading and mathematics. 2010 GEORGIA SCHOOLS OF EXCELLENCE GREATEST GAINS Congressional District, School, System 1 St Simons Elementary, Glynn County 2 Schley County Middle/High School, Schley County 3 Long Cane Elementary, Troup County 6 Holcomb Bridge Middle School, Fulton County 7 Westside Middle School, Barrow County 8 Gray Elementary School, Jones County 9 Lula Elementary School, Hall County 10 Lavonia Elementary School, Franklin County 11 Bremen High School, Bremen City 12 Oglethorpe Charter Middle School, Savannah-Chatham 13 Morrow Elementary School, Clayton County TOP 10% Congressional District, School, System 3 Britt David Magnet Elementary School, Muscogee County 5 Jackson Elementary School, Atlanta Public Schools TIE 6 Crabapple Crossing Elementary School, Fulton County TIE 6 Lassiter High School, Cobb County TIE 7 Parkview High School, Gwinnett County TIE 7 Simpson Elementary School, Gwinnett County 8 Lake Joy Elementary School, Houston County 9 South Forsyth Middle School, Forsyth County 10 Malcolm Bridge Elementary School, Oconee County 11 Marietta Center for Advanced Academics, Marietta City 12 Savannah Arts High School, Savannah-Chatham MORE INFORMATION: Schools of Excellence Criteria Visit www.TrueBlueSchools.com to continue to strive for excellence for your school – the TrueBlue Way. About Georgia Natural Gas Georgia Natural Gas, a division of SouthStar Energy Services, a preeminent retail natural gas marketing company operating in eight states. Based in Atlanta, SouthStar is a joint venture between AGL Resources, Inc., (NYSE:AGL) and Piedmont Natural Gas Co. (NYSE: PNY). In addition to operating in Georgia as Georgia Natural Gas, SouthStar also does business in the Carolinas as Piedmont Energy Company, in Ohio as Ohio Natural Gas, in Florida as Florida Natural Gas, and in other parts of the Southeast as SouthStar Energy Services. For more information: www.onlygng.com
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