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CrossRoadsNews
January 10, 2009
Youth
“It’s important to show the other side. If all that hadn’t happened to us, we wouldn’t be who we are today.”
Collector captures students’ attention with black history memorabilia James Horton (left) shows McNair Discovery Learning Academy students Zephoria Mills and Isaiah Lucas an antique meat grinder from his black history collection during a visit to the school.
When historian and collector James Horton showed up at Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in December, the kids got excited. And with good reason. Horton brought more than 2000 peices from his 8,000-peice collection of artifacts and memorabilia in his black history collection. The students were enthralled at his “Black Cultural Sight and Sound” exhibit that took over the media center for the day. It included vinyl records of Motown singers, photographs of Negro Leagues baseball players, books and African-American art. Horton, who hails from Tuscaloosa, Ala., but now calls Atlanta home, travels to schools, churches and the occasional family reunion to share some of his collection of black history memorabilia. His visit is part of the school system’s “subject area experts” program that invites people into the school to talk to the students, who study what they’ve seen and write about it. Students filed through the exhibit all day and Horton welcomed each group with a display of slave shackles. Horton, who was injured on the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma during Civil Rights protests in 1965, is himself a piece of walking history. “It’s important to show the other side,” he says. “If all that hadn’t happened to us, we wouldn’t be who we are today.”
Proficiency measurements take center stage in second half of school year By Corey M. Edwards
The season of standardized testing has begun for students in DeKalb County. When the doors of the county’s 123 schools re-opened Tuesday for the second semester, teachers and administrators hit the ground running to prepare students for a series of spring tests that begin Jan. 21. Between then and May 15, thousands of students will take everything from writing assessment to high school graduation tests. Gloria Talley, DeKalb School System’s deputy superintendent of curriculum and instruction, says now is the time for parents to help their children succeed. “Engage them in conversations at meal time,” she said. “Talk to them about issues, current events, and big ideas to keep them interested in what’s going on in the world.” For students in grades one through eight, all roads in the second semester lead to the Criterion Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) on April 21. The annual state assessment is designed to measure student acquisition of the knowledge, concepts and skills outlined in the state curriculum. The CRCT includes reading, English/language arts and mathematics tests. Students in third through eighth grades will also be tested in science and social studies. CRCT scores are used to assess each school’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status. The AYP is a statewide accountability system mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which requires each state to ensure that all schools and districts meet and maintain an adequate level of performance for students. Before the April 21 start date, the district has scheduled preassessments to help students become accustomed to standardized testing. The first of these tests is the Eighth Grade Writing Assessment which takes place Jan. 21-22. Its aim is to give eighth graders an indication of what they might need to
Starting Jan. 21, students in DeKalb County Schools will be tested on their proficiency in key content areas such as math, science and language arts.
Time to choose
It’s test-taking season for DeKalb students
Magnet & Theme School Lottery application season is Jan. 26-Feb. 12. Parents can apply for magnet and theme schools online at www.doe.k12. ga.us. To help parents become more familiar with the choice system, DeKalb County Schools will also host the 2009 School Choice Expo on Jan. 24 at the Mall at Stonecrest.
Elementary schools Date n Fifth Grade Writing Assessment March 4 n Criterion Referenced Competency Tests (CRCT) April 21
work on to pass the writing section of the Georgia High School Graduation Test in the 11th grade. Fifth-graders will take their shot at the writing assessment test on March 4. For high school students, the beginning of the second semester marks a time of memorable student activities and momentous decisionmaking. With a number of placement and graduation tests looming, second semester is packed with important dates and milestones for ninth- through tenth-graders. The first – and arguably the most important – of those is the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT). All students seeking a Georgia high school diploma must take the test, scheduled for March 23-27. It is typically given to 11th-graders, but students have an opportunity to re-take the test before their
Middle schools n Eighth Grade Writing Assessment High schools n Georgia High School Graduation Test* n End of Course Tests (EOCT) n Advanced Placement (AP) Exams n SAT, PSAT and ACT * for all 11th graders www.collegeboard.com. CRCT Study Guide – www.doe.k12.ga.us/ci_testing.aspx Source: DeKalb County Schools
Jan. 21-22 March 23-27 May 4-12 May 4-15 Dates vary
graduation date. Each student must pass the test in four content areas: English/ language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. Once the GHSGT is over, high school students have little more than a month to prepare for their End of Course Tests in math, social studies, science and English/language arts, scheduled for May 4-12. Those tests account for 15 percent of students’ grades, and are also used as AYP indicators. Advanced Placement exams also begin May 4 but continue until May 15. School officials recommend that each student get a good night’s rest during testing season and eat a hearty breakfast before school. Dr. Frankie Callaway, DeKalb deputy superintendent, says it’s going to take all of us to help students maintain the high averages they earned in the first semester. “Every child starts off with the same average – and that is an A average,” said Callaway. “We must ask ourselves, ‘What can we do as parents, as teachers and as administrators to encourage the positive things our children do?’” Study guides for the CRCT can be found at www.doe.k12.ga.us/ci_ testing.aspx. For more information on DeKalb County School System’s testing schedule, visit www.dekalb. k12.ga.us.