News
Writing Fair Winners
Students
at all four schools submitted essays in the Young Georgia Author's
Writing Competition. This competition was open to students in grades
K-12th. Teachers submitted a class representative then grade level
winners were chosen. The winners will be recognized at the county-wide
Academic Reception in April at the High School and everyone's work will
be on display at the Valdosta Mall. The Young Georgia Author's Writing
Fair Competition is sponsored by RESA (Regional Educational Service
Agency) and the Georgia Department of Education. The winners for Brooks County High School are
9th grade poetry- Savannah Wilkes, "The Calm Storm," 10th grade poetry-
Kaylee Thompson and Charlee Cain, "Moonlight Dancers," 10th grade
fiction- Kaylee Thompson, "The Algae-Covered Locket," and 11th grade
poetry- Mary Davis, "Touch of a Rose." The High School winners are as pictured l-r Savannah Wilkes, Charlee Cain, Kaylee Thompson, and Mary Davis.
Quitman Elementary School's Writing Fair Winners are Kindergarten- Dani Beckham, 1st grade- Anasis Averett,
"Camping
Trip," 2nd grade- Akiyah Arnold, "The Haunted School," 3rd grade- Erin
Moss, "The Adventures of Canopeah and the Black Wolf," 4th grade- Leah
Nives, "Once," and 5th grade- Adia McGhee, "The Best Present a Girl
Could Have." Quitman Elementary winners are pictured here to the
right. They are front row l-r Anasis Averett (1st grade), Dani Beckham
(Kindergarten), and Akiyah Arnold (2nd grade). Back row l-r Adia
McGhee (5th grade), Leah Nives (4th grade), and Erin Moss (3rd grade).
North Brooks Elementary
winners are Kindergarten- Adia Barrera, 1st grade- Aubrey Hurst, 2nd
grade- Madlin Johnson, 3rd grade- Andrew Carnes, 4th grade- Blake
Barnes, 5th grade- Summer Huffmaster. The winners for North Brooks
Elementary are pictured on the left. Seated is Andrew Carnes,
Clockwise- Aubrey Hurst, Blake Barnes, Summer Huffmaster, Madlin
Johnson, and Adia Barrera.
Brooks County Middle School Writing Fair Winners are 6th grade- Thinh Le and Devon Wims, 7th grade- Jacarra
Fulton and Aaron Sapp, and 8th grade-Tyler Zeigler and Aadrien Glover. They
are as pictured front row l-r Thinh Le, Jacarra Fulton, and Tyler
Zeigler. Back row l-r Devon Wims, Aadrien Glover, and Aaron Sapp.
Tara Moss, Academic Enhancement Program Director, is pleased to announce this year's writing fair winners. They are Andrew Rogers-8th grade-He wrote An Anarchist’s Life and Samora Gosier -7th grade- She wrote Mom.

Brooks County Schools Named Georgia's Title I Distinguished District- Small Category!
State
Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox has named Georgia's four Title I
Distinguished Districts. "These districts and schools are a prime
example of the impact high expectations, hard work and collaboration
can have on student achievement," Superintendent Cox said. "I'm
thrilled to recognize the educators, students and parents in these
schools and school districts." Title I schools received federal money
to assist with the education of students who are economically
disadvantaged. The Title I Distinguished District award is given to
four schools systems in four different size categories - Large
District, Medium District, Small District, and Very Small District.
The results of the district's reading, English Language arts and
mathematics portions of the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT)
and the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) are used to
determine achievement. The 2009 Title I Distinguished Districts are:
| Large District: | Henry County |
| Medium District: | Marietta City |
Small District: |
Brooks County |
| Very Small District: | Chattahoochee County |
The winning districts will each receive $50,000 from federal funds. "We credit this honor to the hard work and dedication of our board members, administrators, teachers, parents, and most of all our students," stated Brooks County Superintendent Debra H. Folsom.
Brooks County Schools All Make AYP
The Georgia
Department of Education released the final Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
report this week and all four schools in the Brooks County System made
AYP. As the new rigorous curriculum has
challenged students and teachers alike, everyone has worked extremely hard and
test scores continue to improve. To meet
AYP each school must meet the following criteria: 95% Participation Rate in
State Assessments, Academic Performance on State Assessments, and a Second
Indicator. The Second Indicators for our
system are Graduation Rate for Brooks County High School, and Student Attendance
for Brooks County Middle School, Quitman Elementary School, and North Brooks Elementary
School. “I am very proud that our
students and staff at all of our schools have achieved this major goal in our
system,” stated Superintendent Debra Folsom.
“The progress that our students have made along with the dedication of
our qualified teaching staff has definitely paid off for us. The test scores are proving that our students
are learning, achieving, and succeeding.”
BCHS Makes State Superintendent’s Distinguished Achievement Awards
State Superintendent Kathy Cox has released her list of
schools that received the Superintendent’s Distinguished Achievement
Awards. Brooks County High School
made
the list for showing improvement again this year. In a press release last week
State Superintendent Cox was quoted saying, "We are honoring schools that
showed the greatest improvement and highest achievement on our state tests. These
awards are just a small way of saying ‘thank you’ for the hard work put in by
our teachers, students and school communities. Congratulations to all the
winners!" The High School was one
of ten schools that demonstrated the greatest improvement in the percentage of
students meeting or exceeding standards.
The areas of improvement were Social Studies, Science, and Mathematics
on the Georgia High School Graduation Test.
Brooks County High School was the only school in the state that received
the Distinguished Achievement Award in three content areas.
Golden Pass Tickets for Senior Adults
Brooks County Schools are offering again this year
the Golden Pass for Senior Adults 65 and older or Retired Brooks County School
System Employees. The Golden Pass
entitles those who are eligible free general admission home sporting
events. This does not include
reserved seating, play-off games or any PTO sponsored events. The
Golden Pass Card is good for life. For more information call Lydia
Hubert, Parent-Community
Relations Specialist at 229-263-7531, for an appointment time.
Identification is required to determine
eligibility.


