Elementary, middle and K-8 schools in the Birmingham City School System outshone their previous performance when it comes to making adequate yearly progress on state accountability tests. Forty-nine of the 52 schools in those categories - or 94 percent - made AYP in 2009, according to data released by the Alabama State Department of Education today. "This is the best our elementary, middle and K-8 schools have ever done on AYP," said Interim Superintendent Barbara S. Allen. "The students, faculty and staff worked hard during the last school year, and their efforts have paid off." She added, "It makes me feel especially good to see that a number of schools achieved beyond the standards by a considerable margin, and not just our magnet schools." Wilkerson, Smith, Huffman, Center Street, Martha Gaskins and Daniel Payne Middle schools, Hudson K-8 School and Hemphill Elementary School all exceeded the state standard in both reading and math by more than 10 percent, she said. "Our goal is for our schools to do much better than meeting AYP because AYP is just adequate, and our children need more than an adequate education," Mrs. Allen said. She said Birmingham students scored higher in 2009 on the Alabama Reading and Math Test, Stanford Achievement Test, Alabama Science Test and the Alabama Direct Assessment of Writing in all three grades where it is given. "Our greatest concentration will be on our high schools during the 2009-2010 school year, because six of our seven high schools did not make AYP. The news is not all bad, but the data shows that most of the high schools failed to meet standards in reading," Mrs. Allen said. Mrs. Allen noted that the district overall failed to meet the AYP goal for high school reading by 3.64 percent. "The AYP data will tell us where the weaknesses are, and we will develop strategies for increasing achievement in the 2009-2010 school year," she said. Ramsay High School made AYP, and Parker met academic standards but did not make AYP because it fell short of the graduation rate requirement. Other high schools that did not make AYP are Carver, Huffman, Jackson-Olin, Wenonah and Woodlawn. Overall, 50 of the district's 59 schools met all of their AYP goals. Robinson and South Hampton elementary schools and Whatley K-8 School did not make AYP because of special education scores. The district will be offering parents of students at four schools - Robinson, Carver, Jackson-Olin and Wenonah High - the option of transferring their children to other schools. That is because those schools are in School Improvement under the federal No Child Left Behind law. Parents of high school students will be allowed to request that their children be transferred to Parker or to Ramsay if their children meet Ramsay's entrance requirements. Parents of Robinson students will be allowed to select between Barrett and North Roebuck Elementary schools and W.J. Christian K-8 School. Letters will be mailed to parents Tuesday, Aug. 4, explaining the procedure for requesting a transfer. Parents must fill out a form and return it to their principal of their child's current school by Aug. 20 if they want a transfer. | 
