Schools in Macon County showed strong progress when the Tennessee Department of Education released it's state report card on schools on Nov. 2. The 2007 report card is based on performance and statistics from the 2006-07 school year.

Shawn Carter, Supervisor of Instruction, said they were "very pleased" as all Macon County Schools met their expected AWP (Average Yearly Progress) with the exception of Macon County High School's graduation rate. He explained that although the graduation rate was lower than expected it did increase in the 2006-07 school year. The graduation rate was at 77.7%.

This puts MCHS at Level 1 school improvement which Carter explained was the "least restrictive stage that you can be at when you don't make AWP two years in a row in the same area." This will enable MCHS to receive help from the state in terms of looking at procedures and how they can improve their graduation rate.

Carter is hopeful the graduation rate will increase due to new methods for students to receive credit such as credit-recovery classes before and after school. He explained that they will continue to add more classes to this program for students who need to make up credits needed to graduate.

Darrel Law, Director of Schools, added that the high school has seen growth in grades and attendance which he credits to being able to identify and mentor students. Law added that problems like the graduation rate have to be addressed before students are in high school.

"The ideal situation is to start with those at-risk students when they are in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. That's where you've got to identify them. It's really tough to turn it around if a young person is well behind as a junior," Law said.

Macon County Junior High Schools in particular showed great improvement in their AWP.

Wynona Clayborne, Supervisor of Special Education, credited this improvement to the fact that the school had received a AWP grant and had used that grant to use different types of materials with the students and hired tutors who worked directly with the students. She added that she feels that teachers have made a conscious effort to make sure they are working at the standards that the state expects.

Full details of the state report card will be available in this week's issue of the Macon County Times.