The Georgia Department of Education today released the list of schools across the state that have met the Priority and Focus exit criteria. Sims Elementary School has met all of the requirements, including raising its College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) score, and has been removed from the Focus list.

“We are extremely pleased to see that Sims Elementary has met the criteria to be removed from the Focus list,” said Superintendent Richard Autry. “I am proud of the hard work of the faculty and staff to ensure all students are on a path to success. Together with students and parents, the school raised their CCRPI score significantly from 69.7 to 80.8 and specifically their achievement gap score from 6.9 to 8.3 (out of 10 possible), which is one of the school improvement requirements. Achievement gap includes both the size of the gap between the school’s bottom quartile of students and the state average, and the degree to which that gap is closing.”

In its release, the Georgia Department of Education states as Georgia transitions from ESEA Flexibility Waiver to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), they will no longer identify Priority and Focus schools.