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Suwanee Elementary named state 'reward school'; district recognizes teacher-apprentice graduates and pilots classroom-economy program
Summary
Suwanee Elementary School reported proficiency rates well above the state average and said it received a state "reward school" designation; the board also recognized two Grow Your Own teacher-apprentice graduates and heard of a $6,500 grant to pilot a classroom-economy program for fifth graders.
Suwanee Elementary School reported strong student achievement and received a state "reward school" designation, and the Franklin County School Board recognized two graduates of the district's Grow Your Own teacher-apprentice program while a district math coach described a grant-funded classroom-economy pilot.
At the meeting, the Suwanee Elementary principal told the board that the school outperformed statewide proficiency rates across tested subjects: the principal said English-language arts proficiency at Suwanee was 74.1 percent versus the state's 41.1 percent; math proficiency was 69.0 percent versus the state's 42.4 percent; and science proficiency was 75.0 percent versus the state's 44.0 percent. The principal said those results and strong attendance and growth metrics led the state to designate Suwanee as a reward school.
The principal described parent-engagement efforts including Wednesday centers where parents work alongside students on learning activities, classroom buddy systems (first- and third-grade fluency buddies), service projects such as supply drives and pet-education visits with Animal Harbor, and student events including choir, yearbook staff and a Christmas market run by first grade that raises funds for Operation Noel.
In the director's report the board recognized two graduates of the Grow Your Own program, Kayla Williams and Maddie Cowan, described as the district's first two teacher-apprentices to complete the program. The director said the graduates worked as educational assistants while completing two years of coursework at UT Southern and satisfying licensure requirements; two more apprentices are expected to finish in the spring and five apprentices are currently enrolled.
Shauna Fortier, the district's kindergarten-through-eighth-grade math coach, told the board she received two grants (one from TBA and one from the Education Foundation) totaling $6,500 to pilot a classroom-economy program at Deckard Elementary from January through May. Fortier said the program will build financial literacy and career-readiness for fifth-grade students: pupils will apply for school jobs, earn a simulated income, pay simulated rent and utilities, and may earn bonuses for perfect attendance or honor-roll performance; infractions can incur fines. Fortier said she plans to collect pilot data and, if successful, present the program for wider district adoption.
Why it matters: The reward-school designation signals the state's recognition of sustained achievement and growth at Suwanee Elementary; Grow Your Own graduates expand the local teacher pipeline; and the classroom-economy pilot aims to add practical financial-literacy instruction for upper-elementary students.
Sources: Suwanee Elementary principal's presentation, director's recognition of Grow Your Own graduates, and Shauna Fortier's grant and program remarks as recorded in the Franklin County School Board meeting transcript.
