Miles Elementary celebrates Black History Month

L.P. Miles Elementary celebrated Black History Month with its annual program Friday. Parents and community members were delighted by the talent of the participating classes. After a rousing welcome by student hosts Deonte Bryant and Keari Bryant of Karen Pettigrew’s fourth-grade class, the talent began.

Performances were provided in by each grade level including pre-k and featured a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King by the school chorus.

The program was directed by music teacher Letricia Henson. Art teacher Dr. Russell Kennedy, stage manager/physical education teacher Rico Eberhart and media specialist Dr. Reginald Ponder were among the wealth of faculty talent that helped pull the program together.

The weeks prior to the program included thematic events with historically black college and university (HBCU) shirts, dressing up as a favorite African-American hero and black history trivia through out the month. Visit the APS Media Gallery for a full set of photos.

APS fourth-graders score on par with students in other urban districts on national science exam

APS fourth-grade students scored on a par with their counterparts in other large urban school districts across the nation in the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) science exam administered in the spring of 2009.

The average science score for fourth grade students in Atlanta was 134. The average NAEP science score for fourth grade students in large urban districts around the country was 135 in 2009. The average scale score for APS eighth-grade students was 127 in 2009, lower than their counterparts in other large urban districts at 134.

 The 2009 NAEP science exam is based on a new framework, which means it cannot be compared to previous NAEP science exam results. It essentially establishes a new baseline to track the achievement of students in science over time.

APS students demonstrated the largest gains of all states and participating TUDA school districts in the nation between 2002 and 2009 on the NAEP reading tests.