Only four students opt to transfer
Of the more than 2,000 Columbia County students eligible for a transfer under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, only four new pupils opted to move to different schools this year.
Price
Photo by Jim Blaylock
Two students transferred from Euchee Creek Elementary and two more left Grovetown Middle, said Schools Superintendent Tommy Price at an Aug. 24 school board meeting.
Along with North Harlem Elementary and Harlem Middle schools, Euchee Creek and Grovetown Middle are on the state's needs improvement list for not meeting adequate yearly progress standards at least two years in a row.
Schools on the needs improvement list are required to offer parents a choice to transfer to a school not on the list or supplemental services, such as after-school programs.
Some parents took the transfer option for reasons of convenience, instead of a sense of trepidation about the education provided at each school, Associate School Superintendent Lauren Williams said.
"A few of our 'choice' parents did it really more for their work convenience than actually lack of confidence in the home school," Williams wrote in an e-mail.
In other school board meeting news, school board members passed a new policy Tuesday that could prevent students convicted of or charged with a felony or serious misdemeanor from participating in school-related extracurricular activities, including sports.
Students convicted of a crime can appeal to their school principal for a waiver that would allow them to continue in their extracurricular programs.