THOMASVILLE—State Superintendent Richard Woods visited Harper Elementary on Wednesday afternoon, presenting the students and staff with a banner to showcase their growth in literacy on the milestones assessment.

Woods explained the Georgia Department of Education created an initiative last year that would showcase the hard work teachers put in this past spring during the milestones assessment. They began the initiative with literacy banners, specifically for third grade.

“We know how important literacy is at the elementary level,” he said.

However, this year the initiative expanded, with grades 3-5 recognized, along with middle school, and high schools who have shown significant growth in their literacy and reading milestones.

“In conjunction with that, we have the math banner as well,” he said. “These are our two foundational pillars. It’s extremely important our kids know how to read and know how to do math as well.”

While Woods said he would love to see every school receive a banner for growth, he wanted to ensure the banners did not come across as a “participation trophy.”

“If you received a banner, it was because there was significant progress we saw,” he said. “That is the intent because when our kids graduate, we truly want them to have strong math and reading skills.”

To receive a literacy banner, progress or proficiency must have been made in the third-grade milestones.

“We don’t even look at fourth or fifth grade unless we see progress or proficiency in third grade,” Woods said. “In middle school, we look at sixth grade for literacy, because we want to see that continuation.”

Each banner contains ribbons, representing various grades and achievements. The green ribbon Harper was awarded on its banner was for growth. Last year’s milestones assessment showed a growth of 24.5 points in third-grade literacy.

“We understand growth looks different for everyone,” Woods said. “We may not be where we want to be, but we are moving in the right direction and we want to celebrate that, and that’s what we are celebrating here.”

For third-grade students who showed 0-49% proficiency on the milestones last year, Woods said the GaDoe had to see at least a 15-point growth for a school to be awarded a banner.

“We wanted to make sure it was meaningful growth and we were really moving in the right direction,” Woods said.

Students who were 50-69% proficient had to show a 10-point growth, while students who were 70-89% proficient had to show a 5-point growth.

Anything above that had to show a 3-point growth.

“As it gets a little closer to 100, we do realize it’s harder, but at the end of the day, it’s all about proficiency and we want to recognize that,” Woods said. “These banners are not meant to be one and done. We want you to continue to grow and have more than one ribbon from one year.”

Woods said he intends to come back next year and hopefully add more ribbons.

“We can have up to seven years of ribbons on there,” he said. “If you fill up all seven years, we can give you a new banner.”

Woods explained as a former coach, he always loved to see State Championship banners hanging across the gymnasium, and for educators, these literacy banners are their State Championship banners.

“We want every school to be a State Champion,” he said. “That’s what we are pushing for.”

Principal Pamela Cloud was ecstatic to be a recipient of the literacy banner, but said it was all the hard work of the leadership team, who collected data and strategized daily on how to best prepare their students.

Before leaving, Woods challenged Cloud and Harper to become the recipient of the John Hancock banner.

“Once you get a taste of success, you keep wanting to come back,” he said.

Woods told Cloud and the faculty, they had until the end of the school year to get the banner. The banner requires 90% of third graders to write their names in cursive.

“I know cursive is in our new standards because I put it there,” he said. “I firmly believe that every child needs to own their signature, because that’s something they’ll take with them for the rest of their life.”

Superintendent Dr. Scott Sweeting was excited by the challenge and hoped Harper’s banner would serve as a reminder to every elementary school of the endless possibilities for growth.

“I think once teachers, students, and staff are able to feel that success of what they’ve just accomplished, it’ll be a lot easier to push them forward because they’ll know all the hard work has paid off.”

Sweeting believes the other schools will build off this momentum from Woods’ visit and seek to achieve the same status.

“We can do this and work together, using the same strategies from Harper to see the same success and same types of gains in the other schools,” Sweeting said.

While Sweeting acknowledged he was not here during last year’s milestones assessment, he is excited to be a part of the hardworking team and hopes to use his knowledge to help further not only Harper’s success but the success of all Thomasville City Schools, by providing needed resources in order to ensure Woods comes back for another banner presentation.

“We are going to shoot for the stars, and try and reach for as many goals as we can,” Sweeting concluded. “I think they are achievable goals, which the students and staff are more than capable of achieving.”