Coosa County Schools leads region in improvement on Alabama school report card, bumps grade up to a B
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
Coosa County Schools
Special to the News
When Alabama’s school report grades were released late last week, students, staff, parents, and the community at large were excited to learn that not only had Coosa County Schools bumped its grade up to a B for the first time since the inception of the school report card system, but that the school system led the region in the percentage of increase in improvement.
For the 2024-2025 reporting year, Coosa County Schools earned an 82 on the state report card, up 10 points from its 72 score for the previous reporting year.
The main components of the report card grade include academic achievement, up 3.4%; academic growth, up 2.3% at the elementary school; graduation rate, up 24.6%; college and career readiness, up 9.7%; chronic absenteeism, down 50%; and progress in English language proficiency, up 7.6%.
There are multiple factors and programs which have been implemented over the course of the last couple of years that have resulted in the improvements in the county’s school system, and the school administration and staff are thankful to see the fruits of their labor.
One contributing factor to the improved grade is that in 2021 Coosa County Schools received a $1.6 million literacy grant, which provides programs and books to increase literacy skills.
The grant is also an integral part of the summer enrichment camps provided for students at no cost to their families. Data has shown Coosa County students are making tremendous improvement at the conclusion of the summer enrichment camps.
In addition, a partnership with SAFE provides after-school enrichment programs for the elementary students at no cost to parents. The same partnership provides a pay-to-learn after school program for high school students centered around ACT prep and WorkKeys prep.
In the area of college and career readiness, positive factors include the reopening of the Coosa County Science and Technology Center in 2022, as well as the county’s high school students being afforded increased opportunities for dual enrollment at Central Alabama Community College, again, at no cost to parents.
In the area of the graduation rate, the school system understands that every student has different needs, so administration and staff have expanded opportunities for virtual education for those students who need to work for financial reasons or who are unable to physically attend school for extenuating circumstances. The virtual option enables students to earn their high school diploma rather than drop out.
However, Coosa County’s school system’s biggest improvement came in the area of chronic absenteeism. At school the staff works hard to create an environment where students want to be at school and learn, and they have introduced more incentive programs to celebrate student success in areas such as academic excellence, academic improvement and attendance.
Staff note, however, that attendance is an area where parents really make a difference, stressing to their child the importance of being at school, ensuring their students are attending school every day, making appointments after school hours, etc. Attendance naturally has a ripple effect, and the more students are at school, the more learning will take place.
Some things are hard to quantify though, but the school system knows collectively they make a difference. Coosa County Schools has a support staff who are positive and loving, including the bus drivers, lunchroom workers, custodians, secretaries, and bookkeepers.
The majority of Coosa County’s teachers and paraprofessionals have also been working together as a team for five years, with a large number of the staff being veteran teachers with 20-plus years experience.
Additionally, the system also has the same administrative team who has been working together as a team for five years with a cohesive vision for the students.
Lastly, the Coosa County School System has the support of the local school board, the community, the Alabama State Department of Education, and Sen. Clyde Chambliss and Rep. Ben Robbins at the State House helping to provide the schools with what is needed to provide a quality education for Coosa’s students.
While the improved state report care grade is exciting news and shows significant improvement, the school system acknowledges that its work is not done. The administration and staff state that they will continue to strive for even higher outcomes for the students.
All the late nights and weekends Coosa County’s educators spend to help their students are finally paying off. As one teacher remarked, which embodies the spirit of educators in Coosa County, “It just makes me want to work harder.”
