Chattooga High School students, faculty and staff have something to shout about! CHS has met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the 2010 school year!  Principal Jimmy Lenderman was informed on over the weekend by Mary Ann Lasseter, a representative from the Georgia Department of Education, that CHS has made Adequate Yearly Progress or AYP.  AYP serves as the annual measure of student achievement by the state of Georgia. It is the cornerstone of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. In other words, AYP is the holy grail of academic accomplishments for school systems in Georgia. For high schools, student achievement is measured using the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) and the Georgia Alternate Assessment (GAA) for the most severely cognitively impaired students to determine a school’s progress.

Principal Lenderman sent out an email to CHS staff members on Sunday evening congratulating them on their great gain. He expressed his gratitude for their hard work and dedication by stating, “There are no words in our language that can tell you how I feel about all of you. Thank you all for what you do not only for CHS, but for our county!  ‘One Tribe’ ‘One People’ ‘One Chattooga’.” There will surely be a great celebration in the Tribe this week and for many weeks to come. This accomplishment is an enormous conquest for Chattooga High School. This triumph further enforces the motto implemented last year by Lenderman that states “We Expect Success.” Lenderman often reminds CHS Indians that they will be the best school in the nation and today, Chattooga High School is one colossal movement closer to reaching that goal.

           As a CHS teacher I can attest to the enormous effort made to reach this goal by students, teachers, administration, parents and other staff at the high school. It’s exhilarating to see hard work pay off.  If you see a CHS student, teacher, administrator or other staff member, take time to congratulate them on their achievement.

-Mary Beth Housch