The Georgia Department of Education has released the 2020-21 list of Reward Schools – the Title I schools making the most progress in improving student performance. This year, 157 schools in 77 school districts were identified as Reward Schools, including three from the Bibb County School District. These three schools are Burdell-Hunt Magnet School, Miller Magnet Middle School and Brookdale Elementary School, which consolidated with Riley Elementary to become John R. Lewis Elementary.

“While we are focused on ensuring all schools have the support and resources they need to continuously improve, it is incredibly important that we also recognize and celebrate when schools are doing well,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “I wish to congratulate the staff and students of this year’s Reward Schools – during a time of challenges, they have worked hard and they have succeeded.”

A Reward School is among the 5 percent of Title I schools in the state that is making the most progress in improving the performance of all students over the most recent two years on the statewide assessments. Because assessments were not administered in the 2019-20 school year, this year’s list is based on 2018-19 and 2019-20 data.

A school may not be classified as a Title I Reward School if it is also identified for Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) or Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI).