The Richmond County Board of Education acknowledged academic improvements throughout the school district in its committee and board meetings on Tuesday evening.
Advanced Studies Program Director Charlie Tudor explained to the board that the national average of SAT test takers declined since 2020, and that 2023 scores in the evidence-based reading and writing (ERW) portion of the test dropped by five points, with Georgia’s stats largely following suit.
Several Richmond County schools bucked these trends, however. Tudor went on to say that Butler, Glenn Hills, Hephzibah, T.W. Josey and Westside high schools all increased both math and ERW scores on the SATs by an average of 29 points, this year; while scores at A.R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet School and Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School surpassed the state median.
Tudor also noted that, while the school district did not see a significant overall change in its ACT scores, Butler, Glen Hills, Josey and Lucy C. Laney High Schools all maintained or increased their reading, math and science component score averages. Davidson’s ACT scores were above the state average, while A.R. Johnson’s exceeded the national average.
District schools develop their own SAT/ACT action plans to prepare students, Tudor said. The programs include prep courses, awareness activities, student counseling activities, achievement celebrations and data progress monitoring checkpoints.
The schools also establish SAT/ACT action plan committees comprised of teachers, administrators, counselors, instructional specialists and parent facilitators.
“This group helped create that plan,” said Tudor. “In addition, there’s also a professional learning opportunity provided each summer for those teachers who are teaching the SAT/ACT prep course.”
Cathy Johnson, director of nutrition services for the Richmond County School System, told the board about a new Local Food for Schools initiative growing in school districts nationwide. Richmond County was among the schools selected by the state to receive some $133,000 for the program, which, Johnson said, is designed to offer opportunities to disadvantaged and small businesses to work with the district to provide food items for school cafeterias.
Johnson made sure to note that the school system is working to ease local farmers’ concerns about supplying food for a school district as large as Richmond County’s.
“We work with a lot of farmers,” Johnson said. “Sometimes we provide things to schools in clusters, or perhaps we can work with several farmers to be able to meet the needs of the entire district.”
The district has so far secured fresh blueberries from BluStarr Farms in Dearing, placed on the menus in time for National School Lunch Week, last month. The district plans to secure sweet potatoes next, said Johnson, noting “that’s actually the vegetable of the month for the state of Georgia.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
