State School Superintendent Richard Woods Delivers Literacy Leader Banner to Mountain Road ES

UPDATE:  State School Superintendent Richard Woods visited Mountain Road Elementary School on November 16 to deliver the school's banner in recognition of its Literacy Leader award.  Superintendent Dr. Brian Hightower and School Board Chair Kyla Cromer, along with CCSD Chief Academic Officer Dr. Nicole Holmes and Chief Operations Officer Dr. Debra Murdock,  joined Mr. Woods as he presented to banner to Principal Erica Morrie in front of students and teachers in the school media center.

September 28, 2023-- A Cherokee County School District elementary school has earned statewide recognition for outstanding growth in student reading skills!

Mountain Road Elementary School is one of only 155 schools statewide to be honored this month as Literacy Leaders by the Georgia Department of Education.

Only schools with a 15% or higher increase in third-grade students reading at grade level or above over the past school year and/or schools with 90% or more of third-graders reaching that literacy level were recognized. The Georgia Milestones Reading Status indicator, which is based on the Lexile score associated with students' performance on the English Language Arts section of the statewide Milestones test, determined honored schools.  Mountain Road ES was honored for its growth in third-graders’ reading success.

“The ability to read opens up the doors not only to the rest of a student's education, but to their ability to continue learning throughout their life,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “That's why we are laser-focused on literacy at the Georgia Department of Education and as a state.  These schools -- our Literacy Leaders -- are doing exceptional work to ensure every student is equipped with the lifelong skill of literacy, and it's an honor to recognize them.”

The Georgia Department of Education over the past decade has provided school districts with more support to improve early literacy included grants, instructional support and teaching training and the creation of a statewide director literacy position.  

In CCSD, significant investments have been made in improving literacy through teaching professional development and implementation of new instructional resources.  A committee, made up of CCSD teachers from all grade levels and instructional leaders, met last school year to review the current curriculum, teaching techniques and professional development for teachers.  This review led to writing a comprehensive literacy plan for this school year that builds upon best practices already in place in CCSD classrooms.  Based on that research, CCSD further expanded, with training and instructional resources, its phonics program and its reading and writing strategies to support vocabulary and reading comprehension.  

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian V. Hightower praised Mountain Road ES teachers and staff, led by Principal Erica Morrie, and CCSD’s Office of Curriculum & Instruction team, led by Chief Academic Officer Nicole Holmes, for this success.

“Literacy is the foundation for all student academic success, and I’m very proud of Mountain Road and CCSD for earning this statewide honor,” Dr. Hightower said.  “Thank you to our educators for all you do to help our students succeed in reading and writing and thank you to our parents and volunteers for investing your time in supporting student learning.  Congratulations to Mountain Road’s current fourth-grade class on this success – and keep reading!”
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