The annual APS Awards honored those schools that made their district targets in a ceremony held Nov. 2 at Douglass High School. APS Superintendent Dr. Beverly L. Hall gave out the awards. She noted the tremendous advances made at APS thanks to its reform efforts, including increased scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test, a doubling of scholarship money offered students, increased graduation rates, improved performance on state exams, improved financial stewardship, and more effective wellness programs. Hall expressed pride at all of these achievements:
I want you to know that, together, we remain on a solid journey to excellence. To paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson, if we are going to continue to lift students up – that is, to raise achievement – then we, ourselves, can only do so by standing on higher ground. Please stay focused on the collective high standards you’ve demonstrated throughout the past several years. As we carry on our important work, let’s remember that we absolutely have something to celebrate. At the same time, we still have much more to do.
Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy sixth-grader Taylor Garlington provided the welcome for guests, while the Douglass high NJROTC (under direction of Commander Leroy Washington) presented the colors. Morris Brandon Elementary fifth-grader Mason Wright led the Pledge of Allegiance, while Cleveland Avenue Elementary music teacher Alonzo Taylor sang the national anthem.