Fayette County 5th Graders Make Gains on Writing Assessment

The Spring 2009 Georgia Fifth Grade Writing Assessment results for Fayette County show a decrease in students scoring in the “does not meet” category while students meeting standards rise.

Compared to last year’s results, four percent more students moved into the “meets standards” category with a two percent decrease in “does not meet standards.” According to the results, 73 percent of students are meeting standards, 15 percent are exceeding them (same as last year) and 13 percent are not meeting standards. A total of 1,613 students took the test.

Fayette County remains a leader in the state with 22 percent of Georgia’s students “not meeting standards,” 70 percent “meeting” and eight percent “exceeding.”

The largest gains on the test were among Fayette County's Hispanic students with more moving out of the “does not meet” category and into “meets.” The 2009 results show that out of the 100 students who took the test, 20 percent failed to meet standards (an eight percent drop from last year), 70 percent met the standards (an 11 percent increase from last year) and 10 percent exceeded the standards.

The Georgia Writing Assessment is administered to students in grades three, five, eight and 11. The assessments provide information to students about their writing performance and areas of strength and challenge.

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School Breakfast and Lunch Prices Increase Five Percent

The rising costs of food and other expenses associated with the preparation of school meals have resulted in a modest increase in lunch prices for the new school year.

Students at all grade levels will pay 10 cents more for lunch and breakfast. At the elementary level, breakfast will cost $1.35 and lunch $2. Middle and high school students will pay $1.45 for breakfast and $2.10 for lunch. There were no price changes for students receiving reduced priced breakfasts and lunches.

Adults will also have to pay more for food purchased at the schools. Lunch prices went up 15 cents across the board to $2.75. Breakfast prices remain the same at $1.45.

The increases in student meal prices were set at the lowest price point needed to offset expenses based on increases from the previous school year that included a 23% increase in the cost of food, a one percent increase in labor and a 13% increase in other supplies such as paper products, chemicals, office supplies, small equipment and computer equipment.

The school nutrition program operates on a zero balanced budget, meaning it does not make a profit from food sales but relies on revenues generated from sales to cover its costs. More than half of the costs to prepare meals (54.1%) are supplemented from meal sales. Another 13.4% comes from extra food sold at the schools. Other sources of income include funding from the state and federal government at 4.5% and 24.1%, respectively, and foods received from the USDA valued at 3.9%.

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Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone