(Columbus, GA) – A Special Called Board Meeting is scheduled for the Muscogee County Board of Education on Friday, August 25, 2017, at 5:00 p.m. The purpose of the special called meeting is to discuss and possibly amend the 2018 Millage Rate based on the recent receipt of the final Property Tax Digest.

On Monday, August 21^st, our community will have the opportunity to experience an amazing event – a near total (90%) solar eclipse, beginning at 1:07 pm and ending at 4:04 pm.

The Muscogee County School District wants you and your family to be well informed and safe as you consider participating in this event.

Early Dismissal for Elementary Schools – 12:00 pm

Although we will not experience a total eclipse, the darkest part is scheduled to occur during the normal dismissal time for our elementary school students. As a result, the District is releasing elementary school students at 12:00 pm (Noon) and at 11:30 am for special education and shuttle bus riders. All after-school programs at all schools will operate as normal.

Middle and High Schools – Regular Schedule

Middle and High Schools will remain open and on their regular school schedule. Extra-curricular afterschool activities for the middle schools and high schools will operate as normal, but outside activities will be moved inside until after the eclipse.

Student Absence/Early Check-out

All student absences and/or early check-outs on this day will be counted as excused, provided the absence has been pre-arranged and all required work is completed (students should confer with their teachers about assignments due that day). Parents who wish to pick up their students are requested to do so with ample time to get safely home or to an eclipse viewing location.

Permission Form for Outdoor Activities

Schools that are having activities where students may go outdoors to view the eclipse will be sending home forms requesting parent permission. Although schools will have safeguards in place, parental consent is still required. Students who do not have a signed consent form on file for this activity will be provided a different indoor instructional activity related to the eclipse.

About Gear Up
In October 2016, Georgia received its first statewide GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Potential) Grant. On behalf of the Governor’s Office, the University System of Georgia will administer the seven-year, $21-million-dollar grant awarded by US Department of Education.

The statewide project will serve over 12,000 high need students in over 40 schools.

In order to increase post-secondary access and success for students in these high need areas of the state, the project will employ two delivering services and activities models.

Cohort Schools
Baker Middle School, Eddy Middle School, East Columbus Middle School, Fort Leadership Magnet Academy, and Rothschild Middle School

(Columbus, GA)-A ribbon-cutting ceremony and guided preview of the new Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts is scheduled for Wednesday, August 2, 2017, at 4:00 p.m. at 1700 Midtown Drive. The 118,500 square foot, $36 million dollar project is funded through the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). The state-of-the art facility is designed by Hecht Burdeshaw Architects, Inc. and constructed by Brasfield & Gorrie.

“While the school will certainly produce talented artists, its primary mission is to foster creativity and innovation to enhance whatever career field these students pursue,” said the Superintendent, Dr. David Lewis.

The new Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts provides instruction for up to 500 middle and high school students. It features dedicated space for band, chorus, orchestra, piano lab, black box theatre, two dance studios, 650-seat auditorium, art gallery, dark room, practice rooms, digital editing rooms, film edit suite, and film screening auditorium.

The school opens August 7, 2017, on schedule, to receive students in grades 6-10 for the 2017-2018 school year. Plans to add grades 11-12 over the next two years are also underway.

“We are extremely grateful to the citizens of Muscogee County for their support of the SPLOST, which funds this exciting addition to our school district and community,” added Lewis. “This school is yet another testament to our community’s commitment to progress, the arts and public education.”

A formal dedication program and open house is anticipated in the fall to celebrate and thank the community for this long-awaited vision that is now a reality.

For more information, email communications@muscogee.k12.ga.us .

The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement has developed and launched Words2Reading, a web-based literacy resource for families, caregivers, and teachers of children ages birth to eight.

The website, which is easily accessible on mobile phones, provides resources with easy-to-use learning tips and opportunities. GOSA has partnered with Georgia-based organizations and other high-quality providers to bring families, caregivers and teacher the best tools for to help increase language and literacy development and to increase school readiness and success. Additional quality resources will be curated and added continually as they are identified and tagged.

Words2Reading also provides an accessible opportunity for parents to subscribe to Ready4KGA, an evidence-based text messaging program for families of newborns to 5 years that is provided at no cost. Each week, subscribers receive fun facts and easy tips that can easily increase children’s learning.

Links to these sites have been placed on the Families and Students page.

(Columbus, GA)-The Muscogee County School District (MCSD) expands the number of Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) schools for the 2017-2018 school year from 38 to 41 schools. Blanchard Elementary, Midland Academy, and Shaw High School are new additions to the list of CEP schools. CEP is a provision established by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and part of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, which allows all children who attend a CEP school to eat breakfast and lunch at no charge.

CEP eligible schools must have at least 40% of students directly certified by the State of Georgia as a homeless child, a foster child, a recipient of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). In addition, 40% of the students identified who are eligible can be calculated by individual school, groups of schools, or the entire district. Groups of schools can be any combination of schools in the district. The students who are eligible are based on data as of April 1 for the previous school year.

There are 13 MCSD schools that are non-CEP schools (Aaron Cohn Middle School, Blackmon Road Middle School, Britt David Magnet Academy, Clubview Elementary School, Columbus High School, Double Churches Elementary School, Eagle Ridge Academy, Mathews Elementary School, Midland Middle School, North Columbus Elementary School, Northside High School, Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts, and Veterans Memorial Middle School). Parents of students who attend non-CEP schools may complete an application for free and reduced meals to determine eligibility.

2017-2018 Meal Prices
Elementary Schools Breakfast $ .95 Lunch $2.35
Middle Schools and High Schools Breakfast $1.20 Lunch $2.60

Parents or legal guardians who have an outstanding balance for their child’s meals for the previous year should contact the School Nutrition Manager at the school to pay the balance in-full before the first day of school for the 2017-2018 school year.

For more information on CEP, access the Georgia Department of Education site, www.gadoe.org or contact
communications@muscogee.k12.ga.us.

(Columbus, GA)-The Muscogee County School District (MCSD) increases the percentage of students identified as Proficient and Distinguished Learners in 14 of the 24 Georgia Milestones assessed areas. Likewise, MCSD decreased the percentage of students identified as Beginning Learners in twelve (12) areas and outperforms other second-tier city comparison districts (Bibb, Chatham, Richmond) in 20 of 24.

“I am pleased with the return on investment we are realizing in the sustained areas of improvement such as increased reading Lexile levels in nearly all grades,” said Dr. David Lewis, Superintendent. “Likewise, these results further substantiate our strategic realignment of budget and training priorities already in place for the coming year and beyond to address needed improvement in math as well as the transition to new state science and social studies curriculum standards that go into effect this year.”

Georgia Milestones Assessment System (GMAS) End-of-Grade Assessment Highlights

• The district increased or maintained the number of Proficient and Distinguished Learners in 9 of 16 (56.25%) areas on the End-of-Grade (EOG) assessment.
• The district decreased or maintained the number of Beginning Learners in 9 of 16 (56.25%) areas on the End-of-Grade assessment.
• The district increased or maintained the number of Proficient and Distinguished Learners in 4 of 6 (66.6%) of grade levels in English language arts.
• The district increased or maintained the number of Proficient and Distinguished Learners in 3 of 6 (50%) of grade levels in mathematics.
• The district increased the number of Proficient and Distinguished Learners in 8^th grade Science which represents 50% of grade levels assessed for Science.
• The district maintained the number of Proficient and Distinguished Learners in 8^th grade Social Studies which represents 50% of grade levels assessed Social Studies.

*These results include the combined EOG and EOC for math and science in 8^th grade.



GMAS End-of-Course Assessment Highlights

• The district increased or maintained the number of Proficient and Distinguished Learners in 5 of 7 (71.4%) areas on the End-of-Course assessments (EOC).
  (This is the first year MCSD administered Geometry instead of Analytic Geometry, so two-year trend data is not available.)
• The district decreased the number of Beginning Learners in 3 of 7 (42.8%) areas on the End-of-Course assessments
• The district increased the number of Proficient and Distinguished Learners in 2 of 2 (100%) of courses in English language arts
• The district increased the number of Proficient and Distinguished Learners in 2 of 2 (100%) of courses in science
• The district increased or maintained the number of Proficient and Distinguished Learners in 2 of 2 (100%) of courses in social studies

*The State results included a 2016 and 2017 comparison of Analytic Geometry.
MCSD no longer offers Analytic Geometry.




Patrick Knopf, Director of Research, Accountability and Assessment says, “An analysis of the release data and school level report shows there are increases in the number of students reading above grade level, which is a portion of the total ELA score, however, writing and math are areas that need improvement district-wide.”

The Georgia Milestones Assessment System is designed to provide information about how well students are mastering the state-adopted content standards in the core content areas of language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies for End of Grade (EOG) in grades 3-8, and End of Course (EOC) in grades 9-12.

Georgia Milestones EOG and EOC tests report student learning with four levels of performance, compared to three with the CRCT. The designations aim to shift the focus away from test scores and aim to capture the progression of a student’s learning.

Beginning Learners are students that require a significant amount of support from home and school to be successful in the next grade level.

Developing Learners have shown partial mastery of their grade level standards, but need some additional home and school support to be successful in the next grade level.

Proficient Learners have strongly shown the mastery of the grade level standards and they are ready to move up to the next grade level.


Distinguished Learners have shown mastery beyond the grade level, which indicates their readiness for advanced coursework.

“We thank and commend our students, teachers, administrators, and support staff for their hard work and commitment to our district’s continuous improvement,” added Lewis. “We recognize and appreciate the support of our parents and our community because we know schools cannot do this work alone.”

For more information, contact communications@muscogee.k12.ga.us or access the Georgia Department of Education, www.gadoe.org .

How to Register Your Child
2017-2018 School Calendar
Parent Forms to Complete
Elementary School Supply List

School Start Times

Level/School Name	Doors Open	Start Time	End Time
Elementary Schools	7:15 AM	8:00 AM	2:30 PM
Middle Schools	8:20 AM	8:50 AM	3:50 PM
High Schools	7:40 AM	8:10 AM	3:25 PM
Eagle Ridge Academy	7:00 AM	7:45 AM	2:15 PM
North Columbus Elementary	7:00 AM	7:45 AM	2:15 PM
Fox Elementary	7:15 AM	8:00 AM	3:00 PM
Jordan High School	7:20 AM	7:50 AM	3:25 PM
Rainey-McCullers School Of the Arts	7:40 AM	8:10 AM	3:25 PM
Spencer High School	7:20 AM	7:50 AM	3:25 PM