PRESS RELEASE 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 21, 2009 

Linda Dudderar, Chief Academic Officer, 301-475-5511, ext. 108 

SMCPS Meets  HIGH SCHOOL AYP for 2009

LEONARDTOWN, MD -- St. Mary’s County Public Schools (SMCPS) has made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) at the system level based on the results of the high school level 2008-2009 Maryland Assessment data and graduation rate for the 2009 cohort of students.  To meet AYP at the high school instructional level, all students within each of the eight different student subgroups -- African American, American Indian, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, White, limited English proficiency (LEP), free and reduced price meals (FARMS), and special education students -- must reach the Annual Measurable Objective (AMO) for reading and mathematics as measured by the Maryland School Assessments (MSA) and the High School Assessments (HSA).  In addition, each Maryland school system must meet the state graduation rate criteria.  If a system does not meet all of these targets for all of these student groups, it does not make AYP for that year under No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

Individually, for the 2008-2009 school year, Leonardtown High School and Chopticon High School made AYP, while Great Mills High School missed this mark due to its 2009 graduation rate.

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