“I am a bold future leader, a confident reader, and a limitless believer.” Everyone at Slater Elementary begins their day saying these powerful words.
The Georgia Department of Education (GADOE) recently recognized Slater among 155 Georgia schools who have exceptional achievement or growth in third-grade reading as 2022-2023 Literacy Leaders. Slater is among 84 schools on the list with a 15% or higher increase from 2021-22 to 2022-23 that are being recognized for outstanding growth. Slater is one of 15 Atlanta Public Schools (APS) and 10 that received recognition for growth in ELA assessment scores.
“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.”
In October, Superintendent Woods visited Slater to recognize and congratulate the school for being a Literacy Leader.
“We are committed to promoting a love of reading for our students,” said Jovan Miles, Principal of Slater Elementary. “At the beginning of the SY23-24 school year, a group of educators at Slater formed a literacy committee to help create a new approach to literacy and building a culture of loving to read. We know reading is a gateway to success in school, and at the end of the day, we just want our students to thrive.”
Literacy Leader qualifications use the Georgia Milestones Reading Status indicator, which is based on the Lexile score associated with students’ performance on a subset of questions on the ELA assessment.