Tuesday November 20, 2007

Mayor Jerry Abramson, Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Sheldon Berman and GLI President Joe Reagan today visited two local elementary schools to announce the winners of the 2007 Mayor’s Top Apple Schools award.

Abramson presented the awards to students and faculty at Wheatley Elementary and Atkinson Elementary. A total of 41 schools across the district received the award – 13 high schools, three middle schools and 25 elementary schools. The schools not visited today will receive awards during principal meetings before the end of the year. Twenty-two schools received the award in 2006.

“In just one year, we have almost doubled the number of schools who are making tremendous progress in helping our community reach its goal of having all children reading at or above grade level by 2008,” Abramson said. “Reading is the foundation on which our children build their future success. When Every 1 Reads, Louisville succeeds.”

Every 1 Reads Schools of Excellence
Abramson created the award last year to honor Every 1 Reads schools of excellence.

To qualify, schools must have virtually all students reading at or above grade level (less than two percent novice readers) or have double-digit improvements in reading scores (reduction in number of novice readers).

“The Mayor’s Top Apple award is a great way to honor students, teachers and principals for the hard work they do each and everyday in the classroom that make the goals we set forward a real possibility,” said Dr. Berman.

The Mayor’s Top Apple Schools award is presented by Sullivan University System.

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“We are proud to sponsor the Mayor’s Top Apple Schools award and applaud the accomplishments of the students, teachers and volunteer tutors,” said Glenn Sullivan, president of the Sullivan University System. “We hope these students will establish a lifelong love of learning and reading that will encourage them to pursue higher education.”

Each school will receive a banner, a glass apple handcrafted by artists from the Flame Run Gallery and bookmarks for each student.

A banner featuring all the winners will be displayed at the C.B. Young Jr. Service Center, 3001 Crittenden Drive, near the fairgrounds. It will hang on the front of Louisville Metro Hall after the first of the year.

The city, JCPS and Greater Louisville Inc. launched the Every 1 Reads program in 2003 with the goal of having all children reading at grade level by 2008. Since the program started, the number of novice readers overall has been reduced from 19 percent to 8.5 percent.

“This translates to about 10,000 students who have improved their reading scores and skills thanks to the diligence of our teachers, our kids, our parents and our volunteers,” Abramson said.

A complete list of winning schools and their scores is attached.

To learn more about volunteering for the Every 1 Reads program, visit Every1Reads.com or call 625-0004.

Virtually All Students Reading on Grade Level – Fewest Novice Readers

School Name	Novice Readers
Audubon Traditional Elementary School	0.94%
Barret Traditional Middle School	0.32%
Brown Elementary School	1.44%
Brown High School	1.82%
Brown Middle School	1.82%
Carter Traditional Elementary School	0.35%
Central High School	1.15%
DuPont Manual High School	0%
Eastern High School	1.76%
Greathouse Shryock Traditional Elementary School	0%
Jefferson County Traditional Middle School	1.42%
Louisville Male Traditional High School	0.23%
Lowe Elementary School	1.69%
Schaffner Traditional Elementary School	0.64%
Wilder Elementary School	1.14%

Most Improved Reading Scores

School Name	Decrease in Novice Readers
Atkinson Elementary School	35.71%
Blue Lick Elementary School	13.03%
Breckinridge/Franklin Elementary School	11.69%
Byck Elementary School	11.53%
Camp Taylor Elementary School	11.33%
Cochrane Elementary School	16.69%
Crums Lane Elementary School	13.93%
Doss High School Magnet Career Academy	12.45%
Fairdale High School Magnet Career Academy	12.82%
Gutermuth Elementary School	10.73%
Iroquois High School	17.51%
Jacob Elementary School	17.57%
Jeffersontown High School Magnet Career Academy	13.73%
Johnsontown Road Elementary School	13.02%
Lincoln Elementary School	15.47%
Maupin Elementary School	12.87%
Moore Traditional High School	13.07%
Rangeland Elementary School	14.16%
Semple Elementary School	19.53%
Shawnee High School Magnet Career Academy	24.49%
Valley Traditional High School	18.07%
Wellington Elementary School	17.62%
Western High School Math, Science and Technology Magnet	12.18%
Wheatley Elementary School	24.20%
Wilt Elementary School	12.69%
Zachary Taylor Elementary School	17.22%