Early in his tenure as President, George W. Bush instituted an initiative called No Child Left Behind. While many considered this plan unrealistic, the point was loud and clear - students were being left behind. Not all students, but often those who fall into smaller categories such as ethnicity, special education, poverty, etc. Although this plan has been replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act, it is still imperative that we ensure ALL students have the opportunity to be successful.

This can be particularly challenging when it comes to testing. Currently, Anderson School District Two has 16% of its population categorized as special education. 1% of the total population (those with significant cognitive disabilities) is allowed to take an alternate exam. However, every other student regardless of their disability is required to take the same on-level test as their peers.  If a student is functioning at a 1st-grade level but is in the 5th grade, they are required to take the 5th grade test. That means our teachers are not only trying to close existing learning gaps with these students but they are also responsible for providing 5th grade instruction in those tested areas.

Recently, the State Department of Education listed the Additional Targeted Support and Improvement Schools (ATSI). These are a list of schools with subgroups of students performing at or below the 5th percentile of all schools in the state. In other words, they have subgroups that are really struggling to catch up to the other populations of their schools.  Almost 60 of the 82 school districts had at least one school listed and there are over 210 total schools (85% of those are due to low performing special education populations), including 7 in Anderson County. However, Anderson School District Two is not in that conversation. Although our special education population (16%) is high compared to the state average (11%), our teachers and administration are committed to closing any gap in instruction. Well done Special Education teachers of Anderson School District Two!