• Category 1

    Selected in 2023

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 3,537
    Student Enrollment: 492
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 1.5%
    White/Caucasian: 80.2%
    Hispanic: 13.3%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0.6%
    Native American: 0.2%
    Other: 4.2%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:14.5
    % Reduced Lunch: 100%
    % ELL Learners: 6.4%
    Founded: 2010
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Brandi Todd
  • CONTACT:
    3244 Midway Church Road
    Blackshear, GA 31516
    912-807-0084
    btodd@pierce.k12.ga.us
Midway Elementary School
Blackshear, GA
Excellence has always been the standard at MES.
1. Tell us about your school’s success.
Students in grades three, four, and five have shown significant growth in English Language Arts (ELA) and math achievement over the last 2 years as measured by the weighted achievement percentages on the End-of-Grade Milestone Assessments (GMAS). Midway Elementary continues to meet the needs of students as a result of the impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic. On the ELA GMAS, the weighted achievement percentage has increased from 70.23% in 2021 to 87.94% in 2023. On the Math GMAS the weighted achievement percentage has increased from 84.88% to 95.83%.

Historical ELA GMAS Weighted Achievement Percentage for MES and State of GA:
2018-19: MES - 84.08% GA - 68.32%
2020-21: MES - 70.23% GA - 57.46%
2021-22: MES - 84.12% GA - 60.92%
2022-23: MES - 87.94% GA - 59.47%

Historical Math GMAS Weighted Achievement Percentage for MES and State of GA:
2018-19: MES - 91.70% GA - 72.71%
2020-21: MES - 84.88% GA - 61.62%
2021-22: MES - 84.98% GA - 65.78%
2022-23: MES - 95.83% GA - 66.34%
2. Talk about the greatest contributing factor(s) that promoted positive change in your school.
Over the last two academic years (2021-2022 and 2022-2023), Midway Elementary has developed and implemented a systematic approach to assessing student achievement, collecting and analyzing data, and making informed and intentional instructional decisions with the goal of meeting the needs of all students and maximizing progress towards grade level achievement expectations. This initiative included multiple stakeholders: administrators, support staff, teachers, students, parents, and community members. Each member played a vital role to the success of this initiative.

One of the key components of this initiative was the data collection and analysis. Grade level data sheets were created to help teachers access each data point for students in one place. These sheets provided a running record of achievement performance, overall performance averages, and then the overall correlation of each assessment administered to the EOG GMAS Assessment.
3. How has ESEA funding supported the school's success?
Federal funds, specifically ESSR III-ARP funds, were used to implement this initiative at MES. Both NWEA and Edulastic were paid for using ESSR III-ARP funds. These funds were imperative and helped MES launch and sustain this initiative for the last two years. The programs were important so that students had a similar platform to the GMAS platform, so that students could benchmark test in a similar manner as end-of-year testing.

In addition, our Instructional Coach and intervention specialist were paid using Title I, Part A funds. These individuals, along with school administration, helped lead and monitor the process through data-driven meetings, professional development, and student intervention and supports. Financial collaboration specifically occurred with the school administration and district leaders to employ part-time, highly effective teachers to support this initiative. Federal funds were crucial to implementing this initiative at MES.
4. What professional development activities were used to improve teaching and learning?
The professional learning opportunities provided to improve teaching and learning included training in data analysis, the Edulastic testing platform, assessment item writing and standards alignment, and using effective teaching strategies as reported by the meta analysis of John Hattie. Teachers engaged in these topics during grade level common planning times, scheduled professional development days, and vertical content meetings.

To begin this initiative, teachers received professional development on how to analyze their current data to include understanding of how student achievement is measured by the state assessments and on the NWEA MAP Growth Assessment. Through vertical planning, teachers were able to discuss the rigor of the EOG GMAS, define the different levels of questions and question types, and explicitly unpack the content standards. When teachers began triangulating the benchmark results, they were able to pinpoint needs of students and noticed gaps in instruction.
5. Talk about the cultural shift leading up to your school's success.
Excellence has always been the standard at MES. We have collaborative teacher teams that truly want what is best for students. Although we were accustomed to a systematic approach to teaching and learning, we had gotten away from teacher-created benchmarks and transitioned to ready-made assessments. As a school, we had to take a look at the data and realize our students were more successful when we used teacher-created benchmarks and data analysis. At MES, collaborative efforts were shared through the data collection process, the analysis of the findings, making instructional program decisions, and financially supporting the implementation of this initiative. These results were reported to all stakeholders during the Title I Extravaganza, school council meetings, parent teacher conferences, and BST meetings. Depending on the level of the meeting, appropriate data was shared from the school level to the student level.
6. How has community involvement strengthened your success?
Midway Elementary School has a long tradition of community involvement and a standard of excellence. Built as a small rural school, Pierce County has always had pride and shown support for the school district. Parent involvement is strong, and business partnerships are important to our success. Local schools and clubs also work well together to provide our students with opportunities outside of the classroom setting. Partners such as the Okefenokee Swamp Park and our local rural electric membership cooperative REMC provide classroom instruction and learning opportunities.

Throughout the years, our district is consistently a top ten district in the state of Georgia. MES boasts a strong Better Seeking Team of teacher leaders, as well as an active School Council filled with business and parent support. There is a lot of pride in our small, community school, and we have a community of supportive parents who all want excellence for their children.
Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2023

  • Grades: pre k - 5
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 3,537
    Student Enrollment: 492
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 1.5%
    White/Caucasian: 80.2%
    Hispanic: 13.3%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0.6%
    Native American: 0.2%
    Other: 4.2%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:14.5
    % Reduced Lunch: 100%
    % ELL Learners: 6.4%
    Founded: 2010
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Brandi Todd
  • CONTACT:
    3244 Midway Church Road
    Blackshear, GA 31516
    912-807-0084
    btodd@pierce.k12.ga.us