DILLON - Making Adequate Yearly Progress for the second time since the release began one year ago is evidence of just how much the students can accomplish with proper guidance, Dillon School District 2 Superintendent Ray Rogers said.

A quick stroll down the halls of the nearly century-old East Elementary School will turn up examples, with faculty engaging in any number of activities with the students.

One classroom, intended to be a science lab, held 16 third-graders and a music teacher Wednesday morning. Instructor Randy Rouse began the day's lesson with what appeared to be an oral history quiz, but which later turned out to be an introduction to Veterans Day music.

"Everyday Heroes" was the name of the first song he introduced to the students.

A principal speaks Morning News reporter Angela Crosland interviewed Dillon School Dist. 2 East Elementary Principal Woody Monahan about Adequate Yearly Progress and his school. Hear his take on ... No Child Left Behind How his school met its goals The state small school system's funding equity lawsuit The programs he has in place at his school The education community AYP Results Results for South Carolina schools No Child Left Behind Annual Yearly Progress were released at noon Today. Below are the links to Pee Dee and Grand Strand area school systems scores. Chesterfield County Schools Darlington County Schools Dillon Dist. 1 Schools Dillon Dist. 2 Schools Dillon Dist. 3 Schools Florence Dist. 1 Schools Florence Dist. 2 Schools Florence Dist. 3 Schools Florence Dist. 4 Schools Florence Dist. 5 Schools Georgetown County Schools Horry County Schools Lee County Schools Marion Dist. 1 Schools Marion Dist. 2 Schools Marion Dist. 7 Schools Marlboro County Schools Williamsburg County Schools

At the school, teachers are everyday heroes, Principal Woody Monahan said. He credits teachers with being champions in the battle to obtain a quality education in rural school districts.

Monahan said the teachers' experience is one reason why Dillon School District 2 ranked highest in the Pee Dee's Adequate Yearly Progress results with a 96 percent compliance index.

"We have a great faculty and veteran teachers," he said. "Some of our teachers have been here for 30 years."

But, being in the classroom would mean nothing if these seasoned teachers didn't know the curriculum and weren't teaching it, Monahan added.

"We don't have fancy schools, but our teachers make up for it with their dedication to their profession," he said.

Many times, a teacher can be held fully responsible for what a child does or does not learn in the classroom, Monahan said, but he doesn't understand why the state insists on making teachers' jobs so hard by not providing proper funding.

With one of the highest poverty indexes in the state, Dillon 2 is an integral part in the fight for the equitable funding of education in the state. It is one of eight districts in the state involved in a lawsuit against the state, that claims the way the state funds public schools does not give them enough money to give students a decent education. The court fight began more than a decade ago, and the trial, which began last July, remains under way in Manning.

Forcing a rural district such as Dillon 2 to adhere to the same standards as other more affluent school districts is a bit much for Monahan to swallow.

"Each school has different criteria they have to meet," he said. "This is just not a fair process. Really, some things about this are just out of your control."

No Child Left Behind requires schools and districts to break out their performance data into many student subcategories that include ethnicity, special education, poverty and limited ability with English. The more demographic categories a school has, the more goals it must meet.

Most South Carolina schools have at least 17 of these AYP targets, and some have as many as 29.

According to information provided by the State Department of Education, if even one of a school's subcategories of students doesn't meet its goal for that year, or if more than 5 percent of those students weren't tested, the school does not meet AYP. Elementary and middle schools can miss meeting AYP if their overall attendance rate is lower than 95.3 percent. High schools miss if graduation rates decline from the previous year.

For Title I schools - those that receive federal Title I funds because they have a significant number of students from economically disadvantaged families - not meeting Adequate Yearly Progress carries considerable consequences, according to a news release from the State Department of Education. When a Title I school misses any one of the targets, it has not made Adequate Yearly Progress.

Monahan said he feels confident his staff will make the necessary leaps and bounds to continue to excel academically, beating the odds.

Let us know what you think of this story | Send us a letter to the editor