Koontz Elementary on the right path
Writer and physician Oliver Wendall Holmes stated that, “The great thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving.” With the release of the preliminary AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) results for the 2008-2009 school year by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, it is evident that Elizabeth Duncan Koontz Elementary School continues to move in the right direction.
Goals were set last year that called for considerable growth. This year, Koontz met those goals by achieving 17 out of 17 AYP targets ó that’s 100 percent!
This accomplishment is a testament to the dedication and efforts of the students, staff, parents and community that have supported Koontz in its first three years of existence. Koontz has been blessed to have community organizations and leaders provide supplies and volunteers to help students work diligently to be successful, along with our dedicated parents who work to provide a variety of support for both students and teachers.
Staff members of Koontz have shown themselves to be a special group of individuals, consisting of those who have been at the school since its inception, as well as those who arrived during this school year. All of these individuals have worked together setting goals to help the students of Koontz be successful.
Meeting the AYP targets for the 2008-2009 school year is a major step in those goals. These individuals deserve our appreciation and admiration for a job well done.
Jonas Salk, developer of the first polio vaccine, once stated, “The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.” Knowing the staff, parents, students and community of Koontz, I am certain we are ready to embrace the opportunity to do more.
ó Ricky D. Dunlap
Salisbury
Dunlap is principal of Elizabeth Duncan Koontz Elementary School.