According to Haywood Schools Superintendent Marlon King, Haywood County Schools
“made the grade” on the AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) report the state released the week of July 20. This is part of the federal No Child Left Behind initiative, which requires schools to meet benchmarks. According to the Tennessee Department of Education website, Haywood County Schools is in “Good Standing.” In other words, the Haywood County School System met the benchmarks.

All of the schools individually are in good standing as well, except Haywood Junior High School, which means that it failed to make AYP requirements in at least one area. Initiatives and changes have already been established to ensure that HJH meets expected benchmarks for this next school year.

“We are proud of the progress of our students and of the hard work of our administrators, teachers, and support staff. We are currently focused on curriculum improvement and accountability in all of our schools. We have new administrators in each school who are working to match curriculum standards to classroom performance. Haywood County Schools also has a new formative assessment that will allow the staff at each school to monitor student progress throughout the year.”

Since 2004, Haywood County Schools have never had a High Priority School. Anderson, Haywood Elementary and East Side Elementary schools were categorized as “School Improvement 1,” in 2004 and 2005, but have maintained their “Good Standing” status since 2006. The 2007 report noted that Haywood High School was a “Target” school due to not meeting the benchmarks in the writing scores. This year the writing scores meet the requirements. Sunny Hill School has held “Good Standing” status every year since 2004, as has Haywood Junior High until this year when HJH was designated as a “Target” School with math scores falling below the required benchmarks. All schools are 100 percent accredited by SACS, which monitors schools in Tennessee for performance and meeting standards set by the state.

According to the Tennessee Department of Education website, in 2008, there were 3,208 students in the Haywood County School System, and the per-pupil expenditure was $8,210, $135 less than the state average. The state funded 61 percent of the cost of education in Haywood Schools, federal funding provided 14.1 percent of the cost, and local government paid for 24.8 percent of what it costs to educate Haywood County children.