Georgia Association of Secondary School Principals (GASSP) has a yearly program to recognize outstanding middle schools throughout the state. The criteria used mirrors the NASSP model of Breakthrough Schools and is titled by GASSP as the Breakout Middle Schools. The criteria the schools must meet and demonstrate through evidence are: collaborative leadership, personalization and curriculum, instruction and assessment. The pool of applicants has grown each year and a committee of state principals reviews each application and scores them based on a rubric.
This year GASSP recognized seven Breakout Middle Schools. Coffee Middle School was selected as one of these winners. For the first time this year, these schools were invited to be part of the GASSP Fall Conference program as they shared their success stories in a special conference session.
GASSP also awards and honors schools at a distinguished level. These schools are the candidates from the applicant pool that offered quality evidence and supporting documentation in their application that confirmed a demonstrated commitment to meeting the needs of all students. There were four of these schools this year and congratulations to Coffee Middle School for obtaining this level of recognition. The school received an award to display in the building along with an $800 donation. The award was accepted by Principal Sherri Berry during the recent GASSP Fall Conference in Savannah. Congratulations to the faculty, students and community of Coffee Middle School on this outstanding award and achievement.