&8220;When schools flourish, all flourishes&8221;

&045; Martin Luther

Local educators received a well deserved pat on the back Monday with the release of school progress reports by the Alabama Department of Education.

Ninety-seven percent of our schools met their progress goals this year, up from 70 percent last year.

As part of the federal government&8217;s &8220;No Child Left Behind&8221; act, public schools must make adequate yearly progress [AYP] on state achievement tests such as mathematics and reading. Failing to achieve AYP leads to putting the underachieving school on improvement status and certainly leaves parents and teachers wishing for better results.

Those wishes were fulfilled and thankfully so.

If one is looking for lasting legacies of achievement, look no further than this progress report for signs that local teachers, administrators and parents are making an already excellent school system even stronger.

Knowing the positive results of these tests could not come at a better time as area students head back to school today.

Some students will be starting school for the first time today while many teachers and administrators will start new roles in the field of education. We can all imagine the stress and excitement they each will be going through today.

In thinking of all those students heading back to school, here are a couple of tips for making the first day of school a bit easier from kidshealth.org:

– Get enough sleep.

– Eat a healthy breakfast.

– Try your best.

– Develop good work habits, like writing down your assignments and turning in your homework on time.

– Take your time with school work. If you don&8217;t understand something, ask the teacher.

– Keep a sense of humor.

Congratulations again to our school system for a job well done and best of luck to all for an excellent 2006-07 school year