VALDOSTA — Scintilla Charter Academy scholars perform highly in both content mastery and readiness at the elementary and middle school level.

The Georgia Department of Education released the 2022 College and Career Ready Performance Index reports, which include a content mastery score based on student scores on state assessments in English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies as well as a readiness score based on literacy scores and data on the percentage of students passing “Beyond the Core” instruction at the elementary and middle scores.

Recently, SCA was recognized as a 2022 Title I Distinguished school, ranked in the top 5% of schools in the state of Georgia based on combined ELA and math achievement scores on the annual Georgia Milestones End of Grade Assessments.

Mandy Brewington, SCA superintendent, said, “Not only have we grown physically over the past eight years from a K-4 school to a PK-8 school, we have demonstrated significant growth in student achievement. Scintilla plans to continue to grow physically to add grades 9-12, one year at a time, beginning next school year.”

SCA reported content mastery scores – elementary 89.9, middle school is 84.4; readiness scores – elementary 79.2, middle 86.4.

The SCA scores were higher than Valdosta City, Lowndes and Brooks counties schools – which are in SCA’s attendance area.

“We attribute our success and growth in student achievement to the dedication of our teachers and their commitment to use data to make real-time decisions to best support the needs of our school,” Brooke Knight, dean of elementary school, said. “We believe in empowering our teachers and our staff by providing education and training on the research and evidence that supports our instructional practices which include an approach to reading instruction grounded in the Science of Reading, Standards-Based Grading and a deeper learning model.”

SCA reports a diverse population of enrolled students for the 2022-23 school year, 54% from Valdosta, 44% from Lowndes County and 2% from Brooks County.

“We truly are a community school with a diverse population that mirrors the demographic makeup of the community we serve,” she said.

Amanda Miller, SCA assistant superintendent, said, “We are committed to creating an educational experience that provides a joyful learning environment while truly supporting the whole child. Although we are extremely proud of our school’s performance in the area of student achievement, we believe student success is defined by more that academic performance. We have high expectations for student achievement with equally high expectations for character and the ability to produce high-quality work.”

State education department scores and press release are available for view at gadoe.org.

Scintilla Charter Academy is a public charter school serving scholars in kindergarten through eighth grade in Valdosta, Lowndes and Brooks County. SCA intends to expand to serve grades 9-12.

Anyone interested in applying for the school can do so in the front office or online at www.scintillacharteracademy.com. Tours are available by appointment by calling (229) 244-5750.