ATLANTA – Two Georgia public schools were recently recognized as the 2025 National ESEA Distinguished Schools.
Release:
Two Georgia public schools – Carmel Elementary School in Cherokee County and Paul Duke STEM High School in Gwinnett County – have been named Georgia’s 2025 National ESEA Distinguished Schools honorees.
This is a national honor awarded to two of the highest-performing Title I schools in every state by the National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators (NAESPA). In Georgia, schools in the top-performing 5% of all Title I Schoolwide programs are invited to apply, with honorees selected through a competitive process that evaluates academic performance and the effectiveness of each school’s improvement strategies.
“Carmel Elementary School and Paul Duke STEM High School demonstrate the powerful results that occur when schools focus on supporting every learner,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “I congratulate their teachers, leaders, students, and families on earning this national honor. I’m proud of their work and grateful for the way they’ll represent Georgia’s commitment to excellence in education on the national stage.”
Each winning school will receive a $20,000 grant from the GaDOE Title I, Part A program to support registration for the school team to attend the 2026 National ESEA Conference and to support the school’s Title I initiatives.
Carmel Elementary School, Cherokee County Schools
Carmel Elementary School is recognized in Category 1: Exceptional Student Performance and Academic Growth.
Carmel’s instructional growth is anchored in its Collective Commitments initiative, a schoolwide framework developed through collaborative leadership and data-driven planning. Teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators use content mastery and cohort data to monitor progress and refine instruction through weekly Professional Learning Communities. The school emphasizes standards-based planning, small-group instruction, and ongoing coaching cycles to support student learning.
In English Language Arts, teachers have strengthened phonics and vocabulary instruction through training in the science of reading, while mathematics instruction is guided by Short-Term Action Plans and classroom learning walks that inform targeted professional development. These systems ensure precision in instruction and consistent support for English Learners and students with disabilities.
Carmel’s success is further supported by strong family and community partnerships. Student-led Progress Nights and Curriculum Showcases encourage student ownership of learning, while workshops equip parents to reinforce reading and math at home. Collaborations with local churches and organizations help address student needs through a school food pantry and resource drives.
Paul Duke STEM High School, Gwinnett County Public Schools
Paul Duke STEM High School is recognized in Category 3: Excellence in Serving Special Populations of Students. The school has demonstrated significant growth, including a 9.1 percentage-point increase on the CCRPI Progress indicator between 2023 and 2024. Paul Duke STEM has built a comprehensive STEM learning model that ensures access to rigorous, hands-on instruction for multilingual learners, students with disabilities, and economically disadvantaged students through its signature STEMforALL initiative.
Paul Duke’s school design features a flexible four-day in-person schedule with Flex Fridays, providing students with opportunities for targeted support, project work, and college readiness activities. This innovative model has strengthened academic performance across subgroups, particularly among English Learners and students with disabilities.
The school has also expanded its counseling program from three to five full-time counselors, ensuring personalized academic and wellbeing support. This has helped sustain a graduation rate above 90 percent and increase Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment participation to 71 percent. Family engagement initiatives, including multilingual workshops and the Parent Support Plan program, equip families with tools to support student learning and re-engagement.
