It’s official.

Selma High School and Byrd Elementary school are finally in the clear academically this year, a fact which has left smiles on the faces among Selma City School personnel, parents and students.

According to the State Department of Education 2002 Academic Status Report, last year the high school had been placed on Alert2 status, the second lowest status possible among academic ratings for schools, while Byrd Elementary was placed on caution status, which is one level below clear.

The status report further stated that Edgewood Elementary has still been placed on caution status.

The status rating of schools was based on results obtained both from the Stanford Achievement Test and the Alabama High School Graduation Exam.

Selma City Schools System Superintendent Dr. James Carter credited the improvement in the schools to hard work among parents, teachers and administrators.

“This is an example of the quality instruction that is provided by our system, and it is a tribute to parents, teachers and administration,” Carter said.

He added that teamwork among principals and teachers was another contributing factor which led to the improvement.

Selma High School principal Eli Welch, who was praised by Carter for his “outstanding job” this year, said that the extra effort of students, parents and teachers at Selma High this year is what led to the improvement.

“With a doubt, all of them deserve a lot of credit,” said Welch. “The teachers especially deserve credit.”

Welch noted that teachers often spent many extra hours after school giving after school tutorials and providing extra classes to students who needed help in passing the exams.

He also credited the high school’s parents with being more involved in their children’s’ lives.

“The goal this year really was not to get into the clear,” Welch said. “That really was not our aim. Our aim was to make sure that our students graduated. And we succeeded in doing that.”

Despite Welch’s contention, the new motto for Selma High School now is “Our Vision is Clear,” a motto which he says reflects Selma High School’s clearly defined vision about what is expected of the school in the future.

Said Welch, “We will keep working as hard as we can to make sure that our school is performing at the best level it possibly can. That is something which we will just keep striving for.”