Gwinnett Daily Post

NORCROSS - Two Norcross elementary schools were honored Wednesday as "No Excuses" schools for having a large percentage of low-income students with high academic scores.

Beaver Ridge and Susan Stripling elementary schools were among the 44 schools statewide named "No Excuses" schools by the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. The selection of the honorees is based on the Foundation's 2009 Report Card for Parents, available at www.gppf.org, according to a news release.

"These schools show that a culture of high expectations, strong leadership and quality teaching can overcome poverty, even in populations where a majority of students don't speak English as their first language" said Kelly McCutchen, executive vice president of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation.