School - Overview & Recognition
Awards & Recognition
Sarah Rawson Smith Elementary prides itself as a neighborhood school with a strong tradition of academic excellence and student success. Our student’s test scores rank consistently among the top elementary schools in the state and we have been honored as a Georgia School of Excellence and a National Blue Ribbon School. Recent honors bestowed upon the Sarah Smith community include:
- Sarah Smith Elementary was internationally recognized in the 2009-2010 edition of IB Sourcebook for the schoolwide implementation of Junior Great Books.
- Dr. Sidney Baker, principal, presented at the IB Americas Conference in Quebec, Canada, July, 2009. He will also be presented at the 2009 IB World Conference in Seville, Spain, in October.
- Sarah Smith Elementary is a model school for the school wide implementation of the Junior Great Books program.
In July 2006, the school was authorized as an International Baccalaureate World School, offering the highly respected primary years program.
Atlanta Magazine, January, 2006, 2007, and 2009 editions, named Sarah Smith Elementary as the top public elementary school in Atlanta!
Our principal, Dr. Sidney Baker, was selected by the Governor's office as one of the Top 100 High-Performing Principals in Georgia in 2006, 2007, and 2008.
The Georgia Department of Education named Sarah R. Smith Elementary a “School of Excellence” for 2006. The school was selected for finishing in the top 10 percent for student achievement in reading/language arts and math. Only 20 schools statewide received this distinction.
Dr. Sidney Baker, principal, was selected to attend the World Conference for Heads of International Baccalaureate Schools at the United Nations Conference Center in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2005, in San Francisco, California, in 2007, and in Seville, Spain, in 2009.
Annie Cecil, first grade teacher, was selected as the 2006 Atlanta Public Schools’ Elementary Teacher of the Year.
The Sarah Smith Education Foundation was launched in 2005 on solid financial footing, with the mission of continuing to ensure that Sarah Smith students are offered high quality educational opportunities for years to come.