GRAY, Ga. — Everyday kids grow up before our very eyes. Some students in Jones County now have the tools to show and track that growth for themselves.
Gray Elementary School has a new initiative aimed giving their students the power to track their own progress and take control over setting goals.
5th grader Taylor Clark is all about her F.L.Y notebook. It is short for First Love Yourself.
"It just basically shows me where I'm at," she said.
"We felt like the students needed to be able to own their data. They needed to be able to understand it," principal Kimberly Jones said.
She says this is a way for students to tell their own story. They can track goals like places they need to grow, acknowledge their weak areas and appreciate the things they excel at.
The initiative to help students keep track of their progress in the classroom started this year at Gray Elementary.
"They set goals for their assessments but also for what they are currently learning. Whatever they're learning, they set goals for that, then they know exactly where they are. If they've succeeded or are ready to move on to the next standard," Jones said.
Some students say the program is useful to them.
"It just helps me know that I can improve and it helps me focus on improving more," Student Aiden Allen said.
And they have a lot to look back on fondly.
"When I look back on it I'm proud because I see that not everything in the notebook I have mastered, but I've mastered some," Clark said.
Gray Elementary recently held what they call a Flight Day where teachers were able to write words of encouragement for students and kids could share their success with them.