ATLANTA -- The lanes at 300 Atlanta were packed with nearly 35 Atlanta-area companies for the fifth annual “Bowling For Education” fundraiser, held on Thursday, Nov. 5. The event, which supports the Simon Youth Foundation, raised a record-breaking $112,250 this year, exceeding the initial fundraising goal of $100,000. 

“We could not be more thrilled about the success of this year’s Bowling for Education event,” said Leslie Bland, co-chair of Bowling for Education in Atlanta and Director of Marketing and Business Development for Phipps Plaza. “We’re so grateful for the incredible enthusiasm from our Simon family and for the generous donations from all our committed partners. The immense support for this annual event has helped Simon Youth Foundation provide more and more educational opportunities for our future Georgia leaders.”

(WXIA) -- The public school graduation rate in Georgia continues to climb.

The Georgia Department of Education announced Wednesday that the state's graduation rate was 71.5 percent in 2013 -- almost two points higher than in 2012 and four points above 2011's rate.

Every state uses a U.S. Department of Education-mandated four-year adjusted cohort rate to calculate graduations. It tracks the number of students who graduate from high school within the standard four years.

State superintendent Dr. John Barge said the more rigorous calculation method still shows an increase in Georgia's graduation rate.

"Despite the economic challenges our districts are facing, we have more high school students graduating today than we have had in several years, which is a testament to the hard work of our students and teachers," Barge said in a statement.

Buford City's 2013 four-year graduation rate was 90.3 percent.

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -- The Wells Fargo Foundation has donated $10,000 to the Gwinnett County Public Schools Foundation Fund.

The money will be used to support English Language Learner (ELL) students.

All 24 Title I elementary schools in the county will benefit from the donation, according to the GCPS Foundation.

The county plans to use the funds to purchase kits to help teachers reach ELL students. The kits include information and assessment tools that determine benchmarks students must meet throughout the school year.

Learn more about the GCPS Foundation at gcps-foundation.org.