Executive Summary. Winter Park High School

Transcription

1 Orange County Public Schools Mr. Tim Smith, Principal 2100 Summerfield Road Winter Park, FL Document Generated On August 26, 2015

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 3 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 4 Additional Information 8

3 Introduction Every school has its own story to tell. The context in which teaching and learning takes place influences the processes and procedures by which the school makes decisions around curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The context also impacts the way a school stays faithful to its vision. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as an identification of stakeholders, a description of stakeholder engagement, the trends and issues affecting the school, and the kinds of programs and services that a school implements to support student learning. The purpose of the Executive Summary (ES) is to provide a school with an opportunity to describe in narrative form the strengths and challenges it encounters. By doing so, the public and members of the school community will have a more complete picture of how the school perceives itself and the process of self-reflection for continuous improvement. This summary is structured for the school to reflect on how it provides teaching and learning on a day to day basis. Page 1

4 Description of the School Describe the school's size, community/communities, location, and changes it has experienced in the last three years. Include demographic information about the students, staff, and community at large. What unique features and challenges are associated with the community/communities the school serves? was built in The school has three locations. The freshman campus is located near Rollings College in downtown Winter Park. The main campus is located in the heart of Winter Park. It is nestled in the middle of a suburban community. The third location is our football and track field, which is owned by the City of Winter Park, but the City leases it to the school yearly. The stadium is well known by the family, community and surrounding cities as " Showalter Field." There are currently 3008 students enrolled at. Our current demographics are American Indian/Alaska Native (0.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (6.3%), Black (11.3%), Hispanic (23%), Multiracial (3.2%), and White (56.10%). Also, 36% of our students are on the free and reduced lunch program. Over the last few years, there have been several unique features and challenges that has acquired and/or faced. Those features are a large achievement gap, increased absenteeism, and a continued drive to push our graduation rate above 95%. We are determined as a school to close the achievement gap among our students over the next five years. In doing so, we are working to develop a plan that will be consistent and successful for all of our students. One aspect of the plan will include the administrative team identifying and evaluating key data points of the school. We will use this data to determine and implement programs, strategies and practices that will create continuous improvement in student achievement. Our goal is for our graduation rate to meet or exceed state and national graduation rates. Another goal is to improve our attendance policy in a quest to increase opportunities for low income or first generation students to attend college. We wish to continue in our collaborative efforts, and to expand educational opportunities for students. Our teachers meet in professional learning communities to look at key variables including assessment data and instructional strategies as they pertain to student learning and growth. The Winter Park area is considered to have a high level of affluence. What is not widely known is that three out of every ten students are on our free and reduced lunch program. Thus, Winter Park is actually more diverse than many realize. We also have numerous private schools in the area. When the economy swings, some families will go to or come from the private sector to the public sector impacting our enrollment. Page 2

5 School's Purpose Provide the school's purpose statement and ancillary content such as mission, vision, values, and/or beliefs. Describe how the school embodies its purpose through its program offerings and expectations for students. believes in valuing their students' future. The staff of and the community holds our students to high standards. We collaborate often to target specific needs of all our students. As a team, we focus on academic and career planning for our students, including students with special needs. Our guidance counselors work vigorously to develop student academic plans after collaborating with teachers. In addition, our leadership and guidance teams monitor the academic progress of students and make specific recommendations when needed (i.e. tutoring, mentoring, etc.). To ensure we are meeting the expectations of our students and parents, we focus on character education and social awareness issues as well with the assistance of our CHILL counselors and parent volunteers. We strive to promote an atmosphere that fosters education and supports leadership. By being mindful of our students' needs and goals, we stay committed as educators to uphold our promise to educate and produce global student competitors. Additionally, we strive to provide student learning opportunities specifically matched to students' abilities. As a result, we provide standard courses, honors courses, Advanced Placement courses, and we have an active International Baccalaureate program. We also have over 300 students in our NJROTC program, provide an array of career and technical education classes, foster growth and support through our English Language Learners program,and serve a large number of students in our exceptional student education program. Our vision, mission and goals are listed below. Vision To be the top producer of successful students in the nation Mission To lead our students to success with the support and involvement of families and the community Goals Intense Focus on Student Achievement High-Performing and Dedicated Team Safe Learning and Working Environment Efficient Operations Sustained Community Engagement Page 3

6 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement Describe the school's notable achievements and areas of improvement in the last three years. Additionally, describe areas for improvement that the school is striving to achieve in the next three years. The follow are summaries of the past three years' accomplishments. had a number of accomplishments during the year. This school year, was recently designated as one of the top 50 high schools in the State of Florida. We have 17 Valedictorians and Salutatorian joined by our 8 National Merit Scholars and 2 Corporate Merit Scholars. 91 students are graduating as candidates for an International Baccalaureate diploma. 151 students have earned Bright Futures money for college, and we have 208 seniors in the National Honor Society. 16 seniors earned the Super Scholar Award for being admitted into a top 20 colleges, university or military academy. This year, 1406 students took a total of 2428 individual AP exams. Over 337 students earned industry certifications through culinary arts and technology courses. Three seniors have been appointed to U.S. military academies and 42 students will be enlisting in the United States military. 88% of this year's senior class plans to attend a four year college, university or community college next year. All of this has resulted in a phenomenal achievement; the total amount of scholarship money, including Bright Futures that has been offered to the talented class of 2015 is 15.5 million dollars! Leadership was strong with our SGA officers and our senior class officers. SGA and Inter Club Council held numerous events, raised $2200 for cancer research, donated 466 units of blood and collected three tons of food for a community food bank. Our SGA and clubs had a positive impact on our school and the community. Our Performing Arts Department is strong and dynamic. Our band had five students selected to All State and 23 students selected for All County. Composer David Maslanka worked with the Wind Ensemble. The Marching Band earned a Superior rating. The Jazz Band and Jazz Ensemble I both received a Superior rating at the Lakeside Jazz Festival. Six orchestra students were selected for All State and 20 students were selected for All County. Our choral groups received five overall superior ratings at their music performance assessment. 18 students were selected for All State Choirs and 31 students were selected for All County. Take 7 won the South Region A Cappella Championship, competed for a national championship and earned a national award for outstanding choreography. One of the choral students was selected as the winner of the Florida Vocal Association Composition competition. Once Upon a Time was performed in stellar fashion during this year's Night on Broadway. The choral students have participated for the past four years in the Disney Candlelight Processional Honor Choir. In the drama program, students earned 31 superior ratings and three Best in Show Awards. Ten student critics' awards were won by Winter Park drama students. Our guitar program had 11 students selected for All County. Our successful NJROTC program is one of the largest public high school training units in Florida with 323 students. As a distinguished unit for the past 21 years, Winter Park resides in the top 1% of all units in the nation. With the addition of the Aviation STEM program, cadets are now able to attain their Federal Aviation Administration Ground Certification. NJROTC seniors finished the year earning $1.3 million in scholarships this school year. Our athletic department had four teams win state championships bringing the total number of school state championships to 110! The girls cross country team had a record setting year winning the state crown, while the cheerleading team reached the highest level of accomplishment possible by winning district, region, state, national and world championships! For the first time in Florida, a high school Special Olympics basketball state tournament was held. Our team won that first ever state championship! Our crew team won its fourth consecutive state championship. That marked the crew team's 34th state championship in 53 years of competition. Page 4

7 Over the past four years, the Winter Park Athletic department has won 48 Metro Championships, 41 District Championships, 16 Region Championships, 12 State Championships, 3 State Runner Ups and 45 teams have finished in the top 10 in the State. As a result of teamwork and dedication, 27 of our sports teams qualified for FHSAA academic honor team status. During the school year we had an immense number of academic achievements. There were 11 Valedictorians and Salutatorian. We produced 5 National Merit Scholars, 2 National Achievement Scholars, and 2 National Hispanic Scholars. 107 students graduated as candidates for an International Baccalaureate diploma. 162 students earned Bright Futures money for college, and we had 229 seniors in the National Honor Society. 24 seniors earned the Orange County Public Schools Super Scholar Award. This is a prestigious honor given by the School Board and our Superintendent. A large number of students gained college credit through successful completion of Advanced Placement courses or dual enrollment courses. Throughout our school, we had 1323 students took a total of 2146 individual AP exams. Over 200 students earned industry certifications through culinary arts and technology courses. One senior was appointed to one of our U.S. military academies and 43 students enlisted in the United States military. 85% of this year's senior class was accepted to four year colleges, universities or community colleges. All of this resulted in a phenomenal achievement; the talented class of 2014 was offered over 15.2 million dollars of scholarship money. In December of 2014, the State of Florida graded as an A school. The SGA and Inter Club Council held numerous events. They raised $2500 for cancer research, donated 440 units of blood and collected over two tons of food for a local food bank. Our SGA and clubs had a positive impact on our school and the community. All of our bands earned superior ratings at their performance assessments. The marching band finished in 5th place at the state finals competition, and five students earned All State. Our choral groups all received superior ratings at their assessment festival. A record 23 students were selected for All State Choirs. 9 students were selected for ACDA Honor Choirs, and Take 7 earned first runner up in the South Region A Cappella Finals. A creative Night on Broadway celebrated the 15th anniversary of the inspiring event. All of our orchestra groups earned straight superior ratings at their performance assessments and four orchestra students was selected for All State. In the drama program, students earned 22 superior ratings. Nine of the 30 student critics' awards were won by Winter Park drama students. Our guitar program grew and 10 of the 28 students in all county guitar were Wildcat students. Another long time successful program is our NJROTC. With an enrollment of 340 students, the program is one of the largest public high school NJROTC units in Florida. For the 20th year, the unit has been awarded the designation of being a Distinguished Unit by the Department of the Navy. This places the unit in the top 1% of all units in the nation. The NJROTC unarmed drill and color guard team won a State Championship. NJROTC seniors earned over $2.3 million dollars in scholarship money. The athletic department four teams win state championships. The total number of state championships is 106! The girls volleyball team won the fourth volleyball state championship in school history, while the cheerleading team won a third consecutive state championship which was the 14th cheerleading title for Winter Park cheer. The boy's basketball team won the schools' third title with three consecutive overtime wins. The crew team won its 33rd state championship in 52 years of competition. They have brought home 10 state championship trophies in the past 11 years. A number of teams also finished in the top ten of the State. The girls cross country team was the State runner up, and both the girls and boys water polo team earned 3rd place in the state. The boy's tennis team had a 3rd place finish in the state and the girl's tennis team finished in 6th place. Our boys baseball team placed 5th in the state, softball earned 9th place in the state, and both boys volleyball and football also finished 9th in the state. In the year, we had 13 Valedictorians and Salutatorian joined by our 12 National Merit Scholars, 1 National Achievement Scholar, and 1 National Hispanic Scholar. 99 Students graduated as candidates for an International Baccalaureate diploma. 207 Students earned Bright Futures money for college. We had 248 seniors in the National Honor Society. 21 seniors earned the Orange County Public Schools Page 5

8 Super Scholar Award. A large number of students gained college credit through successful completion of Advanced Placement courses or dual enrollment courses. That school year, we had 1287 students that took a total of 2042 individual AP exams. We also had a number of students who earned industry certifications through culinary arts and technology courses. Two seniors were appointed to one of our U.S. military academies and 19 students enlisted in the United States military. 88% of the senior class was accepted to four year colleges, universities or community colleges. The class of 2013 was offered over 16.7 million dollars of scholarship money. The State of Florida graded as an A school in Our SGA and Inter Club Council held an abundant of events and raised funds and generated many hours of community service. Running pep rallies, organizing homecoming week, sponsoring special events and volunteering to help others, our SGA and clubs had a positive impact on our school and the community. With regard to community service, fund raisers and various community service events was held to help others. Seniors were involved in raising money for cancer research, food drives, and the collection of 280 units of blood. The fundraiser for cancer research resulted in over $3700 being donated to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Additionally, $2500 was raised for the American Cancer Society. In 2013, the marching band earned a position in the finals at the highly competitive Bands of America Southeastern Region competition in Atlanta. The jazz band, wind ensemble and marching band received superior ratings (the highest rating) during their performance assessments. 12 Band students earned All State. At their spring performance assessment, choral groups received six superior ratings. 13 Students were selected for All State and 14 students were selected for the ACDA Honor Choir. Additionally, Take 7 earned first runner up in the South Region A Cappella Finals. Ragtime was superbly performed at Night on Broadway. Our orchestra earned straight superior ratings at their State Music Performance Assessments. Only five other high schools in the State earned the same accolade. Four orchestra students were selected for All State. The drama program recently performed a one act play that earned a rating of Superior. They participated in the District V Thespian competition earning eighteen superior ratings. Our guitar program grew over the past three years and is a thriving music experience for students. Our NJROTC had an enrollment of 302 students in The program is the largest public high school NJROTC unit in Florida. For the 20th consecutive year, the unit was awarded the designation of being a Distinguished Unit by the Department of the Navy. The NJROTC academic team won first place while competing in Nevada. The entire NJROTC program earned the chance to compete in nationals in 2013 with 626 other units. Our unit earned four first place national trophies in drill and athletic events, and finished third overall in the nation. NJROTC seniors earned over $1.1 million dollars in scholarship money. Our athletic teams brought much excitement to Winter Park in We had two teams win state championships. Those two teams were our cheerleading team and our crew team. The cheerleading team went on to place third at nationals and third at worlds. Our crew team won its 32nd state championship in 51 years of competition. A number of teams also finished in the top ten of the State. The girls volleyball team was the State runner up, and the girls water polo team was 3rd in the state. The girls tennis team had a fourth place finish in the state and the boys tennis team finished 6th in the state. Our boys' track team placed 6th in the state. 23 of our sports teams qualified for academic honor team status. Boys baseball was the 8A State Academic Baseball Champion as they had the highest team grade point average. The areas that we are working to improve are as follows. First, we are seeking to have our graduation rate climb over 95%. The last few years we have been in the low 90 percentile and are seeking to add student planning and goal initiatives to push that rate higher. Second, we seek to close our achievement gap. To do so, we must implement support and strategies that are well matched to our students. We also must provide support and resources when students are struggling. Our PTSA College and Career Center and our mentoring program both seek to reach students who will benefit from their resources. Our third improvement area is to continue to fine tune and enhance our professional learning communities. It is in this setting that teachers collaborate with each other about common assessments, data and instruction. Our final area for improvement is for the continued increase in rigor in our classroom instruction. Rigor is defined as students Page 6

9 being engaged in higher levels of thinking. The result of increased rigor is deeper and long-lasting learning. A key for us moving forward in all of the aforementioned areas of improvement are actions that are consistent and steps taken to implement effective monitoring systems. Page 7

10 Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. The staff of is driven by our passion and desire to continue the tradition of strengthening our partnership with our parents, volunteers, community members and local businesses. We are fortunate to have the Winter Park Health Foundation that provides the school and community members with a fully equipped clinic that provides basic healthcare services to our students and community. The foundation pays for a full time nurse practitioner to oversee the clinic. Another dynamic group that provides exceptional service and support to our staff and students is our PTSA. Our PTSA is active and strong. The PTSA members organize and manage our College and Career Center. This school year, they arranged to have over 95 colleges and/or universities to visit. During those visits, representatives speak with students as a group or individually to provide valuable educational information and to offer scholarships. Another remarkable group of parent volunteers making a difference at are our mentors in the Progress to Success program. These mentors meet with "at-risk" students weekly to provide students with guidance, support and motivation to succeed. The Foundation is an active fundraising organization. They have raised over $100,000 to provide system upgrades to our auditorium. That work should begin in the near future. The foundation also seeks community grants. This year a steadfast supporter of our school, the Galloway Foundation, once again made a large donation. This donation was $60,000 to replace our television production studio equipment. Our students now work with state-of-the-art equipment as they learn through their enriched experiences of producing a daily live news show. The curriculum that offers a balance between more rigorous courses and the student's need for expressive freedom through our elective programs. Vertical communication between our feeder schools is important so that we are able to ensure incoming freshmen are exposed to and take advantage of the advanced courses that are offered in middle school. This is imperative to their success in high school. Page 8