Executive Summary. Newton Conover City Schools. Dr. Barry Redmond, Superintendent 605 North Ashe Avenue Newton, NC 28658

Transcription

1 Dr. Barry Redmond, Superintendent 605 North Ashe Avenue Newton, NC Document Generated On November 2, 2012

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School System 2 System's Purpose 4 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 6 Additional Information 8

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

4 Description of the School System Describe the school system'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 system serves? The Newton-Conover City School System serves approximately 3000 students in seven different schools. There are three elementary schools, one middle school, one traditional high school, one project-based high school, and a public separate school for students with moderate to severe disabilities. This school is a joint program that serves approximately 150 students from ages 3 to 22 from Newton- Conover City Schools, Hickory Public Schools, and Catawba County Schools. Conover School uses an adapted curriculum to teach academic and functional skills. They follow the Extensions to the Common Core and Essential Standards as their main curriculum. Students benefit from a variety of classes and therapies, including speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and vision instruction, as well as PE, Art, and music. Our project-based high school, Discovery High School, is also a joint program that currently serves 108 students from all three school districts in Catawba County. The school was originally established in 2005 through a partnership with the North Carolina New Schools Project and grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as a "redesigned, small high school." The school's central mission is to prepare all of its students for college, work, and citizenship. This mission is met through a curriculum that focuses on authentic learning through Project Based Learning (PBL) in a technology-rich environment with a highly caring and compassionate staff. The diverse student population of the Newton-Conover City Schools system is comprised of the following ethnicity breakdown: 51.3% White, 23.5% Hispanic, 14.2% Black, 5.9% Multi-Racial, and 5.1% Asian. Students with disabilities comprises roughly 12% of the student population and 63.7% of the students receive free or reduced price lunches. The majority of our students are from one-parent homes, live with grandparents or someone other than the biological parents, live in foster care or live in group homes. Thirty seven of our students are considered homeless and every school in the system houses at least one of these students, except for Conover School. There were 199 graduates in the class of 2011 at Newton-Conover High School and these graduates received over $3.5 million in scholarships. With the addition of the Discovery High School graduates, seniors secured well over $4.5 million in scholarships. The Newton-Conover City Schools staff is made up of 411 employees including 230 certified staff, 7 principals, 4 assistant principals, and 170 classified employees (this number includes our community schools program for all three systems in Catawba County). The ethnic makeup of the staff is 90.3% White, 8.4% Black, 0.7% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and 0.6% Hispanic or Latino. 100% of the teachers are highly qualified. The percentage of certified staff with an advanced degree is 41.5%. Twenty five certified staff are National Board Certified Teachers. Additionally, there are 31 teachers who are in their first, second, or third year of teaching. Newton-Conover City Schools serves students from the cities of Newton and Conover. Both cities have an unemployment rate of 11.40%. According to the 2010 census, Newton's population is 12,968 which is a 3.2% increase from the 2000 census. The city's population is 73.7% White, 13.9% Black, 12.9% Hispanic/Latino, 3.3% Asian, and 2.6% Multi-Racial. The percentage of the population who is at least five years of age from 2006 to 2010 and who have a language other than English spoken in the home is 13.6%. Persons in Newton below the poverty level from 2006 to 2010 represent 14.9% of the population. The median household income between 2006 and 2010 is $38,872 which is approximately $7,000 below the median average for the state of North Carolina. According to the 2010 census, Conover's population is 8,165 which is a 23.6% increase since The city's population is 78.1% White, 12.2% Hispanic/Latino, 9.2% Black, 4.2% Asian, and 2.5% Multi-Racial. The percentage of the population who is at least five years of age from 2006 to 2010 and who have a language other than English spoken in the home is 15.4%. Persons in Conover below the poverty level Page 2

5 from 2006 to 2010 represent 11.3% of the population. The median household income between 2006 and 2010 is $46,955 which is a little over $1,000 above the median average for the state. Since 2008, there has been about a 1% decrease in the school system's Asian population, a 1.6% decrease in our Black population, a 1.3% decrease in our White population, and a 4.4% increase in our Hispanic population. The population of all other ethnicities stayed basically the same. In the school year, our school system served 11 students who were homeless. There has been a steady increase in this number over the past three years to where this past school year we served 37 homeless students which represents a 236% increase since In April 2010, our percentage of students on free or reduced lunch for the system was 60.01%. That percentage steadily increased to 63.69% in April There has been a sharp decline in the number of manufacturing jobs in the area over the past several years which has had a direct impact on the unemployment rate. At times, it is difficult to get most parents into the schools, which pushes us to do a better job of going to homes, churches, or communities to meet them where they are. With the diverse populations we serve, it is important that school and school system information is clearly provided for everyone. We work to develop unique ways to effectively communicate with all parents and community members. Some of the ways the schools and school system use to disseminate information to our stakeholders are social media, , automated phone system, our webpage, newsletters, marquee signs, and stakeholder meetings. Translators are utilized to communicate to non-english speaking families. Page 3

6 System's Purpose Provide the school system's purpose statement and ancillary content such as mission, vision, values, and/or beliefs. Describe how the school system embodies its purpose through its program offerings and expectations for students. Newton-Conover City Schools' motto is Direction and Hope for All Children. This motto was updated this year and seeks to provide every student with clear direction of a brighter future. NCCS Mission: The mission of Newton-Conover City Schools is to provide every student with the best possible instruction, multiple opportunities for enrichment and support, and examples of citizenship resulting in a high quality of life. NCCS Vision: Highly professional and dedicated employees will collectively produce one of the best academic programs in the state, while providing nurturing hope and direction for all children, thus enabling them to establish a meaningful and productive role in our world. Core Values: We Believe That 1. NCCS will produce globally competitive students - All content and instruction should be rigorous and relevant, staff should have high expectations for all students, students should have access to twenty-first century technology, and twenty-first century technology tools should be used to increase student learning. 2. NCCS will be led by 21st Century professionals - Staff should have high expectations for themselves and each other, all staff should dress and act professionally, all children are valuable and are worthy of our best efforts, and all staff efforts should be to either work with students or support those who work with students. 3. NCCS students will be healthy and responsible - Every student deserves a meaningful relationship with a caring adult, all staff should take pride in providing a safe and orderly environment for students, all staff should support students in all of their endeavors, and all learning environments should focus on developing strong character and personal responsibility. 4. Leadership will guide innovation in NCCS - Parents, staff, and community members must work as a team, all decisions must be made in the best interest of students, all staff should value diversity, and all staff must lead by example. 5. NCCS will be governed and supported by 21st Century systems - Learning environments should be flexible and adaptive to student needs, successes should be shared and celebrated, all staff must be good stewards of resources, and all instructional decisions should be data driven. Purpose through Programs and Expectations: The school system embodies its purpose in a multitude of ways. Each school is constantly working to identify all at-risk students and to get them involved with the school in some way. At the elementary schools, each school has created a connectedness matrix whereby all identified at-risk students are paired with a mentor. Additionally, all schools deliberately seek to connect every student with a club, sport, or other activity. Each elementary school and the middle school offers Saturday Academies for at-risk students and provides transportation as needed. All schools offer before and after school tutoring opportunities. The following represents a listing of some of the classes and programs that are offered to meet the needs of all students: Advanced Placement classes; Career and Technical Education classes; daily enrichment/intervention time; AIG support; Instructional Coaches; differentiated high school opportunities including early college, a Career and Arts Magnet school, as well as a Gates Foundation redesigned high school; Occupational Course of Study program; Virtual Public High School program; differentiation; certification programs in Microsoft IT; Allied Health; ROTC; and a wide range of clubs and sports. Page 4

7 The school system recognizes the importance of technology in the classroom and utilizes a Media Technology Advisory Committee (MTAC) to determine what a 21st century classroom looks like. Therefore, every classroom is equipped with a document camera, LCD projector, laptops, interactive whiteboard and an ipad that can be used for instruction. The district understands that technology alone isn't the answer. Teachers have received appropriate training with this technology so that they can maximize the educational effect that can be gained by using these items. Our district strategic plan made aligned technology trainings a requirement for all certified staff. All teachers were required last year to participate in at least four technology classes based on their knowledge of technology. The district leadership and technology team provided over 50 unique technology trainings for staff last school year alone. This year, there are two day long "Digital Days" scheduled to provide technology training for all certified and classified staff as well. At each Digital Day, over 60 trainings are offered. The system implemented ipad pilots in 4 classrooms in and have expanded to an additional 5 classrooms for the school year. We have partnered with Appalachian State University to collect data on the effectiveness of the ipad pilots. In order for the students to be successful, the teachers that serve them must use quality pedagogical approaches. To help with this, the school system has focused on building teacher capacity. All elementary schools have a master teacher who serves as an Instructional Coach that meets weekly with teachers in Professional Learning Communities to discuss topics such as data-driven instruction; data note-booking; identifying research-based effective instructional practices; creating plans for implementing the Common Core State Standards and NC Essential Skills; creating formative assessments; and building collective capacity. Each elementary school has an Instructional Consultative team that meets weekly. The purpose of this team is to provide support to teachers who are struggling with reaching certain students. A case manager is assigned from the team to work with the teacher to find the instructional match for the struggling student. Once the instructional match is determined, the case manager guides the teacher to find and use appropriate techniques. Page 5

8 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement Describe the school system's notable achievements and areas of improvement in the last three years. Additionally, describe areas for improvement that the school system is striving to achieve in the next three years. Notable Achievements in the Last Three Years: In , Newton-Conover City Schools met 48 out of 52 (or 92.3%) of our AYP target goals. In , Newton-Conover City Schools (NCCS) met 45 out of 54 (or 83.3%) of our AYP target goals. In , NCCS met 50 out of 53 (or 94.3%) of our AMO target goals. In the school year, NCCS ranked as the number 1 district in North Carolina on the AYP target goals. In & again in , five of six schools met expected growth recognition on the North Carolina End of Grade & End of Course assessments, & four of six schools met High Growth recognition. End of Grade growth over a four year period ( ) averaged 19.7% in Reading & 26.0% in Math for grades 3-8. The percentage of students who are proficient in reading for grades 3 through 8 have increased for the following subgroups: Asian, Multi-Racial, and LEP. There was also a slight increase for the Hispanic subgroup. The reading gaps for grades 3 through 8 have decreased between the following subgroups: White & Asian; White & Hispanic; White & Multi-Racial. The percentage of students who are proficient in math for grades 3 through 8 have increased for the Black subgroup. There was also a slight increase for the Asian subgroup & Economically Disadvantaged subgroup. The math gaps for grades 3 through 8 have decreased between all subgroups, however, there is still work to do between the White & Black subgroups. The percentage of students who were proficient on the Grade 10 Reading & Math tests increased for all eligible subgroups. In 2010, NCCS had the third highest graduation rate in North Carolina out of 115 districts. The graduating seniors for the school year at Newton-Conover High School earned $4.37 million in scholarship money & the seniors at Discovery High School earned $1.6 million in scholarship money. The seniors at NCHS completed 2,296 hours of community service for the school year. 100% of schools achieved Healthy Schools status for the school year. Newton-Conover City Schools are known across the region for their successful model of Instructional Coaches & for the model implementation of PLCs. Numerous school districts have sent teams of teachers to NCCS to observe our process for each. Additionally, our curriculum leaders have presented at the state level, national & international level & have also authored national publications on Common Core, teacher empowerment & PLCs. NCCS is also considered a model district for its implementation of Common Core & Essential Standards, having begun the process a year prior to the state for K-2. Some of our recent major facility projects include opening the first LEED Platinum Middle School in NC while also upgrading athletic facilities & beginning work on a new elementary school. NCCS has worked diligently to create a sustainable Job-embedded PD process that is able to be flexible to student needs, data implications & required initiatives. Areas of Improvement in the Last Three Years: Our district strategic plan & MTAC plan outlined a vision of 21st Century classrooms & teachers that we have worked diligently on making come to fruition. We focused our funding and training to not only provide adequate instructional technology, but to also ensure that each teacher is proficient in the use of technology. We wanted to make sure that teachers not only knew how to use the equipment, but knew how to use it effectively to improve instruction. Each teacher came with a different level of technology knowledge so the teachers were provided trainings based on their level of knowledge. The teachers were given an assessment three years ago to determine what level of proficiency they had with different forms of technology & were then placed in one of 5 tiered categories to receive appropriate PD based upon their personal needs. Based on parent & student surveys, we knew there was an issue with perception of bullying as well. Numerous programs through the counseling departments at each school have been implemented to address this issue. Counselors serve as mediators in between students Page 6

9 involved in bullying situations & the middle school and high school train students to serve as peer mediators to help with these situations as well. Parents voiced in parent surveys that they felt that the communication between the schools, school system, & homes needed to be improved. Therefore, last year, each school developed a communication plan that they would use to provide different information to parents and other constituents. The schools & school system were very deliberate in determining the modes of communication that should be used as well. Increasing staff attendance has been a focus of our superintendent. Areas of Improvement for the Next Three Years: In NCCS, there has been a focus on improving the achievement gaps between the different subgroups. The district is in the midst of evaluating instructional programs to determine high-impact initiatives & narrow the focus on those. Our focus for improvement will be centered around continuing to close the achievement gap between the various subgroups as well as continuing our anti-bullying initiatives. We also want to continue to ensure that every student in our system has a meaningful network of support. We want to identify the involvement of each student within the school & community & then focus on providing support to students who have little to no involvement. Additionally, we will continue to focus on ensuring that teachers have a clear understanding & use 21st century instructional strategies. We also want the school system as a whole, along with each school, to make decisions in collaboration with parents, students, & other community members. Other areas of focus will include: developing & using a comprehensive procedural manual, focusing on responding to the diversity of our student population, & promoting the professional growth of our staff. 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. Budget: So what have we done in Newton-Conover City Schools to cope with lost funds? Nearly four years ago, the superintendent's secretary retired, and she was not replaced. The superintendent handles most of his own clerical tasks or uses the general receptionist to handle mundane tasks. When our Public Information Officer left five years ago, we did not replace her. Instead, our directors assumed responsibility to contact media, and do the best we could to highlight our efforts to local media. When the Associate Superintendent retired two years ago, a curriculum director was promoted to that role and his curriculum position was eliminated, reducing a level of oversight. We have reduced two of our six assistant principal positions. Our dropout specialist position was eliminated, but it has been reinstated this school year. In our three elementary schools we combined the bookkeeper position with the general receptionist role, and the NC WISE position, reducing two positions to one in each of the three schools, this past summer. Other reduction efforts to protect the classroom include elimination of our only elementary drama position, reduction of one counselor, elimination of our one social worker, reduction of staff development funds in half, reduction in instructional supplies by forty percent, and elimination of a transportation specialist for bus routing. Since our poverty rate is so high, we have enjoyed a substantial Title I budget that has allowed us to have enviable class size ratios for teacher to students in the past. Prior to the budget cuts over the past four years, we were able to have many K-3 classes with ratios as low as 1 to 15. Even now with the reduction of five percent of our teaching force (12 less of 250) we still maintain ratios around 1 to 20 in K-3, and 1 to 24 in 4th through fifth grades. Our middle school academic classes average around 1 to 28, and our high school classes vary from 1 to 15 in AP classes to 1 to 30 in other academic classes. So, for sure class sizes have risen, but not to an unmanageable level. However, future cuts cannot continue, or we will see quality erode and morale plummet. Our big concern at present is that we finally did have to reduce teacher assistant positions with the most recent state budget. We have reduced our number of assistants by a good thirty percent. Without question, our teachers are feeling the impact of less support in grades K- 5. Our school system did everything we could to reduce central office and administrative support prior to any cuts to the classroom. This past budget year required us to reduce teachers and teacher assistants in order to return the discretionary money required by the state budget in reversion funds. The amount of reversion has tripled in the past four years. Other Information About NCCS: In , the NC Department of Public Instruction hired a consulting firm from Colorado to conduct a study of all 115 school districts to determine per pupil expenditure rankings in comparison to student academic performance rankings. All 115 districts were placed into one of four quadrants: *High funding per student and high academic performance *High funding per student and low academic performance *Low funding per student and high academic performance *Low funding per student and low academic performance Page 8

11 They then asked the firm to determine what characteristics existed in those districts that were low funded per student and had high academic performance. The top 10 districts in that quadrant were interviewed by a team of researchers. Newton-Conover was recognized as one of those top 10 districts who essentially get the most "bang for the buck." The school system has hosted a Back to School Bash for the past two years. At this event, school supplies have been provided for our students, hotdogs and drinks have been served, and other activities have been available such as a booth for free haircuts. The Back to School Bash to kick off this school year served over 1500 of our school community members. The system has periodic advisory council meetings with the following groups: classified staff, certified staff, parents, and students. Representatives of each of these groups from each school meet with central office staff to discuss accomplishments at each school as well as areas for improvement. Newton-Conover City Schools has strong PLC's especially at the elementary level. These PLC's at the elementary level are led by the Instructional Coach at each site. These Instructional Coaches meet weekly with the Associate Superintendent to discuss the needs of each school and what the focus should be for upcoming PLC's. Each of our elementary schools run a successful Backpack Program. This program provides food for needy students each week. A student's need is based on an application process that is in place at each site. Area churches help collect the food for the program and even pack the bags for the students. The high school has even had a canned food collection as payment for entry into one of its basketball games each year. The food collected at the game is then split among the three elementary schools. Schools try to recognize students who consistently do the right things at school. At the middle school and two high schools, they use a program call NC P.R.I.D.E. which stands for Promoting Recognition for Individual Dedication to Excellence. The criteria is slightly different at each school, but the focus of academics, attitude, and attendance is the same at each site. There are certain rewards for obtaining a NC PRIDE card such as getting into athletic events free or at a discounted price, early dismissal from school, along with a variety of others. Thornton Elementary provides a program that is very similar call S.O.A.R. which stands for School Pride, Outstanding Effort, Awesome Attitude, Being Responsible and Respectful. Many of our schools also offer a student of the month award. Page 9