Executive Summary. Lincoln High School

Transcription

1 Vincennes Community School Corp Mr. Stephen D Combs, Principal 1545 S. Hart Street Vincennes, IN Document Generated On January 7, 2016

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 3 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 4 Additional Information 5

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? serves students in grades 9-12 in the Vincennes Community School Corporation. It is located in the county seat of Knox County in Southwestern Indiana, approximately 50 miles North of Evansville, Indiana. Knox County is bordered on the North by Sullivan County. It is bordered on the East by Daviess County and South, Gibson. is located at 1545 South Hart Street Road. The school includes classrooms, a media center, a gymnasium and auditorium. 's improvement team focused on how to maintain the overall "grade" of our school as determined by the Department of Education. This past year our school earned a school letter grade of an "A". For the school year Vincennes Lincoln had 83.7% of the sophomore cohort pass the ECA Algebra test, 83.7% pass the English 10 test, a graduation rate of 96% and 45% of our senior class were involved in College and Career Readiness. During the school year, LHS had an enrollment of 780 students. Forty-nine percent of those students were on a free/reduced lunch plan. LHS has maintained an enrollment at our around 800 since is a source of great pride for the Vincennes Community. The first graduating class finished education at this institution in 1874 with 15 graduates. The class of 2015 graduated 191. The Vincennes Community supports the high school and its academic, cocurricular, fine arts and athletic programs. Education is valued by the community as a whole, as 99% of the class of 2015 will continue with formal education. According to the United States census, the population of Vincennes was 18,423 in This is down from nearly 20,000 in The median age for a citizen of Vincennes is 33. Racially and ethnically, the community is extremely homogenous with 91.9% of residents being white or caucasian, and the largest minority group being Black or African American at 4.7%. Good Samaritan Hospital and Vincennes University are the two largest employers in the Knox County area with a total of over 3,000 workers between the two. Gemtron/Schott, a glass company and Futaba Indiana, a partner to Toyota employ close to 1,000 people. The median income of families living in the Vincennes area is $30,952 compared to $45,424 for the rest of Indiana. 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. 's mission statement was developed by the school improvement team, throughout the school year "Lincoln High School is committed to educating all students for success in a dynamic society." offers a variety of core curriculum and support services that meet the unique educational, social, and emotional needs of students. The school offers four different diploma types: Indiana Academic Honors, Indiana Technical Honors, Core 40, and Indiana General. Core instruction in all content areas is developed using the Indiana Academic Standards. Instructions is differentiated through a number of special needs programs including Advanced Placement, Honors, ELL, Special Education, Vocational Education, Project Lead the Way, Alice Academy, Algebra the Lincoln Way, Special Services Program, remediation services and digital technology available for all students to utilize either for credit recovery, advanced placement or standardized test preparation. Students are supported with a school counselor, social worker, Dean, Assistant Principal, and Principal. The school year will see the start of our Early College program. Vincennes Lincoln Early College will allow students an opportunity to earn, at a minimum, a 30 credit General Education Transfer Certificate. This credential or "mini degree" is transferable to any public college or university in the state of Indiana. The curriculum can be accessed through Pivot on Five Star, or via Google Classroom. It is constantly revised and updated by departments in weekly collaboration. 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. Our curriculum is under constant revision. All classes and teachers are executing lessons that include state academic standards adopted by the Department of Education. Teachers document the use of state academic standards in their individual disciplines and this is evident in planning and on the board for students to see. Efforts have been made to improve communication with stakeholders through the posting of assignments on My Big Campus and real-time grades through our student information system, PowerSchool. Technology use in the classroom is at a premium at in that students grades have been issued ipads and grade 9 Chrome Books. Our classrooms are equipped with smart boards, and teachers were also outfitted with the ipad 2 technology. These tools are assisting our teachers in moving from a textbook based curriculum into one based on the state standards. The expertise of the teacher, the technological device of the ipad, and ancillary materials such as books have created a triangle of resources available for our students to reach their full potential. In , our math faculty completely re-structured the curriculum through a process of mapping their instruction to the standards set forth in the Algebra I ECA blueprint. We have named the process Algebra the Lincoln Way. The program is currently employing a system of standards quizzes, review quizzes every three weeks, and benchmark tests at the end of the nine week grading period to check for understanding. Like Algebra I, our English instructors, led by Department Chairperson Steve Toy, have spent considerable amount of time mapping the curriculum to state standards. Beginning with the school year, we moved from Language Arts being taught as semester courses, one semester composition, one semester literature into an integrated English 9 and English 10 approach. Acuity and Study Island will also be used in the freshman and sophomore Language Arts classes. Further, we have added two sections of Developmental Reading. Plato courses are also utilized throughout the curriculum and are available for both students and teachers. The biggest change came in the school year as we created English 10 the Lincoln Way. This program saw us utilizing a modified block schedule for our English 10 students. By blocking the classes into two consecutive classes, our teachers were able to teach a full years content in one semester. Students who have mastered the material will be allowed to enroll in English elective classes for the second semester.. For those that do not pass, our teachers provide a full semester of remediation. As previously stated, Vincennes Lincoln Early College will begin this school year. Students will be able to earn college credit in a variety of subjects, such as: US History, Government, Economics, English Composition, Literature, Speech, College Algebra, Calculus, Anatomy and Physiology, Studio Art, P.E., and Business Management. Additionally, LHS students have the opportunity to participate in Twin Rivers vocational training, Jobs for America's Graduates, and Project Lead the Way. The business department added Personal Finance and Responsibility class, and Spanish and French continue to be taught for High School credit at the Middle School level. During the school year, it was approved by the school board to allow for the Physical Education requirement to be waived for one (1) PE credit. The ability for students to waive one PE requirement comes with the caveat of participating in an IHSAA approved sport, marching band, or JROTC. Page 4

7 Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. LHS has made productive strides toward the states goal of 90% graduation rate improving each year since We implement a number of programs to encourage attendance, participation and thus graduation. is home to "Alice Academy" which is our state approved alternative school. We utilize Edmentum which is a digital curriculum. Alice Academy has been in place since Since its inception, there have been over 100 graduates through this program. The alternative school possesses one licensed teacher, an instructional assistant, and a social worker who charts student progress. It has been an unequivocal success in allowing nontraditional learners to experience success at the high school level. To improve our students' level of proficiency, we've added a tutor in both Algebra and English 10 in the form of the department chairperson. An Army JROTC program started at our school in as well. JROTC has had a positive impact on students ability to graduate. It is staffed by two retired Military officers and has been an asset in motivating students to be quality citizens. Jobs for America's Graduates is a federal program that has won the "five star" honor in Indiana two consecutive years. This feat is the first of its kind for an Indiana school. The JAG instructor, through a committee process selects, students and tracks progress through their junior and senior years of high school as well as the first year into the work force, college, or military. The Lincoln mentoring program is a high school student mentoring program that utilizes community adults to mentor "at-risk" students in our building. There is a background check process and we have recently partnered with a local church for their manpower in terms of mentors. One of our community partners, the First Church of God and its congregation have played an important role in our mentoring. Many of our teaching staff have a student who they choose to mentor during preparation periods. Alice Academy, JROTC, JAG, and the Lincoln mentoring program merge well with our mission statement of education all students for success in an ever-changing society. has made significant strides recently in terms of technology in the classroom. As stated above, all students grades are issued an ipad, and students in grades 9-10 are issued Chrome Books. The media center is open before and after school to accommodate students who do not have internet access at home. Google Classroom, an education based social network, serves as a communication piece between students, faculty and administration. Teachers post lesson plans, worksheets, videos, and other resources so it is available for all interested parties. We utilize PowerSchool as our student information system. This allows parents and students an opportunity to view real-time grades, attendance and disciplinary measures on a daily basis. Additionally, Lincoln High school possesses three (3) mac labs, two (2) full computer labs, four (4) English classrooms with personal computers, and the PLTW room is outfitted with PC's as well. Teachers are equipped with ipad 2's. Further, all math classrooms and science classrooms are equipped with SmartBoard Technology. The use of technology at is a large initiative on our part to become a 21st century school. Teachers may utilize resources from many areas in order to ensure mastery of standards. While the technology at Lincoln is immense, it is worthless without the expertise of the classroom teacher. The ipad 2, Chrome Books, Google Classroom, PowerSchool, SmartBoards, Mac labs, and stand-alone computer labs are an outstanding benefit to our students. Paired with an outstanding teacher, we believe this will result in continued success on high stakes testing, graduation, and college and career readiness. In addition to the resources mentioned above, LHS students have access to a full-time digital curriculum through Edmentum and its suite of Page 5

8 products. We are in the beginning phases of using this software and its use and effectiveness will improve with experience. Page 6