Executive Summary. French Settlement High School

Transcription

1 Livingston Parish Public Schools Mr. Lance Hutson, Principal La. Highway 16 French Settlement, LA Document Generated On October 19, 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 6

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? French Settlement is a small rural community located about 30.5 miles southeast of Baton Rouge in the southwestern section of Livingston Parish. Since its incorporation in 1965, French Settlement has steadily grown from 670 people to approximately 1,116 (2010 census) up from 945 people (2000 census). French Settlement's racial/ethnic groups consist of: White (94.9%) followed by Hispanic (2.5%), two or more races (1.1%) and other (1.6%). Estimated median household income in French Settlement in 2013 was $38,929, compared to LA's $44,164. is one of 45 public schools in Livingston Parish. We are a small school serving students in grades Most of our students come from French Settlement Elementary (K-6) and Frost Elementary (K-8). FSHS has a current enrollment of 400 students: 134 in junior high; 266 in high school. 95% of our student body is white, 3% black, and 2% Hispanic % of our student body receives free or reduced lunch. We have a principal, assistant principal, counselor, instructional coach, librarian, 24 teachers, 3 itinerant teachers, 1 hearing impaired interpreter, 1 RTI tutor, 5 paraprofessionals, and we share a School Resource Officer with FS Elementary, Frost Elementary and Maurepas High School. 33% of our faculty is male, 67% female. All faculty members have at least a bachelor's degree; 7 have a master's degree and 4 have a masters plus 30. Our staff also includes a secretary, a financial secretary, 3 full-time custodians, and 1 part time custodian. Both of our secretaries, our RTI tutor, and one of our paraprofessionals also have a bachelor's degree. Like all schools, there are certain challenges that FSHS faces. We have some classrooms that were built in the 1920's and 1950's and are trying to get them updated into the 21st century. Another challenge we have faced recently is teacher turnover. Within the past 5 years, we have had close to 1/3 of our faculty retire. Also, due to our location, it has been difficult to get teachers to commit to teaching here for more than three years. They are choosing to move closer to their homes when the opportunity presents itself. We currently have five new teachers that brought over 100 years of experience with them. 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. mission statement: Teaching ALL students to succeed, one day at a time. FSHS is committed to sharing the purpose and direction for improving the performance of students, setting high expectations of discipline and respect. In an effort to meet the challenges of an ever-changing society, wants to provide our students with opportunities to become productive individuals equipped with critical knowledge and skills. We have several belief statements that support our vision. - The chief priority and primary focus of all decisions involving the work of the school is student learning. - Continuous school improvement is imperative to enable students to become confident, self-directed, life-long learners. - The school's curriculum design and instructional delivery should be based on clear goals and high expectations for student learning. - Students must develop the critical and creative thinking skills necessary to compete in a complex and ever-changing technology-oriented work place. - A variety of instructional and assessment methods is used in order to accommodate the differences in learning styles and the unique personalities of the individual. - The school must provide a safe and supportive environment that promotes learning and positive relationships. - The school must provide an opportunity for students to succeed in the post-secondary and vocational setting. 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 graduating class of 2015 was awarded a total value in scholarships of $943,719. The ProStart culinary progam was added for the school year. More AP and dual enrollment courses were added to our curriculum. Our students can now obtain 12 hours of college credit. Last year, we began offering two courses for high school credit at the junior high level: Journey to Careers and Health. For the school year, we led the parish in ACT score improvement, with a composite of SCORE <5% 14% % 42% % 65% % 82% Last year, we were notified by Value Penguin that their latest research report ranked our school number 21 out of the 272 public high schools in Louisiana. The variables looked at for their study were: Algebra Test Scores -looked at the percentage of students who scored "excellent" on their EOC exam English Test Scores - looked at the percentage of students who scored "excellent" on their EOC exam Student/Teacher Ratio - lower student/teacher ratios were considered better School Size - for a number of reasons, studies have shown that 600 students is the ideal high school size. Schools were ranked based on their proximity to this number. Since the State Department of Education has been issuing letter grades, we have consistently been rated either an A or B school. For the latest ranking, the school year, French Settlement was rated an A school by the State Board of Education with an SPS of Club achievements: Cheerleaders - won 1st place in Dance, Cheer, and Game Day competition in Grapevine, Texas at cheer camp. One cheerleader was chosen to try out for UCA staffer; and 2 chosen All-American. Jr. Beta Club - won 1st at State for t-shirt design and 2nd place at Nationals in Tennessee; 3rd place in Banner competition at District 8, Jr. Beta Day High School Beta - won 1st place in Social Studies Competition, 2nd place in Spanish, and 3rd place in Science at District Beta Day Welding - ( ) Students made the District 13 & Area IV, and State Welding teams Page 4

7 4-H - Student won Grand Champion Hampshire Breeding Swine and Grand Champion La Bred Hampshire FBLA ( ) At state conference:1st place in Business Law, 3rd place in Spreadsheet Applications, 4th place in Word Processing and Business Procedures, 7th place in Economics, and 8th Place in Insurance and Risk Management Areas of Improvement: In the past 3 years, thousands of dollars have been spent updating our computer labs, and we have added smartboards and interactive boards to most classrooms. Over $600,000 was spent renovating the 200 building after damage from Hurricane Isaac. This past summer, the junior high buildings were given a $250,000 renovation that included painting, new windows, floors and air conditioners. $250,000 was spent to improve our softball/baseball complex. We have long range plans to continue renovations on our campus as funds become available. Academic Improvement Needed: Our cohort graduation rate is 78%. Our goal is to bring the rate to 80% or higher. Although we had the highest ACT score improvement in Livingston Parish, we would like to increase our composite ACT score. We are targeting Algebra I, Geometry, and English III EOC scores. These three subjects had the highest number of students that scored either in the fair category or needs improvement category in school year. Page 5

8 Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. Like all schools, has had to do more with less. We have had an increase of students, more graduation requirements added by the state, and have been given less money to handle these challenges. With class sizes increasing, teachers are doing their best to give students the individual attention that they need with the provided materials. Our facilities are old and outdated, but we still offer a quality education. We are a small school, and it is difficult for us to offer a wide selection of electives. As classes are added to the Core 4 or Basic Core curriculum, we adjust our course offerings and teachers' schedules. As state assessments change, we update our curriculum and teaching methods to best accommodate the changes. With technology becoming more important in today's world, we have placed smart boards and interactive boards into all, but 3 classrooms. has always been one of the top scoring schools in Livingston Parish. This is attributed to the students, faculty, staff, administration, and community who support our school. will continue to strive to provide a quality education to all students. We not only place a high value of learning for post-secondary studies, but for vocational studies as well. Our vocational program teaches hands on skills in small engines, welding, carpentry, and agriculture that are relevant in today's world. Our business program offers IBC certifications through IBCA, BCA and accounting. Through our ProStart program, students can get a ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification and a ProStart Certificate of Achievement. Our students are also given the opportunity to leave campus and attend classes at the Livingston Parish Literacy and Technology Center or at any college or university. It is through this continued effort that our students will continue to find success in life because of the lessons taught and learned at French Settlement High School. We will continue to face every challenge given to us by the state and district. At, we are determined to teach all of our students to succeed, one day at a time. Page 6