Executive Summary. Baton Rouge Magnet High School

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1 East Baton Rouge Parish School System Mrs. Nanette McCann 2825 Government Street Baton Rouge, LA Document Generated On January 6, 2015

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 4 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 6 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? Baton Rouge High School was founded in 1880 and became a dedicated magnet high in 1976 with the mission of raising standards and developing the artistic talents of its students. As a dedicated magnet high school, (BRMHS) does not have a specified attendance zone. Students from all over East Baton Rouge Parish may apply to attend and are accepted based upon specified admissions criteria which promote both equity and diversity. East Baton Rouge Parish is located in south Louisiana and home to over 440,000 residents with 48% Caucasian, 45% African- American, 3% Hispanic, 2 % Asian, and 2% Other racial origins represented, according to the 2011 US Census. The median household income of East Baton Rouge Parish is $48,274 with a little over 18% of residents falling below the poverty line. Since students from all over East Baton Rouge Parish attend BRMHS, it is home to the largest and most diverse student body in the district, with a total enrollment for the school year of 1484 students including special needs students. The racial and socio-economic composition of the student body closely mirrors that of the parish with 51% Caucasian or Non-African- American and 49% African-American students in attendance with roughly 20% qualifying for free/reduced lunch. There are 413 Freshmen, 417 Sophomores, 357 Juniors, and 297 Seniors of which 35% are male and 65% are female. The current freshmen class includes students from at least twelve public middle schools in the parish, several private schools, out-of-state schools, and home schooling environments. As a result, the students come into a rigorous college preparatory magnet curriculum from a variety of academic situations. This varied student body benefits greatly from the academic/visual arts program as it promotes global thinking, challenges the status quo, and provides authentic tools and task for students to recognize the benefits of diversity. The "legacy of excellence" continues at with a newly renovated facility of more than 360,000 square feet located in the Mid-City Business District. Additions to the original 1926 campus were completed in 2012 to include a library-media center, gymnastics facility, professional track, state-of-the art radio and television studios, an amphitheater and two black box theaters. The 100% highly qualified administration, faculty and staff of ninety-five is comprised of local, regional, and state Principal of the Year, Magnet Teachers of the Year, Coaches of the Year, and National Board Certified Teachers. Faculty members are also active in professional organizations, music performances, writing, arts and media administration while adding these experiences to their expertise in classroom instruction and hours of sponsorships, tutoring, planning and guidance. The support staff include one executive secretary, one attendance clerk, one school secretary, one guidance secretary, one paraprofessional, one cafeteria manager, and eight food technicians. Academically, BRMHS provides the opportunity to build a solid college preparatory background. The school operates on a modified block schedule with offerings of more than thirty Honors and Advanced Placement courses, sixteen honors courses, two dual enrollment courses, and Talented Art, Drama and Music classes. All students carry a full course load every year, with no early dismissal for seniors however, many students take courses at the local universities and the community colleges. In addition to offering the opportunity to earn early college credits, the school is unique in that it is the only high school in the nation with both AM and FM student-operated radio stations. The Arts are also a large part of the school culture as students participate in national and international vocal, instrumental, and dance performances. Although traditional sports such as baseball, basketball, and football programs are not offered, there are varsity teams for both boys and girls in track, cross country, swimming, golf, soccer, gymnastics, wrestling, tennis, and volleyball. In addition to 17 interscholastic sports and a wide range of performing arts productions, more than 50 extra-curricular organizations such as the National Honors Society, Beta Club, Mu Alpha Theta, and Science Olympiad team, provide a variety of activities that enrich the Experience. Page 2

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6 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. Committed to ensuring equity for all students, utilizes dynamic visionary leadership, highly structured teaching strategies, and focused learning to accomplish its mission "to provide a college preparatory curriculum, infused with the arts, that will enable students to be lifelong learners, critical thinkers, and ethical citizens who can function in an increasingly technical, diverse, and global environment." Aligned with the mission is the vision "that all students will graduate with the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to become active and successful members of a dynamic learning community." BRMHS is dedicated to excellence and collaboration through academics and the arts. Alignment of the educational activities supports an academically rigorous curriculum, with an added performing arts emphasis, making BRMHS a true educational laboratory of best learning practices. In particular, methods and activities to accomplish these goals include instruction designed to meet every child's unique needs through differentiation strategies and over 120 elective choices. These choices offer the breadth and depth of instruction in all curricular, developmental, and creative areas. New electives, clubs and organizations are designed to appeal to students and attract a more diverse population across teams, ethnic groups, and grades. A strong advisory program actively recruits underrepresented populations in advanced electives. Based on educational research, the instructional methods include higher-order thinking skills forcing students to recall, question and relate, creating a culture of reading across the curriculum. The linkage of the school's vision to instructional content is evidenced by group activities that cater to various ways of absorbing information and strengthening understanding. The addition of the Springboard English curriculum created a more diverse group of students in the Advanced Placement (AP) classes. With an emphasis on AP, teachers incorporate college preparatory resources to increase rigor in the curriculum, enabling students to apply concepts and skills as well as explain the thinking behind their application of knowledge. Likewise, the Accelerated Reader Program is used in the freshman and sophomore classes as a tool for increasing reading and promoting reading enjoyment while simultaneously boosting comprehension. The academic component is an equally important program augmented by the Visual and Performing Arts. Additionally, various club activities offer outlets for students to showcase their talents in the academics, arts, and athletic venues. Technology is used to make learning engaging and intellectually stimulating and projects are used to help students personalize and own their learning. Technology is integrated daily to remediate, reinforce, and challenge learning of all subject areas in classrooms and the school's computer labs. Students are taught how to use technologies as learning tools. For example, Smartboards are used to create interactive lessons that captures students' attention and accommodate their different learning styles. Specifically in math, English, social studies and foreign language classes, ActivBoards, ActivVote, and Activ-Expression are used to periodically poll the students' and gauge their comprehension and understanding of the different topics and instruction is adjusted as needed. Also, hands on activities and manipulatives are used to support students' different learning styles. Direct and explicit instruction are provided along with project-based learning and cooperative learning activities to engage students, meet differential learning needs and build cooperative and team skills. By carefully structuring the academic day, classroom teachers meet weekly by grade levels to collaborate, design instruction, and evaluate student work. The teachers also meet with the ancillary teachers to integrate various academic subjects with music, PE, computer/library, foreign language and guidance. Teachers create lessons that are student-centered and geared to the talents, learning styles, ability and interest. Page 4

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8 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. 's administration, staff, and students have garnered well-deserved recognition for outstanding achievements. The Bulldog family is most proud of the most recent academic achievements of: 16 National Merit, 6 National Merit Commended, 2 National Achievement, and 5 Achievement Commended Scholars; Advanced Placement Awards for 12 National AP Scholars, 38 Scholars with Distinction, 13 Scholars with Honor, and 38 Scholar Awards. Last year, 98% of BRMHS graduates went on to attend either four or two year colleges with over $ 3 million dollars in scholarships. Additional recognitions of the students and staff include: 2014 State Science Bowl Winner, st and 2nd Place Regional Science Bowl, 2014 & st Place State Science Olympiad, th LA Science and Engineering Fair 1st Place, 2014 & 2013 LA Mu Alpha Theta 1st Place, 2014 & 2013 MSA Regional Teacher of Year, 2014 & 2013 Magnet Schools of America Distinction, Siemens Award for Advanced Placement, 2014 State Champions Indoor Track and Field, 2014 & 2013 State Runner up Gymnastics, 2014 State Runner Up Outdoor Track and Field, 2013 Regional Mock Trial, 2013 State Interact Convention 1st Place, 2013 Louisiana State Principal of Year, 2013 Regional Champions of the National Science Bowl, 2013 Environmental Leadership Program Award, 2013, 2012 & 2011 NEWSWEEK America's Best High Schools, U.S. Presidential Scholars, 2013 & 2012 Louisiana Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year, and 2013 State Runner Up in Swimming. BRMHS continues to strive towards raising its standards high and has committed itself to promote equity for all students, with the belief that every student will achieve the required standards. The faculty and staff believe there is no excuse for any student not succeeding, regardless of race, ethnic background or SES isolation. BRMHS' equity is built and sustained on high expectations, rigor in the classroom, and relationship building to allow effective communication across differences. In the effort to monitor student success, the administrative and guidance staffs meet regularly with those students who are struggling to achieve the required 2.5 grade point average. Through the implementation of the Freshman Academy, incoming students obtain early exposure to the expectations and to the school environment, which has effectively bridged the gap between high school and middle school. The faculty and staff have worked diligently to eliminate the racial and ethnic isolation found in three particular areas: honors, dual enrollment and advanced placement classes. For example, the open enrollment policy in 9th and 10th grade pre-advanced placement classes, allows all students to be exposed to the competency skills required for academic achievement in 11th and 12th grade AP advanced courses. Programmatically, initiatives such as Accelerated Reader and the College Board's Springboard program in English have been implemented to assist with the realization of significant achievement for all students. Specifically, utilizing the Springboard English curriculum has created a more diverse group of students in Advanced Placement classes, and the curriculum emphasis upon higher-order thinking skills has helped to better prepare all of students for the Louisiana End of Course high stakes exams. For example, in math, students taking the math portion of the End-of-Course Tests in , saw scores increase from 92% to 97% "Proficient".Of significant note, 40% of the students who scored "Excellent" were identified as an "Economically Disadvantaged" population. In reading, the students scored 100%--which means the achievement gap closed in reading--an impressive achievement. Moreover, with all students scoring "Proficient," 445 students scored "Excellent" of these students have been identified as "Economically Disadvantaged". An analysis of the AP class enrollment has shown a marked increase from 699 students in to 924 students in Consequently, as a result of these concerted efforts to eliminate racial and social disparities in achievement, in particular in reading and math, BRMHS has made tremendous strides. Page 6

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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 administration, faculty and staff of BRMHS believe strongly that it takes "a village to raise a child;" therefore, collaboration with the community makes for a successful school program. Consequently, the development of dialogue with diverse community groups have forged a working relationship with representatives from the Parent-Faculty Club, BRMHS Alumni Foundation, Mid-City Redevelopment Alliance, Louisiana Resource for Educators and Exxon-Mobil, and sponsors of the 60+ clubs and organizations provide another layer of collaboration for the long-range planning of projects for the school. These groups collaborate to plan facility improvements, to support the curriculum, and to assist teachers with instruction that makes a great impact on the magnet program. The Baton Rouge High School Foundation, in particular, founded as an alumni group in 1995, and became a foundation in 2010 has been an integral partner in the last 2 years. The foundation's mission is to encourage philanthropy and fellowship of alumni, families of students, faculty, and the community so that Baton Rouge High School will continue to advance in educational excellence, student achievement, and national prominence. Organizations such as the foundation, have been going the distance to ensure that all students have opportunities to enjoy personal and academic success. Page 8