Sarasota County School District Dr. Rachel Shelley, Principal 3201 North Orange Avenue Sarasota, FL 34234 Document Generated On September 30, 2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 4 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 6 Additional Information 7
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
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? is the northern-most of five high schools in Sarasota County. It is located in a traditionally African-American neighborhood known as Newtown. Dating back to 1910, began as a grammar school and eventually grew to include both a junior and a senior high school. This three-school complex came to be known as Booker schools, named for Ms. Emma E. Booker, the first principal of the grammar school. In September 1967, the Booker schools were closed and a long struggle began between the African-American community and the school board over the fate of these traditionally African-American neighborhood schools. While the community was certainly in favor of desegregation, it was also concerned that the closing of the Booker schools represented a loss of cultural and community identity. As a result, led by civic leaders, teachers and parents, African-American students boycotted the Sarasota schools in the spring of 1969. In 1970, under the direction of Assistant Superintendent Jerald Strickland, the schools were reopened as a totally integrated, fully established educational facility voluntarily attended by students. In 1978, with the schools in danger of closing once again, this time due to low attendance, a new principal, Mr. Addison Gilbert, began to revitalize the academic and athletic programs. To attract more white students to the campus, he secured a federal grant for the establishment of a magnet school for the visual and performing arts. Auditions for this VPA magnet program began in the 1979-1980 school year. In the summer of 1981, Ms. Jan Gibbs, who had been hired in 1978 as a guidance counselor, became the principal and made changes that resulted in the solidification of the VPA program and the designation of the school as fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). By 1993, Emma E. Booker Elementary School and Booker Middle School occupied sites of their own at different locations in the Newtown area, leaving as the sole education institution on the original historical site. underwent a major rebuild between 2009 and 2013, demolishing and replacing all buildings with the exception of the Theatre, the Gym and Field House, as well as one other building, which was redesigned and made into the Media Center, with additional classrooms on the second floor. The school is within a one-mile radius of the Ringling School of Art and Design, the Ringling Museum of Art, the University of South Florida at Sarasota/Manatee, New College, and the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. The school is proud to have maintained its place as centerpiece of the Newtown community, as well as to have grown to include diverse magnet programs and offerings for every student. The VPA program contains 5 Majors: Art, Music, Dance, Theatre and Digital and Motion Design (DigiMo). Booker High offers advanced courses for all students through the Cambridge AICE program, Dual Enrollment and Advanced Placement. Booker's CTE pathways include the Law Academy, STEM, Business and Supervision, Digital Design and Hospitality & Tourism. The Law Academy is a product of a partnership with local judges, lawyers and law enforcement agencies and provides a rich background for students. In 2016, Booker will partner with another community stakeholder, the Sarasota Film Festival, to begin a Film Academy. Also thriving are the athletics and JROTC programs, as well as a new program teaching students computer coding, specifically designed for at-risk students at. Page 2
serves a diverse school population that consists of 1,056 students: 32% Hispanic, 30% Black, 31% White and 1% Asian or 1 % Indian, and 5% multi-racial. More than 70% of BHS students qualify for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Additionally, 19% (196) are Students with Disabilities (SWD) and 7% (69) are classified as English Language Learners (ELL). The teaching and support staff combined are 68% female and 32% male. The ethnic breakdown of Booker staff members is 81% white, 16% Black, 2% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and 1% Asian. Among the teachers at, 41% have Master's degrees, 17% have Masters plus 45, 4% have earned doctorate degrees, 23% have a Bachelors and 15% have earned Bachelor's plus 30. This year Booker's community, Newtown, celebrated its Centennial, and students participated in the yearlong celebration in a variety of ways, one of which was the writing and editing of a short documentary on the history of Newtown, which premiered at the Sarasota Film Festival. Page 3
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. The vision of is to prepare all of its students to graduate college or career ready, and to become productive members of society. The mission of BHS is to establish an environment, including unique programs offering opportunities to a diverse population, which enable all students to become critical thinkers and to develop skills and values for maximizing their potential. In order to fulfill this vision and mission has developed a diverse program of studies, and continues to invest in the resources needed to assist students in meeting their goals. An ACT/SAT prep program is offered free of charge and is funded through a grant and foundation donation. Students who are interested in maximizing their scores for college entrance purposes utilize this assistance, as well as students who are struggling to pass the standardized test requirements. The students in the latter group take advantage of this Prep option to earn a correlating score, and therefore meet graduation requirements. The Post-Secondary Readiness Test (PERT) test is no longer required for 11th and 12th graders, however, at, students are required to show proficiency on the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) or either the ACT or SAT. If students have not shown proficiency through one of these assessments, they are placed in College Preparation English and Math classes and are monitored with regard to their progress towards college readiness. This is a priority because students who leave high school with a qualifying PERT score will not need to take remedial classes in college English and Math. has a College Resource room and a highly active College for Every Student (CFES) club. CFES promotes student research of colleges and assists them with every facet of being prepared for college, from scholarship applications to essay writing. Students are provided with multiple opportunities to go to college campuses for tours and workshops, enriching their perspective and enabling them to make a college selection that fits their unique needs. Booker makes sure to highlight careers and industries within our own county by providing opportunities for community members to speak with students during monthly class assemblies and scheduled classroom visits. Companies such as Tervis Tumbler and L3 have presented to our students, and in many cases have taken the time to tour our school and programs to see the students in action and give feedback to administration. Lawyers, judges and law enforcement workers are regular speakers and collaborators within our Law Academy. Law students take multiple field trips to see the Sarasota judicial system in action, touring the 911 center, courtrooms and jails, thereby becoming familiar with the inner workings of our community, and being exposed to the many career opportunities. The same is true within the Hospitality Program. Booker seeks out active partnerships with our community hotels, chefs and tourism experts. Students take tours of hotels, participate in workshops and have opportunities to get hands on experience. Students wishing to leave school and go straight into the work force in a skilled trade can work with the technical school liaison, who is on campus weekly to speak with students about opportunities for dual enrollment. Booker also holds its own Career Fair each year, to expose students to career possibilities. Developing students as productive members of society is a clear priority at. To that end, we have solicited and received private funding to participate in a school-wide Rachel's Challenge initiative. The purpose of the Rachel's Challenge program is to teach students to embody the 5 ways of living that Rachel proposed in her journal- Rachel's 5 challenges. Rachel was one of the first victims in the Page 4
Columbine school shooting, and the challenges she proposes are focused on creating a community at the school where students feel safe and valued, and where we learn how to treat one another. The program consists of a school-wide introductory assembly, followed by a training for Friends of Rachel, students who wish to be leaders on campus with this initiative. The 2nd year of the program will include another school-wide assembly and quarterly projects that keep the message alive and ask our students to actively embrace the challenges. There are 2 after school tutorial programs offered at Booker High daily. The first is run by teachers in the content areas and the second is a student-sponsored, student-run tutorial for students, by students. Booker also has increased student access to mentor programs such as Big Brother Big Sister and Sail Future, which provides one on one support to students struggling academically, behaviorally or socially. In 2012 there were only 8 BBBS mentors meeting with students on campus, and by 2014 matches had been made for 28 students, with 26 more having been interviewed and accepted, but waiting for a match. The goal is to have 100 matched mentors/mentees by the end of 2016. To that end, mentor recruitment efforts have increased significantly. Page 5
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. has much to celebrate in terms of achievement. The graduation rate has increased steadily from 64.5% in 2010 to 71% in 2013. Reading scores for 10th graders climbed from 41% in 2012 to 52% by 2014. Geometry students scoring 3 or higher rose from 47% in 2013 to 57% in 2014, and Algebra 1 EOC passing rates went from 50% to 51%. Performance on the US History EOC was 62% in 2013, climbing to 70% in 2014. Biology rocketed from a 47% passing rate in 2012 to 62% passing in 2014. Fifty-two students sitting for the Microsoft "Bundle" certification test passed and exited high school with a marketable skill. Booker's Advance Placement passing rate continues to climb each year, and even surpassed state averages in Studio Art 2D, 3D and Drawing, as well as Music Theory and Calculus. An area of great pride for Booker teachers and administrators is the clear evidence of closing the achievement gap. The gap between black and white students graduating rate is only 1.9%, while the national gap stands at 21% and the state of Florida's gap is 13%. Additionally, 77.5% of Hispanic students at Booker graduate, which is 13% above the national graduation rate. has increased the atrisk graduation rate from 41% to 61% in the last 4 years, and has decreased the out of school suspensions of minorities by 81 days. The average daily attendance is 92%. Booker continues to experience challenges in the area of Reading. In 2012 45% of 9th graders were proficient on the Reading FCAT. This figure dropped to 41% by 2014. This can be partially attributed to staffing issues within our Reading department. An area of challenge that Booker shares with everyone in the state of Florida is the change in ELA standards two consecutive years, along with a new standardized test. All teachers continue to struggle with a constantly shifting target, with new EOCs being developed, and different rules applied to each cohort for graduation requirements. Within the next 3 years, Booker's goal is to raise Reading scores substantially. Specific goal numbers will be generated after cut scores for the new FSA have been created. Booker administration is focused on modeling how to use data to inform instruction, and continues to work to develop its Department Chairs into Instructional Leaders. Instructional Leaders were utilized in planning the instructional focus areas for the 2015-2016 school year as well as the professional development calendar. One strand of the developed plan is to create collaborative partnerships for teachers in which they observe one another and provide coaching. The teachers will develop and monitor their progress towards their instructional goals through use of data. Page 6
Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. As a body of educators who fully believe in continuous improvement, Faculty and Staff look forward to the reflective process facilitated through Advanc-Ed. Page 7