Baker County School District Mr. Tom Hill, Principal 1 Wildcat Dr Glen St Mary, FL 32040-4208 Document Generated On September 6, 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 3 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 4 Additional Information 5
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. <br><br> 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? Baker County is comprised of several rural communities and is located just west of Jacksonville, Florida. The 2012 estimated population of the county was 27,086. That estimate is actually a small reduction from the 2010 census. The average number of persons per square mile in the State of Florida is over 350. (Baker County averages just over forty-six persons per square mile.) The communities of Baker County take pride in their rural status. The town in which the high school resides was selected by the United States Department of Agriculture as the 2004 Florida Rural Community of the Year. While Baker County is considered part of the Jacksonville metropolitan area, the small communities have the look and feel of rural Florida. (BCHS) is the only public high school serving students that live in the county. The school has approximately 1200 students in grades nine through twelve. The school's student demographics mirror that of the community with eighty-six percent white along with fourteen percent African-American. The working staff is comprised of Seventy-seven teachers, seventeen non-instructional staff, three guidance counselors, one career specialist, one activities/athletic director, six cafeteria employees, one full-time custodian, and four administrators. The challenges that BCHS faces are not all that different from other high schools in the state and nation. Student performance goals have never been higher while government funding has failed to provide the fiduciary resources necessary to meet those expectations. BCHS has worked diligently to improve its students' academic performance. In 2005, only thirty percent of its FCAT measured students were performing at grade level in reading. Three years ago, that number had increased to forty-three percent, but that still meant that over half of the students were reading below grade level. This last FCAT cycle showed that fifty-five percent of BCHS ninth grade students were reading at or above grade level while sixty percent of their tenth grade counterparts were meeting high expectations. With the challenges that the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) represent, the stakeholders of BCHS must be proactive in facing the new curriculum and assessments. Page 2
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 individuals to be lifelong learners, self-sufficient, and responsible citizens of good character. This vision statement was originally developed over a decade ago. The statement is shared by each of the schools in the Baker County School System. Time has shown the relevance of the components of the vision statement. The mission of is to encourage student attendance, foster appropriate student attitudes, and facilitate academic and workplace achievement. The mission statement was adopted during this last school year. The school's mission should represent what it does each and every day to accomplish the long-term vision of the school and district. The new mission statement was developed in cooperation with the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS ) team, School Advisory Council (SAC), Superintendent's Cabinet, Positive Behavior Support (PBS) team, and AdvancED Purpose and Direction team. The three main components of the mission statement are gleaned from BCHS' PBS expectations: attendance, attitude, and achievement. Continuous improvement is a fundamental expectation of both the district and school level leadership. The three components of the mission represent the platform from which our school activities are built. Page 3
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. From the 1999 school year through 2010, BCHS had either earned a school grade of "C" or "D." For the last two grading cycles, BCHS students and staff earned school grades of "B." In both of these cases, the stakeholders earned enough points to be an "A" school. While the tremendous change in school grade performance is not a comprehensive indicator of improved achievement, it is indicative of the upward trend in student performance. In 2010, BCHS students taking the American College Testing (ACT) assessment averaged a composite score of 17.7. In 2013, that average composite score had improved to 19.5. During that same period, the state ACT average improved from 19.5 to 19.6. In 2010, 64.5 percent of the senior cohort graduated while 72.8 percent graduated in 2012. The state averages for graduation during those two same periods were 69.0 percent and 74.5 percent respectively. These indicators clearly show that BCHS performance is growing at a rate larger than that of the state. In addition to improvement in student achievement, the culture of the school has improved as well. Teacher retention has improved over the last three years. In the summer of 2010, 24 new staff members were hired. As of June 2013, only ten positions have changed since the beginning of the previous school year. One of the major goals for the upcoming school year will be to address school culture. Student achievement is clearly the bottom line for the evaluation of a school and its stakeholders. While academic performance is definitely improving at BCHS, the school has much to work on in the coming years. Page 4
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 change in student performance at BCHS is the result of a focus on continuous improvement. As opposed to implementing strategies that would result in short term gains, the faculty and staff of BCHS are methodically addressing areas of concern. This is being done through a problem solving process implemented by the District Action Planning and Problem Solving (DAPPS) team and school-based MTSS team. By implementing an eight-step problem solving process, the school organization is working to address multiple areas of concern. Some of the areas that are currently being addressed are formative assessment, student attendance, and student engagement. Eight-step plans have been developed and are being implemented to improve organizational success in these areas. An example of the differences being made is the average daily attendance rate for BCHS. During the 2011-2012 school year, the average daily attendance rate was 88.7 percent (25,612 days absent). During this last school year, that category improved to 93.2 percent (14,173 days absent). Improved attendance is a key part of our increased student achievement. In addition to a commitment to continuous improvement, two other major initiatives have been implemented since the last SACS/CASI site review. BCHS has adopted a new bell schedule. At the time of the last review, the school was on a 3 x 3 + 1 hybrid of block scheduling. Three years ago, BCHS returned to a traditional seven-period school day. That change added minutes to the instructional day and required eight additional teacher units. The effort and expense have resulted in increased student performance. As well as a new bell schedule, the master schedule has been adjusted to allow all ninth and some tenth grade students to be placed on teams that share the same instructors. These instructors are given common planning periods to facilitate instruction of their team's students. In addition to the three teams in ninth grade and one team in tenth grade, BCHS has multiple career academies that have grouped students as well. Professional development is now being implemented to help these teams integrate their instruction. In July 2013, multiple teams received inservice on developing Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) instructional units. This lesson plan format will assist BCHS in the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) as well as facilitate the integration of the curriculum. Page 5