Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson City Public Schools Dr. James V Witty, Principal 4805 Park Ave Nashville, TN 37209-3436 Document Generated On September 26, 2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 3 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 4 Additional Information 6
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? MNPS Virtual School or Virtual School is located in Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville is the capital of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. Our city is a center for the music, healthcare, publishing, banking, transportation industries, as well as home to a large number of colleges and universities. Furthermore, Nashville is known as a center of the music industry, earning it the nickname "Music City." Nashville has a consolidated city-county government that includes six smaller municipalities in a two-tier system and is served by a single, consolidated school district. As of the 2010 census, the population of Nashville as a whole, including all municipalities, was 626,681. Census data demonstrates evolving population demographics. As of the 2010 census, the racial makeup of the city was 60.5 percent White (56.3 percent non-hispanic white), 28.4 percent African-American, 0.3 percent American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.1 percent Asian, 0.1 percent Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 2.5 percent from two or more races. 10.0 percent of the total population was of Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race). For comparison, the non-hispanic White population was 79.5 percent in 1970. Virtual school serves students within the consolidated school district known as Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools or MNPS. The MNPS system is also made up of a diverse population of students that Virtual School serves on a partial and full-time basis. Most recent demographics for all learners indicate that 48.19 percent of students are White, 32.40 percent are Black or African-American, 14.19 percent are Hispanic or Latino, 4.69 percent are Asian, and.54 percent are of American Indian or Alaska Native background. In terms of our teaching population at Virtual School, 76.0 percent of teachers are White and 24.0 percent are Black or African-American. Since opening our doors three years ago, our enrollment has consistently doubled each school year making it a challenge to sustain such growth. Virtual School also operates 12 months a year, with fall, spring, and summer enrollment options. Currently, Virtual School has a fulltime enrollment of 137 students and part-time enrollment of 733 students. Full-time students take all of their courses at Virtual School and graduate from our institution. Part-time enrollment is open to all MNPS students, as well as out-of-county Tennessee students with learners taking between one (1) to three (3) courses via our school. Our fundamental challenge has been ensuring that our population of students has the academic and technical skills needed to thrive in this type of learning environment. Staff works to help develop the technical skills new students need to be successful in a virtual learning environment, but this continues to be a challenge. Additionally, many of our students struggle in Mathematics and we are continuing to investigate, design, and offer innovating solutions to this challenge. Some families also lack the technologies and Internet access needed to fully access our school and our resources. We have worked to provide resources and technologies to remedy this, but have yet to establish a free and easily-accessible way for low-income students to consistently stay connected. 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. Our school is Tennessee's first, highest-achieving virtual school leader since 2011. With a unique focus on mastery learning, the Academies model, and continuous improvement, Virtual School is delivering on our mission and vision embodying the highest levels of collaboration, professionalism, and academic excellence. In a time when other virtual schools are struggling to perform, Virtual School is the highestachieving virtual school in Tennessee and one of the highest-performing high schools in the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) system. Our mission is "To provide Tennessee students with an individualized, dynamic, and empowering virtual education while developing graduates who are college, career, and community ready." Our vision affirms our commitment to students charging "Leading the field of virtual education with innovation and creativity while inspiring students to become stewards of their own education, life-long learners, and excited about the future of education." Further, our faculty and staff have established a set of commitments (i.e., beliefs) that we pledge to our students and parents: (a) Virtual School is a place of learning where students can achieve their academic goals. (b) Virtual School personalizes learning based upon the student's specific interests. (c) Virtual School is rigorous, interactive, and adaptable accommodating multiple learning styles. (d) Virtual School empowers students to control when, where, and how they learn. (e) Virtual School provides high-quality academic feedback for achievement purposes. (f) Virtual School offers ample opportunities for students to comprehend the content with our ultimate goal being mastery. (g) Virtual School provides student support systems for struggling learners. (h) Virtual School integrates traditional social schooling experiences to foster a community of learning. (i) Virtual School graduates are prepared to attend and succeed at a two-year, four-year, or technical institution of higher learning. Virtual School also maintains high expectations for all our students. Those expectations are noted in their Student Handbook and are as follows: (a) The v-student strives to achieve his or her full potential. (b) The v-student is a superior communicator both orally and in writing. (c) The v-student constantly displays academic professionalism. (d) The v-student is self-motivated and self-disciplined. (e) The v-student exhibits attention to detail reading and following all instructions. (f) The v-student possesses integrity and acts ethically by completing assignments individually. (g) The v-student is adaptable and able to manage competing demands in various v-courses. (h) The v-student is dependable, taking responsibility for actions and keeping commitments. (i) The v-student embodies superior time management skills, completing all assignments on- time and remaining on-pace. (j) The v-student dedicates the time needed to successfully master the content in the v-course (5-8 hours per week, per half-credit,). (k) The v-student asks for help when additional support is needed or speaks up if a problem arises. (l) The v-student makes no excuses and understands that the v-learner determines whether the experience will be a positive one. 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. As a public school, Virtual School falls under the accountability system for Tennessee schools thereby being responsible for raising overall achievement and closing gaps between student subgroups. Virtual School also participates in the school improvement planning (SIP) process ensuring a culture of continuous improvement. Under this process, Virtual School has continued to demonstrate a culture for teaching and learning, as well as student achievement. During Virtual School's first year of operation (SY 2011-2012), baseline assessment results were established and indicated a need for innovative reforms aimed at increasing student achievement. Faculty and staff immediately established a focus on mastery learning and adopted the Continuous Improvement Model that facilitated high levels of academic excellence, as demonstrated by state assessment results during the 2012-2013 school year. In fact, Virtual School met both school improvement goals in Algebra I and English II, as well as realized the highest average percentage point gain in all End-of-Course (EOC) subjects in the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools system achieving an average gain of 23 percentage points in each subject. During that same year, Virtual School also had the highest percentage point gain in Algebra I and Biology for the entire district. During 2012-2013, Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System or TVAAS ratings indicated that students met the standard for projected academic growth in English II and English III. TVAAS ratings, however, indicate that students made substantially less progress than the projection for academic growth in Algebra I with targeted and specific strategies needed. Virtual School further received the designation as an "Achieving School" based on academic progress made during the 2012-2013 school year. State assessment results from the 2013-2014 school year further demonstrate a continued focus on growing students academically. Virtual School had the highest achievement results in English I within the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools system for the noted school year. In English II, Virtual School increased achievement with 88 percent of all test takers scoring advanced or proficient on the state assessment. Virtual School also received an honorable mention award for our demonstrated achievement. In English III, achievement results stalled at 59 percent, but Virtual School received an honorable mention award for having some of the highest achievement results in English III within the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools system. With that, Virtual School has currently deployed targeted refinements to help grow students in this subject area and will continue to target this area over the next three years. In Algebra I, Virtual School saw an average decrease of 28 percent points during the 2013-2014 school year with specific innovations in Algebra I currently underway to address this area of need. Algebra I will also receive laser focus over the next three years as we continue to build teachers and student's capacity for achievement. In Algebra II, results demonstrated an increase in achievement with Virtual School receiving an honorable mention for having some of the highest achievement results in this area as well. Virtual School is also excited to share that during 2013-2014 school year, Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System or TVAAS measures indicated that students met the standard for projected academic growth in ALL state assessment areas. Hence, under this rating system, Virtual School made huge headway in Algebra I, as well as several other subject areas. Virtual School also anticipates that assessment results will yield a designation as an "Achieving School" based upon 2013-2014 school year data. Finally, during this school year, the working conditions of Virtual School were measured by a uniform system adopted by the Tennessee Department of Education. Teacher climate results indicate the highest levels of satisfaction with Virtual School with ratings among the highest in the school district. Page 4
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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 pioneer in the field, Virtual School is noted as a trailblazer in online learning. Recent advancements include the launching of the Virtual Academy of Business & Marketing with international attention for being the first virtual school in the world to adopt the Academies Model. This school year we are also introducing full-time enrollment for seventh (7th) and eighth (8th) graders. Furthermore, Virtual School is excited to open our doors to student athletes with v-courses now National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) eligible. Our best days are ahead of us! Virtual School is currently working to continue to "grow" our teachers via the v-teacher Leadership Institute. Our school is also expanding our options through a partnership with Nashville State Community College and offering dual enrollment options to our learners. Further, we have added a new Advanced Placement (AP) pathway option for our full-time students wanting college credit and to stand out in the admissions process. Over the next school year, new students will enjoy Virtual School 101 which is an online introductory course and school orientation that will prepare new students for virtual learning. Existing students can look forward to new, standardized course formats for ease of use and navigation, as well as new standardized pacing guides for ease of tracking learner progress. Next year, full-time Virtual Academy of Business and Marketing students will also enroll in a new capstone experience that will bring together all previous learning, in business and marketing, in this culminating virtual course. Finally, Virtual School is currently building a new Personal Finance course that will be the premier virtual course taken by ALL MNPS students before graduating. This is under our district-wide initiative whereby all MNPS students will take, at lease one virtual course before graduating high school. Page 6