Goal 1:  Ninth Grade Transition

Goal 2:  Formative Assessments

Goal 3:  Assistance to Struggling Students

Goal 4:  Literacy

Goal 5:  Professional Development

Goal 6:  Processes and Procedures

Goal 7:  Total School Community

Goal 8:  Professional Learning Community

Goal 9:  Redesign Reform Model

Problem

Freshmen have difficulty assimilating into high school because the environment is less structured, but the curriculum is more rigorous.

Objective

Reduce the Freshman Retention Rate to below 10%, while also increasing the class GPA.

Strategies

1. Require the completion of a Freshman Seminar class during the fall semester of each student’s first year in high school.  Topics include:
   1. Orientation to high school
   2. Study and Organizational Skills
   3. Character Education
   4. Social Skills
   5. Technology and Research Skills
   6. Post Secondary Decisions and Careers
   7. Grammar
   8. Vocabulary
   9. Test Preparation

2. Create repeater courses for the core areas of English, Earth Science, and World History.  Therefore, incoming ninth graders are enrolled in true freshman courses, comprised of only first year high school students.  

3. Host incoming ninth grade students at the end of their eighth grade year to familiarize students with cafeteria, rules, expectations, teachers, and the campus.

4. Hold a Freshman Orientation Night in August to distribute course schedules and introduce incoming students to their teachers.

5. Freshman teachers and guidance staff will provide Freshman Parent Night that will include information on the following topics:

a.       Clubs and Athletics

b.      Senior Project

c.       Graduation Requirements and Required EOC’s

d.      College admissions, SAT scores, GPA

e.       Exams

f.        Promotion and Retention

g.       Attendance Policy

Problem

Assessment is used for evaluation and not for instructional purposes.

Objective

Use routine assessments to inform instruction.

Strategies

1. In the five EOC courses required for graduation, teachers will give common/formative assessments a minimum of twice per grading period.  Teachers will use the results of these assessments to direct instruction for the next three week period and beyond.

2. Explore the purchase of common assessment tools like Classcape or Blue Diamond.

3. Use PLCs as opportunity to develop and implement common, formative assessments.

Problem

Content area teachers lack honed skills in assisting students with reading and writing.

Objective

Teachers in all content areas will routinely instruct students on the fundamentals of reading and writing in their content area.

Strategies

1. All teachers will receive training, organized by administration, in the Reading Apprenticeship Program to improve reading instruction across the content areas.

2. Martha Lewis, CRT, will organize a brief series of Writing Across the Curriculum workshops for all teachers in conjunction with the Reading Apprenticeship program and the Graduation Project.

Problem

BHS possesses valuable, underutilized software because teachers are not fully trained in how to use the programs.

Objective

Teachers will fully utilize available software, EVAAS and Moodle, to reach all students.

Strategies

1. All teachers will receive training, organized by district technology coordinators, each school year in Moodle.

2. Assistant Principals Clifton and Yeazel, with district support, will organize training for EOC teachers in EVAAS.  EVAAS training will help teachers further understand current students’ past test performances and capabilities in their current course.

Problem

Gang affiliation is a growing problem at Bunn High School, and school personnel are challenged to keep abreast of the ever-changing signals students display indicating gang involvement.

Objective

School personnel will recognize and report to administration and/or law enforcement displays of gang affiliation and activity. 

Strategies

1. All school personnel will receive annual training from local law enforcement about current gang activity occurring the community.

2. Teachers will report in writing suspected gang activity to administrators and/or the school resource officer.

3. Administrators will actively document gang activity and enforce the consequences stated in the Franklin County Code of Conduct.

Problem

Some teachers have difficulty keeping students engaged for the full class period.

Objective

Teachers will use researched strategies to engage students in a well planned, quality lesson for the full 90 minutes of each class period. 

Strategies

1. All school personnel will receive training in Quality Teaching and Learning (QTL) strategies by June 2009.  New teachers will be trained in the fall upon arrival.

2. Each grading period, a QTL consultant or CRT will meet with teachers to provide further training in best practices.

Problem

Many math students have difficulty completing the prescribed courses in the college preparatory track.

Objective

Redesign how the three EOC math courses are taught to better meet the needs of some struggling students 

Strategies

1. Select math teachers will explore possibility of implementing an integrated math program.  SY 2007-2008.

2. Two teachers will be trained in an integrated math program, SY 2008-2009.

3. Selected teachers will spearhead efforts, with assistance from the district curriculum office, to develop a pilot program to be implemented SY 2009-2010.

Problem

Assessments determined that teachers’ placement is not optimized to best meet students’ instructional needs.

Objective

In developing the master schedule, administrators will place teachers in courses where they can best serve student needs, thus making placement decisions based on teacher strengths rather than seniority or teacher preferences, by August of each year.

Strategies

1.      Department chairs develop plan for their dept with teacher input in early June, annually.

2.      Department chairs conference with administrators to discuss strengths and weaknesses of teachers with regard to best teacher placement in early June, annually.

3.      Administrators consider test scores, EVAAS, department chair recommendations, and individual teachers’ strengths and weaknesses, May through August annually.

Problem

Through routine observations, administrators determined that lesson objectives were not consistently clear to students and/or teachers.

Objective

Teachers will clearly communicate the instructional objective by daily posting the learning objective for both teacher and student view.  

Strategies

1. Each teacher will write the instructional objective on the board daily.

2. Through classroom walk-throughs and formal observations, administrators will determine the presence of a written learning objective and the alignment of the lesson plan to that stated objective.

3. Administrators will report weekly to teachers on the percentage of teachers displaying the learning objective.

4. Individual teachers not complying will be addressed by administrators.

Problem

Through routine observations, administrators observed that bell-to-bell instruction was not occurring in all classrooms.

Objective

All teachers will have meaningful instruction from the beginning of each class period until the end everyday. 

Strategies

1. Teachers will plan lessons for each class that utilize the full class period.

2. Through classroom walk-throughs and formal observations, administrators will assess bell-to-bell instruction.

3. Administrators will report weekly to teachers the percentage of teachers teaching bell-to-bell.

4. Individual teachers not complying will be addressed by administrators.

5. Required Staff Development in instructional strategies will be provided in Spring 2008.

6. All teachers will be trained in Quality Tools for Teaching and Learning by Spring 2009.

Problem

All students with potential to be successful in Honors and Advanced Placement classes are not currently enrolled in them.

Objective

Increase the enrollment and diversity of students in Honors and AP courses by August 25, annually.

Strategies

1.      Students who have the potential to be successful in AP/Honors coursework will be identified by teachers, counselors, and administrators and encouraged to enroll.  Tools utilized to identify students will include previous coursework, test scores, EVAAS.

2.      Increase AP offerings in Social Studies by adding AP Government and/or AP European History.

3.      Increase AP offerings in Math by adding AP Statistics.

Problem

Parent communication about student activity and performance is inadequate and does not support increased student achievement.

Objective

Increase parent involvement at organized school events.

Strategies

1.      Require parent report card pick-up for the first grading period of the semester and provide parents an opportunity to conference with all teachers on that evening. 

2.      Freshman teachers and guidance staff will provide Freshman Parent Night that will include information on the following topics:

h.       Clubs and Athletics

i.         Senior Project

j.        Graduation Requirements and Required EOC’s

k.      College admissions, SAT scores, GPA

l.         Exams

m.     Promotion and Retention

n.       Attendance Policy

3.      Senior teachers, guidance staff, and a college representative will provide a Senior Parent Night to include information on the topics:

a.       Senior Project

b.      College Application Process

c.       CFNC

d.      Financial Aid

e.       Senior Trip

4.      Student Support Specialist will create a Pastoral Action Committee comprised of local church leaders.  The purpose of the group will be to provide assistance to struggling math students and to develop and implement other support interventions.

Problem

Parent communication about student activity and performance is inadequate and does not support increased student achievement.  

Objective

School personnel will systematically contact parents. 

Strategies

1.  Teachers will contact parents as follows

I.  Written (Standardized)

a.       Syllabus (required by all subjects to be turned into CRT/Dept Chair)—requires parent signature during first week of the course

b.      3-week progress report requires parent signature

c.       5-week progress report

d.      Report Cards every 6 weeks

II.  Personal (phone call, email, personal letter)

a.       3-week unsigned progress report – call parents of all students earning D’s

b.      3-week progress report – call parents of all students earning F’s

c.       Report Card – call parents for unsigned D’s

d.      Report Card – call parents for all F’s.

e.       After specified numbers of student absences

2.      Teachers will utilize Moodle weekly beginning Spring 2008 as a communication tool in each class.

3.      The Data Manager, Linda Girton, and Principal, Robin Faulkner will use Phone Master, a computerized calling system, to contact parents about student absences and upcoming events.

4.      Assistant Principal Melissa Yeazel with Agriculture Teacher Bob Frisbie’s students will maintain current messages on all three message boards.

Problem

Current “Whole Faculty Study Group” model for PLC is not effectively functioning to improve student achievement.

Objective

Reform and restructure PLC’s to increase student achievement by conclusion of 2008-2009 school year.

Strategies

1.      PLC’s in Spring 2008 will be developmental in nature.  These sessions will include

a.       Work on developing FFA

b.      Monthly staff development on instructional strategies

c.       Monthly department meetings to discuss instructional issues

2.      Staff Development on purpose of PLC’s in School Year 2008-2009.

3.      By Spring 2009, create meaningful structure and accountability instruments of PLC’s.

4.      Beyond Spring 2008, utilize PLC’s, grouped by subject area to

a.       Assess and address student strengths and weaknesses

b.      Develop instructional strategies

c.       Align curriculum

d.      Develop common assessments

e.       Standardize curriculum and assessments throughout a course/subject area

Problem

  Teachers are somewhat isolated in their own classrooms.

Objective

 Increase instructional communication among teachers.

Strategies

1. Implement monthly meetings to address instructional issues:

1. Whole faculty
2. Departmental
3. Leadership Team

2. Require teachers to conduct one peer observation per semester to be submitted to the principal.  The purpose of this observation is not evaluative, but professional learning.  The goals are to learn strategies from peers and to foster a climate of school-wide professional learning community.

3. Create a common planning time for teachers of the same subject. While this goal cannot be achieved for all teachers, the priority will be to group freshman teachers and EOC subjects.