Connections

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Connections

• 2008 Model Schools Conference
• Orlando, FL

http//www.cobbk12.org/kennesawmountain/
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Your Presenters

• Mimi Dyer
• Kevin Daniel
• Andrea Jenkins-Mann
• Billy Richardson

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Cobb County Schools

• Just north of Atlanta, GA
• 2nd largest school district in state
• 30th largest in nation
• 106,000 students (2,500/yr)
• 17 high schools, incl. eHigh
• 23 middle schools
• 68 elementary schools

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KMHS Profile

• Opened in 2000 with 1250 students
• 2007-8 population 2,958
• 319,000 sq. ft. instructional space
• on 79 acres
• 118 core and 165 elective courses on 4x4 block
  schedule
• 66 White, 18 Black, 9 Hispanic, 7 Other
• Economically disadvantaged 16

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Success Beyond the Test
Rigor

• ASCD, 2007
• Health
• Safety
• Academic engagement
• Support
• Preparation for life after school

Relevance
Relationships
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Core
Stretch
LearnerEngagement
Personal Skill Development
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Core
Dimensions of the Learning Criteria
Stretch
Learner Engagement
Personal Skill Development
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Learning Criteria to Support Rigor, Relevance
Relationships

• Every school has its own DNA.
• School success is measurable beyond the tests.
• Data must drive school improvement initiatives.
• School growth and continuous improvement is an
  ongoing, collaborative process.

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Dr. Kevin Daniel

• Principal
• Core Academic Learning

Achievement in the core subjects of English
language arts, math and science and others
identified by the school.
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Core Academic Learning

• School Improvement Goals
• School To reduce gaps in student achievement,
  staff will develop and implement various
  strategies to engage all students in rigorous and
  relevant learning.
• Student Students will demonstrate higher
  cognitive skills.

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School Data

• SAT Participation
• 82 take test
• 81.2 go to college
• AYP Measurements
• Georgia High School Graduation Tests
• All students first time test takers (juniors)
• Writing 97
• English 95
• Math 95
• Social Studies 91
• Science 89
• Graduation Rate 87.4
• Attendance Rate 95
• Dropout Rate 1.8

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Support for Student Achievement

• School Improvement Team
• Data team
• Practice GHSGT
• Math support course
• Tutorial programs

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Four-Minute Walkthroughs

• All teachers visited 5 times
• Not observation of teacher
• Measure student engagement
• Administrative Team
• Department Chairs
• District instructional leaders
• Data uploaded and compiled by district
• Used to make mid-course corrections

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Collaborative Groups

• Horizontal and vertical groups
• 1 ½ hours logged monthly
• Pacing
• Developing rigorous relevant lessons
• All tied to school improvement
• Protected planning

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Support for Teachers

• Blogs and websites
• Required for all teachers
• Snack n Shares 2/sem.
• Essential questions
• Videostreaming
• Differentiation
• Podcasting
• Project-based learning
• Varied assessments
• Hot Topics Mandatory
• Local School Data (AYP)
• Culturally Sensitive Teaching
• Blogs

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Andrea Jenkins-Mann

• Administrative Assistant
• Learner Engagement

The extent to which students are motivated and
committed to learning, have a sense of belonging
and accomplishment, and have relationships with
adults, peers, and parents that support learning
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Students
Educators
Vision Quest
Businesses
Parents
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Celebration of Academic Excellence

• Process that encourages academic excellence,
  improvement, citizenship
• Goal To increase student performance and teacher
  enthusiasm and raise
• level of community participation in schools
• Recognizes, rewards, and reinforces good grades
  and good character

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Target Areas

• Increase student attendance
• Improve overall academic performance
• Create positive, safe school environment
• Increase graduation rates

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Positive Progress

• Grade point averages
• Standardized test scores
• Attendance
• Discipline

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Performance, Promotion, and Partnership

• Recognition
• Most Wanted (top 10 seniors)
• Classroom medals
• Academic pep rally
• Academic scholar tee shirts (FBI)
• Promotion
• Business Hall of Fame and Plaques
• Partnership
• Honor Cards, tee shirts, advisory committees

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Honor Cards

• Gold 4.0 GPA 3 absences
  and 3 tardies
• Silver 3.5 GPA 3
  absences and 3 tardies
• Green 3.0 GPA 3 absences and
  3 tardies
• No discipline records

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High Five Club

• Recognizes students,
• regardless of GPA, for improving
• academic record
• Students who increase their GPA
• between semesters by .5
• Tee shirt and various
• business discounts

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Lessons Learned

• Increased student attendance
• Improved overall academic performance
• Kids believe that its cool to be smart!

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Student Recognition

• Fall 2005, 1256 students recognized
• Spring 2007, 2158 students recognized

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Billy Richardson

• Assistant Principal
• Personal Skill Development

Measures of personal, social, service, and
leadership skills and demonstrations of positive
behaviors and attitudes
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Educators
Students
Character Education
Businesses
Parents
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• The function of education is to teach one to
  think intensively and to think critically. . .
  Intelligence plus character that is the goal of
  true education.
• Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Character Education
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Once a Month Special Activity

• 110 community leaders teach lessons
• 99 KMHS seniors teach freshman classes
• 106 KMHS seniors teach elementary and middle
  feeder school classes

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Lessons Learned

• Successful schools do not
• sidestep the issue of character
• education rather, they embrace it.
• They acknowledge that their
• success is due, in large measure,
• to their attention to guiding
• principles, through which they create a
• supportive learning environment.

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Students
Educators
Community Involvement
Parents
Businesses
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Student Leadership

• Active student stakeholder equals positive school
  climate
• Students involved in planning and leading CE
  programs
• Mentors to future Mustangs

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Community Partners

• 250 total for school
• Local churches, businesses, colleges/universities,
  technical schools, governments
• Advisory committees for departments, academies,
  athletics, extracurriculars
• Financial and in-kind donations and contributions
• Assist in curriculum development
• Mentor students throughout school

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Community Service

• D Quad bringing character ed to life
• Student-driven
• Mentors for middle and elementary students
• Shop with a Mustang
• Relay for Life
• Tutoring
• Class of 2008 logged over 18,000 hours

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Lessons Learned

• Students exhibit behaviors that
• we recognize, reward, and
• reinforce.
• By focusing on 90 of students,
• we insure that they will receive
• more than 15 seconds of fame.

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Dr. Mimi Dyer

• Advanced Learning Coordinator
• Stretch Learning

Demonstration of rigorous and relevant learning
beyond minimum requirements, such as
participation and achievement in higher level
courses, specialized courses, and so forth
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Academy of Mathematics,
Science Technology

• School within-a-school, inclusive
• 250 students, 9-12
• Competitive application process
• On average, complete 18 math science courses
  over 4 years
• Senior Research Internship courses (post AP)
  with juried presentation

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Honors and Advanced Placement

• 46 of student body
• Sometimes one student at a time
• Seek out students each semester
• AP 2007
• 361 students
• 589 exams
• 77 pass rate
• AP 2008
• 481 students (33)
• 872 exams (
• 90.5 enrolled took exams

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Advancing Academics

• Encourages students to participate in honors and
  AP courses
• Students who challenge themselves to rigorous
  course in high school score higher on SAT and ACT
• Students who take honors and AP courses are more
  likely to complete bachelor's degree in four
  years (USDOE)

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PSAT

• Administered to all freshmen, sophomores, juniors
• Longitudinal data
• Identify students with potential who might not
  see themselves in honors/AP courses

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Vertical Teams

• College Board model
• With feeder elementary and middle schools
• By discipline (small group) and transition grades
  (whole group)
• Expectations for student achievement, behavior,
  and commitment to community

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Connections
0
Core
Learner Engagement
Personal Skill Dev.
Stretch Learning
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Lessons Learned

• Continuous school improvement is hard work made
  easier by dividing up tasks
• All stakeholders involved in decisions
• Deliberate process driven by data and whats best
  for kids
• Learning Criteria gives structure to process and
  product
• Connections, connections, connections
• Extended info on our website address on handout
• Questions?