Good evening! This is a brief session tonight! It’s 9:45 a.m., and I have to be up at 5:00 a.m. to go to the gym for my workout! As we begin a new school year, I wish to convey a pledge to you-Our school will strive to communicate very clearly and in a frequent manner with you so that we can continue our partnership with you and our community.
It is hard to believe that we are entering our third year together, and the 2006-2007 was a tough year for us. Academically, there were bright spots, but with the State Board of Education raising standards, our test scores took a dip. I am not ashamed to convey this fact honestly with you, yet a “but” exists.
You see, the English 9 and Algebra 1 end-of-course exams serve two purposes. First, they are part of our EOC composite that determines our academic growth, and they also serve in part to determine our Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP. On both of these assessments, student scores at, let’s say, 80-82, were level 3’s in 2005-06, but with the increased standard, those same scores were level 2’s in 2006-07. We were flabbergasted that our students performed well, but their scores didn’t meet the level 3 threshold.
Yes, it is possible for the student to score an 80, have this to count as 25% of their final grade, pass the class and get academic credit, but the school is penalized because it is a level 2, and the two county high schools are described in the newspaper as “lagging.” I provided a story to the local newspaper recently providing full information about our performance relative to EOC’s and AYP, but it has yet to appear, but I am optimistic that we’ll get to sit down and discuss our scores and how we can and will improve.
Thus this blog. It will be updated at least twice per week (Monday-Friday), and I’ll talk about a little bit of everything. We’ll be in school tomorrow, welcoming an estimated 1,200 students (our largest enrollment figure since we opened), and we’ll also welcome two new teachers: Mr. Kirby Maness from East Carolina University who will teach Social Studies and coach football and baseball, and Mr. Josiah Maultsby from Methodist College who will teach Science and Sports Medicine and serve as our Athletic Trainer. Here’s to longevity for these two fine young men.
I hope your children come home excited and enthused about their first day of school. We will report to homeroom/advisory this week, and we will have our annual expectation assembly at 8:45 and begin our instructional day immediately thereafter. PLEASE REMEMBER that the Hickory House Road entry is for buses and San-Lee Middle School construction traffic, BUT we will assess this situation after a week and determine if we need to modify this arrangement. The goal is student/staff/parent safety as they enter/exit from our school, and we must respect the volume of construction traffic and wishes of the NCDOT as they work on the new school.
Well, before I go, also remember this: We have set 2 instructional goals for our school this year: 70% proficiency on our EOC composite AND the achievement of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). I challenge you to help us meet these goals with your friendship, support, volunteerism, participation in school endeavors, attendance at visitation days, helping your child with homework/projects, and letting us know when you have instructional concerns. Let’s also set a date to have a PTSO organization night-Wednesday evening, September 12, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. in our Dining Hall. The purpose is to establish a PTSO and allow you to voice some of your goals for our school and how we can partner to get it done!
If you have an opportunity, we have a few athletic contests going on this week. The volleyball teams will be in action at home on August 27, August 28, and August 29 beginning at 4 p.m. The soccer teams will be in action on Tuesday, August 28 beginning at 5 p.m., Girls tennis will be in action on August 27, and Varsity football will host Greensboro Page on Friday night at 7:30 in Cavalier Stadium.
Thanks for reading, and check our web page periodically for more great information about Southern Lee High School!
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