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Highlands Today

Web site lets parents see school improvement plans

JASMINA MEYER, Highlands Today

Fifth grader Josue Villalobos, right, solves math equations on the computer as he competes with his fellow classmates and students from around the world on Wednesday at Fred Wild Elementary School in Sebring.

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By MARC VALERO

Highlands Today

Published: October 29, 2009

SEBRING - Which Highlands County school started with two buildings constructed in 1961 that housed eight classrooms and now has a campus with 12 permanent buildings and 39 classrooms?

That would be Fred Wild Elementary, according to the Sebring school's school improvement plan.

Parents will find a wealth of data, information and instructional strategies for their child's school online in the plans that are developed each year.

Hill-Gustat Middle School Principal Chris Doty said he starts working on the plan as soon as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) scores are released.

Each school's plan is developed with input from parents, teachers and community stake holders.

Doty said he also has a student on his school improvement team.

It's an involved process that results in a document that's 35 to 40 pages. The School Advisory Council reviews the draft plan and makes recommendations, and then it's approved by the school board, Doty said.

Due to the new school grading process, the plan will look a little different this year, he added.

Academic strengths and weaknesses and goals are noted in the improvement plans.

For instance, Fred Wild Elementary's plan the school's accountability grade improved from a "C" to a "B" and the school made gains in the percentage of students who meet high standards in reading, writing and math.

Its weaknesses, based on the 2009 FCAT results, show that students did not make learning gains in math and science and only 51 percent of the struggling students made learning gains in math, the plan notes.

To help boost math proficiency, students schoolwide are using a new program called VmathLive, Fred Wild Elementary Principal Laura Waldon said Wednesday. The students compete against children in other countries to solve math problems.

The School Board of Highlands County approved the plans Tuesday.

The district's Web site ( www.highlands.k12.fl.us) will be updated soon with the 2009-10 plans, but parents can view the latest plans at www.flbsi.org.

Click on School Improvement Plan on the left, select the district and school and then click on "click to view School Improvement Plan (read only)." No password is needed.

The plans note each school's unique strengths and weaknesses along with other statistics.

Some examples are:

• Woodlawn Elementary - a 50 percent decrease in discipline referrals from 531 to 230 has been a tremendous improvement.

• Avon Park Middle School has a high poverty rate within the school population: 76 percent or 567 students. Avon Park Middle School's enrollment is down, but its free or reduced lunch population has increased.

• Park Elementary - The suspension rates have decreased significantly over the past three years from 486 total referrals in 2006-2007 with 385 in-school suspensions and 58 out-of-school suspensions to 276 total referrals 2008-09 with 183 in-school school suspensions and 24 out-of-school suspensions.

• Cracker Trail Elementary - lowest free/reduced student population in the district provides the school with the least amount of (federal) Title I resources school-wide (per student funding is identical however there is less overall discretionary funding).

• Cracker Trail Elementary - Since the 2009-10 school year has started, four teachers have left the school requiring new teachers be hired. An additional allocation of two teaching positions was made on Sept. 9, to lower class size in both first and fourth grades.

Highlands Today reporter Marc Valero can be reached at 386-5826 or mvalero@highlandstoday.com.

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