Executive Summary
Carver Magnet School Dothan City Board of Education
Dr. Donnie Chambers, Principal 1001 Webb Road Dothan, AL 36303
Document Generated On December 18, 2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
1
Description of the School
2
School's Purpose
3
Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement
4
Additional Information
6
Executive Summary Carver Magnet School
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.
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 © 2015 Advance Education, Inc. All rights reserved unless otherwise granted by written agreement.
Executive Summary Carver Magnet School
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?
Carver Magnet School is one of four middle schools that belong to the Dothan City School District, located in the city of Dothan, Alabama. Dothan is a city in the southeastern corner of Alabama that sits approximately 20 miles west of Georgia and 18 miles north of Florida. The city has a population of roughly 65,000 people and has a diverse economy. Agriculture is the largest industry due to the surrounding rural areas although medical facilities, retail, and restaurants continue to experience rapid growth.
The specific physical location of Carver Magnet School is 1001 Webb Road, Dothan, AL, 36303, which is in the northeastern quadrant of the city. We are located two miles from downtown Dothan and one mile from Ross Clark Circle. The immediate neighborhood consists of residential housing and includes low-income housing projects. Although not a true feeder elementary school due to the application process, Jerry L. Faine Elementary School is less than one mile from Carver Magnet School and also serves the community. Community members suggest that Carver Magnet School brings a level of pride to the community.
As mentioned, Carver Magnet School is one of four middle schools in the school system with a current enrollment of 472 students. More specifically, Carver Magnet School is made up of 237 females (50.2%) and 235 males (49.8%). This student population includes 53.2% Caucasian, 36.9% African-American, 2.5% Asian, and 5.7% Hispanic students.
The staff at Carver Magnet School is made up of one principal, one assistant principal, and 32 teacher units, 23 of which are core curriculum teachers. These teaching units include a guidance counselor, media specialist, instructional coach, a special education teacher who is on campus one day per week, two PE teachers, one band teacher, one music technology teacher, and a Project-Lead-the-Way (STEM) teacher. All teaching and administrative personnel are highly qualified in their assigned teaching position. The support staff at Carver Magnet School is made up of two custodians, two office staff members, a lunchroom manager, and three lunchroom employees. The staff consists of 80% Caucasian and 20% African-American employees.
Page 2 © 2015 Advance Education, Inc. All rights reserved unless otherwise granted by written agreement.
Executive Summary Carver Magnet School
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.
The mission of Carver Magnet School is "to empower students on their quest for success in which every lion has a roar". Priorities of Carver Magnet School include instructing and motivating students to achieve academic excellence in all core curriculum areas, providing opportunities to explore areas of music and technology, and utilizing the cooperative efforts of parents and teachers to promote lifelong learning by setting high expectations and achieving goals. This will be achieved in a safe environment that encourages responsible decisionmaking and accountability. The mission statement was developed through a consensus effort of faculty, staff, administration, students, parents, and members of the community prior to our last accreditation cycle.
Admission to Carver Magnet School is based on an application process. The applicant's grades, conduct, and ACT Aspire scores are all considered. Students who do not have high-stakes testing data may take an alternate test. Carver Magnet School exercises our mission and vision through our daily operations and interactions with students, staff members, parents, and other stakeholders. We strive each year to maximize student achievement and reach our academic goals. Further, we believe there is much more to student growth than simply measuring high-stakes test data. In addition to academic success, it is our goal to have each student at Carver Magnet School become resourceful, responsible, and respectful.
Carver Magnet School also takes great pride in developing students physically, socially, and emotionally by providing a number of activities that engage students and stakeholders. School-sponsored athletic teams, which include football, cheerleading, girls volleyball, and boys and girls basketball are offered at Carver Magnet School. Students are also able to compete in athletics at Northview High School, which is the high school Carver Magnet School feeds. High school sponsored sports include track, baseball, tennis, soccer, and golf. Our athletic programs excel within the city of Dothan and when competing in surrounding counties.
Several opportunities for students to be involved in extra-curricular activities include Science Olympiad, Model United Nations, Math Team, Engineering Club, and Chess Club. In addition, the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) hosts a science fair that students are encouraged to participate in. We believe that students leave Carver Magnet School with the confidence, academic knowledge, and social skills to continue their educational career successfully.
Page 3 © 2015 Advance Education, Inc. All rights reserved unless otherwise granted by written agreement.
Executive Summary Carver Magnet School
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.
A brief summary of student performance correlated to Carver Magnet School's vision begins with the review of academic performance data. The leadership team identified our greatest areas of need and greatest areas of progress within the last academic year as measured by the ACT Aspire. The following information summarizes the test data: The ACT Aspire identifies three levels: Ready, Close, and In Need of Support. These indicators are aligned to the Alabama College and Career Readiness Standards. When analzying school-wide achievement data for the 2014 test date in the subject of English, 93% of the students fell into the "Ready" category on the ACT Aspire. Carver Magnet School takes great pride in these results.
When analyzing achievement data to include the last three years, the 2013 year includes ARMT-Plus data while the 2014 and 2015 years are from ACT Aspire testing. In 2013, sixth grade students exceeded standards on the ARMT-Plus by scoring 94%, and seventh grade math students exceeded standards by scoring 78%. In 2014, 75% of sixth grade math students benchmarked at the "Ready" level. When looking at ACT Aspire testing results from Spring 2014, 49% of seventh grade math students fell into the "Ready" category on the ACT Aspire. However, 53% of the seventh grade grade students benchmarked at the "Ready" level in the Spring of 2015. As for English, an amazing 91% of our all students scored at the "Ready" level. Carver Magnet School takes pride in these improvements and scores. Since the ACT Aspire is only two years old, we do not see a trend in data. However, the new data will reveal strengths and weaknesses in curriculum.
ACT Aspire reports student readiness in the following manner: Ready, Close, and In Need of Support. These indicators are aligned to the Alabama College and Career Readiness Standards. When looking at ACT Aspire testing results from Spring 2014, the school-wide data suggests that 69% of our students benchmarked at the "Ready" level for Reading. As for Math, 62% of our students benchmarked at the "Ready" level.
Although the high-stakes testing tool has changed from the ARMT-Plus to the Aspire, we will continue to set high goals and target areas in need of improvement. Specifically, we will continue to provide rigorous instruction and increase the level of critical thinking skills in the classroom by analyzing lesson plans, teaching methods, and assessment methods. Carver Magnet School has a goal to increase the level of student engagement in the classroom by increasing the student-use of technology. There will continue to be an emphasis on the acquisition of technology and training to build our faculty's ability to use it effectively. Teachers will continue to use strategic teaching methods and will employ the Math Design Collaborative and Literacy Design Collaborative Models in the classroom (which include formative assessments) to make instructional decisions.
Further, Carver Magnet School will continue to build relationships with community partners to enhance our STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) classes will provide authentic and engaging experiences. Carver Magnet School partnered with WeatherSTEM in order to host a full-service weather station that measures rainfall, wind speed, soil moisture, solar radiation, and much more. This partnership will allow Carver Magnet School teachers and students to have real-time data to enhance instruction across the curriculum, as well as increase weather awareness as it relates to student safety.
Carver Magnet School envisions a STEM school that introduces students to the high-skilled medical employment opportunities within the community. It is our vision to launch this pathway at Carver Magnet School, direct it through Dothan Technology Center's Biomedical Sciences Program, and have this pathway of success enter Dothan's renowned medical facilities. Page 4 © 2015 Advance Education, Inc. All rights reserved unless otherwise granted by written agreement.
Executive Summary Carver Magnet School
Page 5 © 2015 Advance Education, Inc. All rights reserved unless otherwise granted by written agreement.
Executive Summary Carver Magnet School
Additional Information
Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections.
Carver Magnet School continues to provide an outstanding middle school experience for students in Dothan, Alabama. We believe in the continuous improvement process and regularly evaluate the services and opportunities we provide for our students. As we begin a new academic year, our main focus remains centered on the acquisition of technology to enhance the learning experience for each student. We are successfully continuing our district-wide iPad initiative by issuing an iPad to each student at Carver Magnet School. Professional development is on-going at the school and district levels in order to ensure teachers and students have the skills necessary to experience the benefits of this technology.
Additionally, Carver is proud of the accomplishments made by our students. During the 2015 school year, the pre-algebra division of the Math Olympiad at Wallace College was won by one of Carver's seventh grade math students. In addition, numerous Carver students competed in the first science fair held at the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM) school in Dothan. Furthermore, several of the students placed at the competition and went on to compete at the regional level in Auburn. We are excited to offer these challenges to our students.
Page 6 © 2015 Advance Education, Inc. All rights reserved unless otherwise granted by written agreement.
