Executive Summary
Florida A&M Developmental Research School State Schools of Florida
Patricia C. Hodge, Superintendent 400 Orange Ave. Tallahassee, FL 32307
Document Generated On January 11, 2016
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
1
Description of the School
2
School's Purpose
3
Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement
4
Additional Information
5
Executive Summary Florida A&M Developmental Research 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.
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Executive Summary Florida A&M Developmental Research 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?
Florida A & M University Developmental Research School (FAMU DRS) is a comprehensive K-12 school with a rich history and interesting traditions. Founded in 1887, FAMU DRS (formerly known as Lucy Moten), was established as a Teacher Training School for Florida A&M University. In 1932,Lucy Moten Elementary at Florida A&M University was established as an outgrowth of the Model School. Over the years, the name of the school has changed several times to include Demonstration School, Laboratory School, and FAMU High School. During the 1991 session of the Florida Legislature, the Sidney Martin Developmental Research School Act was enacted, which designated K-12 laboratory schools as Developmental Research Schools. The legislation mandated that FAMU DRS along with other Lab Schools operate as a designated public school district. January 2009, FAMU DRS moved into a new facility which is where it currently resides. FAMU DRS is identified as District 74 in Leon County, Tallahassee, Florida and operates under the leadership of the College of Education at Florida A&M University. The school serves students from Leon, Wakulla, Jefferson, Madison and Gadsden counties. Additionally, a very small percentage of the student population comes from out-of-state. Local school governance consists of a superintendent, an elementary school administrator (K-5), a middle school administrator (6- 8) and a high school administrator (9-12). School policies and procedures are developed and approved by the superintendent with input and guidance from the school's leadership team, the School Board (SB), the School Advisory Council (SAC), the Parent/Teacher Organization (PTO), and the Student Government Association (SGA). All policies and procedures are guided by and in compliance with state, federal and University guidelines. Currently, FAMU DRS has 43 total faculty members--12 males and 31 females; 93% African American and 6% Caucasian. The faculty is composed of 96% teachers that are highly qualified and 4% (2) substitutes filling faculty positions. Additionally, our faculty has 30% with 15 or more years of experience and 58% with 5 years of experience or less. 46% of our faculty have advanced degrees. Additionally, several teachers among the faculty are ESOL and/or Reading endorsed. The school has 13 non-instructional and support staff.
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Executive Summary Florida A&M Developmental Research 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.
Mission Statement The mission of Florida A&M University's Developmental Research School (FAMU DRS) is to conduct research, demonstration, and evaluation of the management of teaching and learning. FAMU DRS will place curriculum emphasis on mathematics, science, technology, and foreign languages. FAMU DRS is committed to providing a quality education for students by promoting rigor and innovative strategies for teaching and learning.
In addition to providing other instruction in non-specialized courses, FAMU DRS will foster educational opportunities that encourage each student to develop personal responsibility, respect for individual differences, and an inquiring mind so that each student will continue to learn, develop and apply skills to become a productive citizen in an ever-changing society.
We believe that at FAMU DRS we are not just a school we're a FAMU-ly.
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Executive Summary Florida A&M Developmental Research 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.
In the past 5 years the school has worked diligently to raise the student's academic achievement levels. In the past the school's grade has had a series of highs and lows, however for the past 4 years the school grade has held steady at a C and the students have consistently shown improvements in the areas of math and science. We continue show great graduation rates with over 95% in the past 3 years. Additionally, FAMU DRS has had marked improvements in post-secondary readiness rates and in students attending college after graduation. In athletics, our girls athletic teams have made great strides in their achievement. Our girl's basketball teams have participated in state championships for the past 4 years and have won 3 of the four attempts. Additionally, our girl's volleyball teams have won regional championships and have participated in state semi-final games. Our girl's flag- football teams have also won several regional championships and have made it to the state final although they did not win. Finally our Track team has had several individual as well as relay team wins at the state championships.
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Executive Summary Florida A&M Developmental Research 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.
Florida A&M University Developmental Research School is truly "developing" into the Research powerhouse that we know it can be. We have participated in several research initiatives through the Florida Center for Reading Research as well as projects from Florida A&M university and Florida State University. One project that we are especially proud of is our partnership with the University of Phoenix. This project will apply various teaching strategies and will look at different aspects of content development to determine which works best with African-American students in a virtual environment. Additionally, the school will, in conjunction with the University of Phoenix, will develop an online teaching academy that will provide development to teachers that are interested in learning those strategies so that they might pursue opportunities in online teaching. We are excited about the possible outcomes that this project may bring.
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