Executive Summary
South Paulding High School Paulding County School District
Dr. Keith Rowland, Principal 1364 Winn Road Douglasville, GA 30134
Document Generated On August 22, 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
1
Description of the School
2
School's Purpose
4
Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement
5
Additional Information
6
Executive Summary South Paulding High 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 South Paulding High 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?
School South Paulding High School is in its eighth year of operation. Our school zone is derived from an area which formerly made up portions of Hiram High School and Paulding County High School. South Paulding is a comprehensive high school serving 9th through 12th grades. SPHS opened its doors in August 2006 with over 1100 students and graduated its first senior class in 2008. Today, our learning community is comprised of approximately 1720 students. Our school was founded with a community philosophy. The organization of our school centers on professional learning communities to better prepare our students for college and career success as they as they learn, grow, and progress toward graduation.
Total enrollment 1720 Size of senior class 397 Average classroom size 22.9 Faculty w/Master's degree or higher 63% Faculty with 10 or more years experience 37% Accreditation Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Student Demographics White 72.3% Black 18.2% Hispanic 5.7% Asian 0.5% Multi-racial 3.0%
Faculty & Staff 81 Teachers plus Itinerant staff 4 Counselors 5 Administrators 1 Media Specialist 12 Support Personnel 10 Paraprofessionals 11 Custodians 10 Foodservice Personnel
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Executive Summary South Paulding High School
Paulding County is located 30 miles northwest of Atlanta and is currently the fourteenth largest county in Georgia with a population of 144,800, estimated in 2012. Paulding County has experienced the second largest growth percentage in Georgia since 2000. The median household income in Paulding County is $63,023 with a per capita income of $23,700. Unemployment in Paulding is currently at a rate of only 7.2%. With over 3,000 employees, the school system is the largest single employer in the county.
Thirty-four schools make up the Paulding County School System (19 elementary, nine middle, five high, and one alternative). There are approximately 28,000 students enrolled in grades K - 12.
Public involvement plays an important role in the school system's progress. A variety of groups including students, staff, and community members combine their input to make the best decisions for the students of the Paulding County School District. Through groups and committees such as the Parent Summits, Community Advisory panels, Parent Teacher Association Advisory Council, Student Impact, Superintendent's Teacher Advisory Council, Local School Council, and the Instructional Design Team, all stakeholders are heard and have a voice in decision-making.
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Executive Summary South Paulding High 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- Our mission is to empower students to believe in their abilities, achieve their goals, and succeed in an ever changing society.
Vision - The vision of South Paulding High School is to create and maintain a learning community where students, faculty, and staff: Believe in themselves and their abilities, Achieve at high levels inside and outside the classroom, and Succeed in life.
Beliefs - A safe, structured, supportive environment is conducive to learning. All students deserve the equal opportunity to learn, and become contributing members of society. All students, faculty, and staff can achieve their maximum potential and should interact positively and respectfully. A strong sense of community enhances ownership and school pride. Everyone makes a difference. Striving toward excellence is essential. Education will prepare students for their future. Classroom instruction should include real-world application. Balanced, well-rounded individuals are developed through technology, fine arts, academics, and extracurricular activities.
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Executive Summary South Paulding High 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.
Academic Achievements for SPHS--2011-2013 school years -Advanced Placement Test participation and results Number of students taking AP exams rose nearly 35% from 2011 to 2013 Number of exams taken rose over 24% from 2011 to 2013 Number of students with scores of 3 or higher on AP exams rose over 19% from 2011 to 2013 -School Attendance Average daily attendance rose from 93.7% in 2011 to 95.3% in 2013 -EOCT Gains Biology passing rate rose from 67% in 2011 to 69.2% in 2013 Physical Science passing rate rose from 74% in 2011 to 77.2% in 2013 U. S. History passing rate rose from 61% in 2011 to 71.7% in 2013 Economics passing rate rose from 64% in 2011 to 79.6% in 2013 Math II passing rate rose from 40% in 2011 to 52.7% in 2013 American Literature passing rate rose from 89% to 91.5% in 2013 Suggested Areas for Improvement: -Georgia High School Writing Test: The writing test pass rate has dropped slightly from 95.8% in 2011 to 93.6% in 2013. -EOCT Math I EOCT pass rate dropped from 68% in 2011 to 65.6% in 2012. The new Coordinate Algebra 9th grade course pass rate was only 28.8% in the first year of administration, 2013. 9th Literature EOCT pass rate dropped from 82% in 2011 to 80.6% in 2013.
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Executive Summary South Paulding High 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.
Graduates Graduates from the class of 2013 earned academic and athletic scholarships from an array of organizations, institutions, and other groups. The scholarships were awarded based on academic achievement, community service, and athletic prowess. Our graduates received the following community scholarships: Beta Club Scholarship; Becky Strickland Echols Memorial Scholarship; Bridgette Barron Memorial Scholarship; Carroll EMC Scholarship; Gates Nicholas Memorial Scholarship; Jim Goodman Scholarship; Paulding Education Foundation Scholarship; Paulding Rotary Club Scholarship; Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) School-wide Scholarship; Paulding County PTSA Council Scholarship; Talley Richardson & Cable Scholarship; Union Elementary School Alumni Scholarship. Institutions recently offering academic scholarships to our graduates include Berry College, Mercer University, Salem College, and The University of Alabama. Within the past year, students at South Paulding High School have received athletic scholarships for: baseball, basketball (Men), bowling (women), football, soccer (Men & Women), softball, and tennis. Additionally, fifty-five percent of our graduates in 2013 qualified for Georgia's HOPE Scholarship.
The Fine Arts & Band The Collaboration of the Arts started in 2006 as a way to showcase the South Paulding High School Fine Arts Department. The annual event takes place before Christmas break and is based on a holiday theme. The drama department writes and performs skits, the band plays various holiday favorites, while chorus accompanies and sings acapella Christmas classics. The visual arts students display art works such as paintings, drawings, and pottery pieces. The South Paulding High School Band program has many awards and accolades over the past few years: -Earned 4 grand championships, -13 class championships, -Performed twice in Atlanta's Children's Healthcare Christmas Parade, -Earned superior ratings at the GMEA District VII Large Group Performance Evaluations, -Performed at The University of Georgia's January Festival for High School Bands, - 4 students selected for the Reinhardt University Honor Band, -64 students competitively selected to attend the GMEA District VII Honor Band, -10 students selected for the GMEA All-State Band, -3 students selected for the Governor's Honors Program, -One student chosen as a PTSA Reflections Winner two consecutive years.
The SPHS Band will be participating in many exciting current and future events. The Wind Ensemble received an invitation to perform at the Georgia Music Educator's Association's Annual In-Service Conference in Savannah, GA, in January of 2014. This will be the first time Paulding County has been represented by a band at the State Conference. They also received an invitation to perform at Troy University's Southeastern United States Honor Band Clinic in February of 2014. In another major honor, The Lord Mayor of Westminster Angela Harvey and the Executive Director of the London New Year's Day Parade invited The Spirit of South Paulding Marching Band to perform at the 2015 London New Year's Day Parade. The students are working hard to raise the needed funds and are very excited about this huge honor.
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Executive Summary South Paulding High School
South Paulding High School offers a variety of athletic and non-athletic extra-curricular and co-curricular activities for students. In total, there are 24 sports (12 male and 12 female) offered as well as 25 clubs. These 24 sports are comprised of a total of 41 teams (20 male and 21 female). In total, 558 (358 male and 200 female) students participated in athletic extracurricular activities at South Paulding High School during the 2012-2013 school year. Club participation was also very good with many students participating. During the 2012 - 2013 school year, students excelled in various athletic and non-athletic extracurricular activities and were recognized for their accomplishments at the county, region, state and international levels. The accomplishments for the 2012 - 2013 school year are as follows:
-All-State Cheerleader (first in Paulding County history), -Competition Cheerleading advanced to state finals, -UCA team leadership award for 6 consecutive years, -Boys Cross Country Region Champion, -Boys Cross Country county Player of the Year, -In the first year of having a swim team, a student qualified and competed in two events at the state meet and made it to the finals in one with a 16th place finish. -Set school records for wins in Boys Basketball. -Boys Basketball won the Haralson County Christmas Tournament. -Boys Basketball had most wins in the county for the first time in school history. -Wrestling won county championship and finished Region Runner-up. -Baseball qualified for state playoffs, region player of the year, and had two players selected to play in the senior all state game. -Boys Tennis won county championship and made the state playoffs. -Future Business Leaders of America: State Champion in Public Speaking, competed at nationals. -Career and Technical Instruction: State Champion in Leadership -Career and Technical Instruction: State Champion in Construction
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