Caldwell County SACS - CASI Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

1. Caldwell CountySACS - CASISouthern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement

2. This is who we are: Mission Statement:To provide quality instruction in a safe, caring environment. Vision:Every student will graduate from high school, be globally competitive for work or post-secondary education, and be prepared for life in the 21st century.

3. Our Community • 83,000 population- Caldwell County • 90% white • 5% African-American • 5% Hispanic 17% live in poverty • 73.9% (over age 25) are high school graduates – 12.6% have a bachelor’s degree • Median Income is $35,489.00 (below NC average) • 13.3% unemployment rate

4. Executive Summary The District: • 26 schools • 11 Elementary, 4 K-8, 4 Middle Schools • 3 High Schools, 2 Specialty High Schools • 2 Alternative schools. • 12,419 – day two enrollment – down from last year • 82% White, 8% Hispanic, 6% African-American and 4% Multi-racial • 8 Pre-school sites • 4 More at Four sites • Rising Stars

5. Elementary Programs • Letterland • DIBELS - Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills • RtI - Response to Instruction • AR - Accelerated Reader • AM - Accelerated Math • Math Investigations

6. Middle School Programs • High School courses offered • Project Lead the Way • Positive Behavior Interventions Support • Communities in Schools

7. High School Programs • Freshman Academies • Communities In Schools • Graduation Projects • Project Lead the Way • Lab School • Credit Recovery • Virtual Public School

8. Districtwide Programs • Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) • Sonday Reading • Language! • Co-Teaching • Problem-Based Learning • Formative assessments and Benchmark testing

9. Community Partnerships • Caldwell Arts Council • CCC&TI • Education Foundation • Public Library • Business Partnerships • Caldwell 20/20

10. Guided by: • Five Year Plan – June 2010 • Five Goals • 63 Objectives • Annual Benchmarking • Annual Reporting to the Board

11. ACADEMICS Highest performing academic year Impressive gains in ABC scores: • 76.4% of 3-8 graders at or above in Reading. • 14% gain in 3 years. • 86.6% of 3-8 graders at or above in Math. • 18% gain in 3 years. • 84.4% of 9-12 graders at or above on EOC courses. • 6% gain in 3 years. ABC’s • 12 Schools made high growth • 10 Schools made growth

12. ACADEMICS 10th grade writing scores increased to 74% countywide. • 12% increase over last year Science scores increased • 87% in 5th grade • 9% increase over last year • 81% in 8th grade • 2% increase over last year

13. ACADEMICS Best Graduation Rate Ever • More students staying in school than ever before. • Countywide rate up from 75% to 81.43% • NC – 75% • US – 72% • Of special note: • Career Center – 100% • Early College – 98.51%

14. Our Graduation Rate

15. EXCEPTIONALSTAFF • 237 or 26% of our teaching force has National Board Certification • CCS in the top 50 school districtsin the nation with National BoardCertified Teachers • Outpaced the State with positiveresponses on the Teacher WorkingConditions Survey • Teacher turnover rate is 8.77% which is below the state average • All Teacher Assistants have 96 plus hours of college or additional training

16. The Economy Our culture Job loss and skills Trends/Issues

17. Strengths • Students first • Strong support in curriculum, human resources, auxiliary services and financial services • Classroom instruction • Accountability emphasis • Our staff • Emphasis on relationships

18. Our Needs • Funding to support existing programs and to expand successful programs • Our Infrastructure needs • Technology for 21st Century • Building structures • Staff development

19. I AM REMINDED OF A QUOTE GIVEN TO ME BY A COLLEAGUE… “The difficult we can do now; the impossible will take a little longer.”