Education Update February 28, 2018

Mission Statement The mission of the Griffin-Spalding County School System is to empower students to graduate college and career ready. 2/24/2019

Vision Statement The vision of the Griffin-Spalding County School System is to be an agent of change, transforming our students into future-ready learners and contributing members of society. 2/24/2019

District Perspective Current enrollment – approximately 10,380 Among the 180 school districts in Georgia, GSCS ranks 34th largest Median size for a school district in Georgia – 3,530 Average size for a school district in Georgia – 9,800 The largest 20% of the school districts account for half the total student population Nationally – average school district size is approximately 3,000 46% have less than 1000 students 2/24/2019

District Perspective Spalding County ranks 132nd in terms of taxable property wealth per student out the 180 school districts in Georgia Tax millage rate has declined in each of the past four years 2014 – 19.47 2015 – 18.74 2016 – 18.57 2017 – 18.204 2/24/2019

Graduation Rate Comparison 2014 2015 2016 2017 GSCS 66.6 69.17 73.0 81.5 State 72.5 78.8 79.2 80.6 2/24/2019

Graduation Rate Comparison 2015 2016 2017 A.Z. Kelsey 31.25 31.71 47.37 Griffin High 71.99 77.26 87.42 Spalding High 74.91 75.76 79.73 2/24/2019

Graduation Initiatives Block scheduling at high school Provides 32 opportunities to earn the 23 credits necessary for graduation Traditional six or seven period day provided only 24 or 28 opportunities to earn 23 credits State does specify course credits within the 23 needed for graduation Senior graduation tracking meetings

Graduation Initiatives Credit recovery and credit repair process Credit recovery – recovery of credits for failed courses via computer based program Offered during school day, after school, and weekend Credit repair – completion of remediation tasks allows a student to improve original grade between 60 and 69 to a passing score of 70 for the course Support classes feeding into required courses with block transition Provides students with preparation for courses such as Algebra I and Geometry

Graduation Initiatives A. Z. Kelsey Academy – non-traditional high school program providing smaller class sizes with less distractions; graduation rate moved to 47% from 31% in previous year Had 18 AZK graduates in December 2017 Improved processes to track transfer students both in and out of the district Clean up of student data to better identify cohort members

New Initiatives (Accessible now on GSCS website) 2018-19 High School Advisement Guide Incorporates all you need to know about the high school experience Glossary of terms relevant to the high school experience Enrollment Course offerings and possible pathways Graduation credit requirements Extracurricular activities including athletic eligibility Dual enrollment HOPE eligibility requirements NCAA eligibility requirements And, much more

GSCS Discipline Trends

Office Disciplinary Referrals Graph represents data collected via Infinite Campus for the months of August through January. 34% Decrease since 2015-16.

Number of Referrals Resulting in ISS Graph represents data collected via Infinite Campus for the months of August through January. 20% Decrease since 2015-16.

Number of Students Assigned to ISS Graph represents data collected via Infinite Campus for the months of August through January. 32% Decrease since 2015-16.

Number of ISS Days Assigned Graph represents data collected via Infinite Campus for the months of August through January. 28% Decrease since 2015-16. The 802 day difference between 2015-16 and 2017- 18 is equal to regaining over 4.5 years of lost instructional time.

Number of Referrals Resulting in OSS Graph represents data collected via Infinite Campus for the months of August through January. 17% Decrease since 2015-16.

Number of Students Assigned to OSS Graph represents data collected via Infinite Campus for the months of August through January. 22% Decrease since 2015-16.

Number of OSS Days Assigned Graph represents data collected via Infinite Campus for the months of August through January. 35% Decrease since 2015-16. The 1,237 day difference between 2015-16 and 2017- 18 is equal to regaining over 7 years of lost instructional time.

Intervention # 1 Teach the Expectations

Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based, data-driven framework proven to reduce disciplinary incidents, increase a school’s sense of safety and support improved academic outcomes. PBIS schools apply a multi- tiered approach to prevention, using disciplinary data and principles of behavior analysis to develop school-wide, targeted and individualized interventions and supports to improve school climate for all students.

Intervention # 2 Teach the Skills

Second Step Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum Committee for Children’s research-based Second Step SEL Program gives teachers an easy- to-implement, engaging way to teach social-emotional skills and concepts. The Second Step Program is designed to help children thrive and be more successful in school—ultimately setting them up to be thoughtful and productive adults. Taught as a Tier I intervention in 5 elementary schools in 2017- 18. The remaining 6 elementary schools will roll out the curriculum in 2018-19. Graph represents data collected via Infinite Campus for the months of August through January.

Intervention # 3 Teach the Faculty

Crisis Prevention Institute’s Non-Violent Crisis Intervention Program The cornerstone of CPI is the Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® program, which is considered the worldwide standard for crisis prevention and intervention training. With a core philosophy of providing for the Care, Welfare, Safety, and SecuritySM of everyone involved in a crisis situation, the program’s proven strategies give human service providers and educators the skills to safely and effectively respond to anxious, hostile, or violent behavior while balancing the responsibilities of care. All bus drivers have been trained in the Verbal De-escalation curriculum. Over 500 GSCS employees have been trained/re-trained since July 2016.

New Challenges Number of children with chronic medical issues Number of children who are homeless 256 homeless students under McKinney-Vento 44 of these enrolled in January Transiency rate among students 2016-17 – 21% 2017-18 to date – 16.47% 1,822 students have enrolled or made enrollment changes since the beginning of the school year Mental health issues

Wraparound Services Nurses in all schools Dental program Child Find – screens children birth to 5 for special services Homeless support Behavior specialists Mentor program Attendance Task Force 41 referrals this year

Wraparound Services Project AWARE Federal grant involving three counties in GA Focus on awareness of the mental health needs of youth Works with individual students, groups, families, and staff Referral network for cases that need additional care Provides training to internal and external audiences on youth mental health issues

STAR Climate Ratings State criteria based on survey data from students, parents, and staff plus objective data such as discipline data submitted Rating scale - 1 to 5 with 3 being average For 2016-17: 16 of 18 schools had ratings of 3 or higher 13 of 18 schools had ratings of 4 or higher

Other Initiatives Summer school program Griffin Region College and Career Academy Work-based learning / internships Literacy Plan – all grades; cross-content Zero to Five Initiative Curriculum Guides

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