The administrative teams of the Hamilton County Department of Education iZone schools presented reports on their 2014-2015 first quarter school turnaround journey and progress. Those attending the meeting included Donna Horn, school board vice chair and District 7 representative, Karitsa Mosely, School Board District 5 representative, and a host of other business partners, community members, invested foundations volunteers.
Building on the momentum of their 2014 TCAP/EOC results, which included some of the highest growth in the entire district, Brainerd High, Dalewood Middle, Orchard Knob Elementary, Orchard Knob Middle, and Woodmore Elementary rolled out their continued efforts to catapult student achievement in literacy, math, and science.
Additionally, the school teams spotlighted local site efforts to impact SIG leading indicators such as student and teacher attendance, discipline, truancy, and community and parental involvement.
First quarter progress was reflected in gains of up to 20 points in the areas of reading and math – gains which schools largely attributed to targeted professional development in best practices as well as a consistent focus on administering frequent common assessments, analyzing data, and immediately making instructional adjustments to address identified learning gaps.
Other commendable points of progress included logging over 4,000 parent volunteer hours, exceeding the teacher and student attendance goals of 95 percent, and achieving up to a 48 percent decrease in student suspension rates across the board.