In the scramble to meet the new state and federal standards designed to “measure” academic progress, administrators at Rolla Junior High have discovered their own secret to success: Treat each student as an individual.
That’s not easy when administrators answer to standards set by the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP), which was enacted by the state legislature in the late 1990s; as well as the federal No Child Left Behind standards of Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) and mandatory End of Course testing.
Yet while some districts are wringing their hands and falling even further behind, as the bar is raised higher each year, RJHS is managing to keep pace. Last year, RJHS met the AYP goals in communication arts in every category, including those students identified as FRL (for qualifying to receive free and reduced lunches). And while the AYP in math wasn’t as good, the school showed an improvement over the previous year.” We’re making good progress,” said RJHS principal Craig Hounsom during a presentation to the Rolla School Board at its regular meeting Thursday night.
By viewing each student’s needs on a child by child basis.
“Beginning two years ago, we began to look at the needs of individual students,” he explained.
“We began to look at the kids instead of the system.”
That focus helped the school meet its AYP goals in student performance last year and will be the springboard for improved student performance this year, he stated.
Additionally, said the principal, the staff is reviewing its curriculum and preparing for EOC testing for Algebra and Biology students.
“We are actually excited about the EOC exams,” said Hounsom. “We believe we’re prepared for it.”
Along with improved student performance, Hounsom said the other four goals for the 08-09 school year include improved:
• attendance;
• discipline;
• integration of new technology; and
• communication.
Hounsom said the schools has seen an increase in annual attendance rates over the past two years; from 92.65% in 2006-07 to 93.19% in 2007-08.
So far this year, said Hounsom, attendance is up to 93.9%, but that’s before the winter months, when there’s often a drop-off.
The school is attempting to improve discipline by communicating both good and poor behavior to parents, said Hounsom.
And integration of new technology, including Smartboards and clickers, assist educators by providing more immediate feedback than annual testing can provide.
Hounsom also lauded the school’s Parent Connect system, and the new Student to Student program which assists new students become integrated into RJHS. This year, he said, the junior high has 92 new students to the district, including 62 move-ins. Student to student meets once a month.