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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Enterprise High School celebrated its 50th anniversary this fall. During these 50 years, EHS has achieved recognition as one of the outstanding secondary schools in the state of Alabama in every area of accountability that is measured by the Alabama State Department of Education. The faculty and staff of Enterprise High emphasize academic achievement and success for our students. We are pleased with the fact that our school ranks at the top of our cluster group in test scores and that our students score above the state and national averages on the ACT and SAT. Over the past five years, the seniors of EHS have earned an average of $3,075,816 in scholarship monies, and a large percentage of our graduates continue their education beyond their senior year of high school. The plant and facilities continue to be an area of renovation and growth. During the last five-year period, we have added a new choral music facility and an auxiliary gymnasium which includes a large multi-purpose room and offices. All parking lots on campus have been repaved. An on-going project that began in the summer of 2001 has been to replace windows and improve lighting in all of the classrooms. We are currently building a JROTC complex which will house the offices, classrooms, and storage facilities of the JROTC program. The new facility will also include a state-of-the-art firing range which will be one of the best facilities in the nation. Future projects include the renovation of the existing band room or the construction of a new band room. The capital plan agenda includes the remodeling and the expansion of the cafeteria and kitchen facility. We are very proud of what we have achieved on behalf of our students and community. The faculty and staff realize that past achievements and future successes are and will be the result of dedication and hard work by all the stakeholders of Enterprise High School. We will continue to make every effort and expend all resources available to ensure that the tradition of excellence continues. Respectfully,
Rick Rainer
Part 1: Profile Introduction: In this section of our school improvement plan an overview of student performance data, student and community demographic data, school characteristics, and stakeholder perspectives on the quality of education is provided in Section A. A. Profile Data 1. Student Performance Data Student performance data on national, state, district and school level assessments are shown in Figures 1-13. National Measures: The national student performance data collected includes the SAT and ACT, summary data on student performance on the Advanced Placement exams, and the number of National Merit finalists from our school. Over the past several years approximately 70.6% of our seniors completed the SAT and/or the ACT. Students’ overall performance levels on both the SAT and ACT has remained fairly steady. Over the last five years, our students have an average score of 22.0 on the ACT. However, it should be noted that with respect to the AP exams, the percentage of students earning a score of 3 or more has been above the national average for the past three years. There has been a decline in the number of students taking the PSAT test from 85 students in 1999 to 58 in 2001. During the 2002-2003 school year, a change was made in the day the test was given. Instead of giving the test on a Saturday, the test was given on a weekday during the fall intersession. A total of 112 students took the PSAT test at this session. State Measures: State-wide assessments of student learning in reading, writing, mathematics, social studies, and science were reviewed for the years 1999, 2000, and 2001 on the SAT-9. All subject areas and each grade level (10 and 11) had scores above the national level. The ninth grade scores were for students receiving special education services and enrolled in the Alabama Occupational Diploma (AOD) program. Test results from the Alabama High School Graduation Exam (AHSGE) for years 2000, 2001, and 2002 showed that Enterprise High School students scored above the state average in all subject areas. School Performance-based Measures: The yearly enrollment numbers are shown in Figure 6. Enrollment observations over the past five years shows a steady enrollment which varied from a high enrollment of 1,114, to a low of 1,075. Enrollment for the 2002-2003 school year was 1,081. The ethnic makeup for the 2002-2003 school year was 24% African-American and 76% non-black. Gender makeup for 2002-2003 was 574 males and 507 females. These enrollment figures are based on the first 40 days of the school year. Enrollment for the current school year, 2003-2004, is 1,250. During the last five years, approximately 40% of the seniors have completed the Advanced Diploma Curriculum, while 45% have followed the Regular Diploma Curriculum. Students at Enterprise High School display a strong academic achievement. Over the past several years, approximately 38% of the student body have earned all A’s or A’s and B’s. Approximately 6% of EHS graduates during this time completed the Alabama Occupational Diploma (AOD) option. Students completing the Certificate of Attendance compiled 8% of graduates. Additional Student Performance Indicators: The percentage of students enrolled in the core curriculum has slightly increased over the past four years; however, the post-graduation plans of our students have shifted significantly. In particular, enrollment in four year college/ universities has increased from 65% to 68% while the percentage of students entering the work force on a full time basis has decreased from 9% to 5%. The most drastic change occurred with a decrease in students entering the military. In 2000-2001 school year, the percentage was 11%. This is a 4% decrease for the 2001-2002 school year. 2. Student and Community Demographic Data The students of Enterprise High School are residents of an urban/rural community with a population of 21,178. The average household income is $51,640 and the median home value is approximately $88,973. The percentage of residents with school-age children is estimated as 23.74% of families for 2002. According to the 2000 census, the racial composition of the community is predominantly white (71%), with approximately 23% African-American, 4% Hispanic, and 2% Asian. The community has a mix of service industry, manufacturing, and retail businesses. The largest single employer is Fort Rucker, with approximately 2,000 employees. The religious orientation of the community is varied, including Protestant, Catholic and Jewish faiths. 3. School Characteristics Enterprise was a fledgling community, less than two years old, when the first school was built in 1886. Although the school year in this little log building was only two three-month terms, the enrollment soon outgrew that first building; and students moved to a larger facility. However, those who chose to attend beyond ninth grade had to travel to Newton, the nearest town with a high school. Over the next decades, several school buildings were built in Enterprise, funded by a community always ready to support the educational program. The first Coffee County High School opened in 1908; continued in operation in various facilities through Depression, war, and fires; and finally became a part of the city school system in 1953, renamed Enterprise High School. The original portion of the present facility was opened in the fall of 1956, and the school, with many additions, has operated in the same location since that time. Although the Enterprise community has faced a number of devastating problems over the one hundred years since its incorporation—fires that wiped out the downtown area several times, the devastation of the boll weevil and other natural disasters, the Great Depression, and other difficulties—its citizens have always provided strong educational programs and incentives for their schools. The people of Enterprise have collected money, contributed in fund-raising or donations of needed items, offered their services when needed and repeatedly voted taxes, all to preserver excellence in their schools. As the town has expanded through business and industrial growth, the enlargement of Fort Rucker, and addition of people, facilities, and opportunities, Enterprise High School has grown and changed, also. Presently, the school serves grades ten through twelve with an enrollment which averages 1090 students and employs 103 teachers, staff, and administrators, quite a change from that log building one hundred years ago! Courses are offered through the block scheduling system, and students have the opportunity to participate in 28 clubs and organizations as well as other extracurricular activities. In 1984, Enterprise High School was awarded the National Excellence in Education Award. However, the town’s citizens do not need national recognition to know that its high school is outstanding and prepares champions; for ten decades the people of Enterprise, through their endeavors and support, have assured such success. Enterprise High School is a public, urban high school. The school was built in 1956 and its initial enrollment was 980 students in grades 9-12, compared to 1,250 in grades 10-12 today. Enterprise High School has been fully accredited by our regional accrediting association since 1956. While the per pupil allocation at our school is consistently higher that the state’s average, the allocation has not increased significantly over the past three years, despite rising operational costs and increased learning needs of our students, particularly our students with limited English proficiency. Part 2: Beliefs and Mission Enterprise
High School The mission of Enterprise High School is to provide the curricula, resources, and technology enabling all students to pursue a variety of academic, career-technical, and extra-curricular goals. To fulfill this mission, Enterprise High School will provide a safe, clean, and healthy environment in which students, parents, staff, and community work together to pursue educational excellence. Enterprise High School Beliefs We believe that:
Part 3: Desired Results For Student Learning
An organizational meeting of the steering committee was held 3 October 2002. At this meeting, the overall structure of the School Improvement Plan was discussed, and it was determined that the completion of Section III would be contingent upon the Sections I and II data. In choosing the primary goals for student learning at Enterprise High School, the Section III committee co-chairs, Mr. Logan and Mrs. Reynolds, first met with the steering committee co-chairs and self-study facilitator. At this 6 February 2003, meeting, potential stakeholders were identified; the group then determined that the school’s goals for student learning should represent the confluence of the following three elements: the overall profile of the school (Section I), the mission and beliefs of Enterprise High School (Section II), and the results of the National Study of School Evaluation (NSSE) “Survey of Goals for Student Learning.” The NSSE survey was administered to 83 faculty and staff members at a meeting held 31 March 2003. The completed survey forms were sent to NSSE for scoring and analysis. Upon receipt of the results (9 May 2003), the Section III committee met, reviewed, and discussed the outcome of the survey. The committee established that the priorities for improvement should be focused on goals one (learning-to-learn skills), two (expanding and integrating knowledge), and four (thinking and reasoning skills). These priorities reflect two vital considerations: (1) faculty ranking of priorities for improvement and (2) the existing discrepancy between faculty priorities and the current level of student performance as measured by the “Survey of Goals for Student Learning.” A Section III committee meeting was scheduled for the following week (20 May 2003) to discuss the priorities and the means by which each might be implemented and/or measured. In making its determinations, the committee consulted numerous sources regarding current and future trends in education. Section I data were reviewed to empiricize current trends at Enterprise High School; Section II was considered in order to align committee findings with the mission of the school community; the Alabama Courses of Study and compendia of objectives for the Alabama High School Graduation Exam were consulted to determine objectives and competencies expected of students who receive a high school diploma in the State of Alabama. Additionally, model school improvement plans were studied as indicators of current trends. Following detailed study of the above factors, the committee next considered methods by which progress in priority areas would be measured. Its most valuable asset, moreover, proved to be Section I data, which establishes an empirical rubric for the measurability of progress. Part 4: Analysis of Instructional and Organizational Effectiveness
Introduction This section of the school improvement plan provides an overview of the analysis of instructional and organizational effectiveness that was conducted to help identify our school’s strengths and limitations. The results of this analysis are summarized on the following pages. We utilized this information to help us identify ways we can build on our strengths, address the limitations of our school’s instructional and organizational effectiveness, and develop our school improvement plan. To assist us in identifying the strengths and limitations of Enterprise High School’s instructional and organizational effectiveness, we administered the “Survey of Instructional and Organizational Effectiveness,” based on the NSSE’s Indicators of Schools of Quality. All faculty, instructional support staff, and administration completed the survey on August 26, 2003, and our committee for Part 4 analyzed the data and reported these findings in the form of a list of strengths and limitations. The overall results of the instructional survey indicate that our instructional systems are functioning and operating fully. Strongest rankings were in the areas of actively engaging students in learning and developing a quality curriculum, while lowest rankings were in the areas of evaluating/renewing the curriculum and expanding instructional support for learning. The results of the organizational survey also indicate a fully functioning and operational level of our organizational systems. Strongest rankings were in the areas of fostering an academic learning climate and actively supporting teaching and learning, as well as providing skillful stewardship of resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment. Lowest rankings were indicated in our commitment to professional development and our establishment of collaborative networks across the community. In light of the survey results, our committee members collected evidence pertaining to those areas identified as strengths, as well as those areas identified as limitations. In addition, we examined the extent to which our instructional practices and organizational conditions are aligned and provide students with a coherent instructional program. Based upon our analysis of instructional and organizational effectiveness we identified priorities for improvement. The priorities we established were based on the following three goals: · to build on the school’s strengths · to address the school’s limitations · to strengthen the alignment and coherence of the school’s instructional and organizational practices Part 5: School Improvement Plan Introduction Over the past year, we have developed action plans to address each of the three target area goals identified as priorities for our school improvement plan: Thinking and Reasoning Skills, Learning to Learn Skills, and Instructional and Organizational Effectiveness-Curriculum. Our plan also addresses the need to expand and strengthen the design of instructional strategies to more fully support the learning needs of our students. In addition, the plan focuses on improving our professional development programs by aligning them more directly with the desired results for student learning and by focusing on the need to support the effective use of research-based instructional strategies. Furthermore, the plan has been designed to address the goals of improving learning to learn skills and includes plans to improve problem-solving/critical thinking skills. Each of the action plans was reviewed by the school improvement team to ensure that they were consistent with the school’s profile, beliefs and mission, desired results for student learning, and analysis of instructional and organizational effectiveness. The school improvement team met on Monday, November 24, 2003, to discuss the action plans. Following the initial review of the plan by the school improvement team, copies of the plan were distributed to faculty and staff for their review and comment. Suggestions were reviewed by the school improvement team and final revisions were completed. Each of the three target areas is outlined on the following pages. In addition to specifying the action steps for each plan, we have also indicated the timeline, estimated resources required to implement the plan, and the person(s) responsible for coordinating the action steps. Action Plan #1-Goals
Action Plan #2-Goals
Action Plan #3-Goals
Enrollment:
American College Testing (ACT)
National Merit Finalists (2002-2003)
Post Secondary Education College Attendance: 75 percent of the graduating seniors took college exams in 1999. Acceptance at Major Universities: Enterprise graduates attend Harding University, Boston University, Rhodes College, University of Missouri-Rolla, Mercer, Randolph-Macon, UA, ADS, UAH, UAB, Huntindon, Troy, Tuskegee, Illinois, Institute of Technology, University of Mobile, Daniel Webster College, Jacksonville State, Alabama A&M, Birmingham Southern, Samford, and USA. Service Academy appointments: Over the past year, graduating Enterprise High School seniors have received appointments to our nations military academies:
Graduates Seek College Degrees
Scholarship Winners Student Class Rank and Grade-Point Average |
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