The Avery County Schools
A collaborative path to a 95% graduation rate!
The Mission Statement of the Avery
County Schools
Avery County Schools, through
supportive relationships with
students, parents and community,
will have every student graduate
from high school globally prepared
for life in the 21st Century.
Our Instructional Program
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Six preschool classrooms (Over 100 Students),
Five elementary schools,
Two middle schools
One comprehensive public high school with a
freshman academy and a STEM academy.
2221 Students
293 Exceptional Students
130 English Language Learners
Almost 60% Free and Reduced Lunch
Poverty in Avery County
• Avery County has a total population of 17,797
• 17.2% of the population below the age of 18
• The median family income is $33,919, $10,000
less than the state average
• 9.1% of Avery has been diagnosed with
diabetes
• One fourth of children aged 5-11 are obese
• The adult obesity rate is 26.5%
• 2,400 school aged children in Avery County
Avery County Poverty Rate
• 2010
– All ages
– 5-17
23.5%
28.7%
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• 2009
– All ages
– 5-17
18.9%
23.8%
Cohort Graduation Rate and Data for
Avery County Schools
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Graduation Four Year Cohort 95% ranking Avery County Schools first
in the state of North Carolina
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ACS WorkKeys-78.9% of CTE Concentrator Graduates awarded Silver
Level Career Readiness Certificates, #8 in the state
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AMO% Academic Targets Met for Subgroups-84.9%, #19 in the state
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ACT College Readiness- 64% of 2013-14 juniors made 17 or above; #26th
in the state
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District Yearly Attendance Average -95%
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*Numbers are compared to115 NC public school districts in the state.
Avery Initiatives
• Pre-K in all Elementary Schools
• + SCOTTIE the Pre-K Bus!!!
• Experiential Education Program – Alpine Tower
• Apple Distinguished Program
• First system-wide K-12 One to One Technology
Initiative in North Carolina
• Blue Ridge Academy
• GOAL alternative to suspension
• Reading Cohort via Appalachian State
University
SCOTTIE
SCOTTIE IN ACTION
SCOTTIE IN ACTION (Cont.)
K-12 1-1 Technology: Access for
ALL
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Reaching ALL Students
AVERY COUNTY SCHOOLS
Examples
AVERY COUNTY SCHOOLS
Blue Ridge Academy
• Grades 6 through 12
• Maximum Enrollment 60
Students
• Learn and Serve
Component
• Students Who Need
Additional Support
• Previous Dropouts
• Over 60 Graduates
• High Country Council of
Governments
Collaboration
• NCSBA Innovative
Program of the Year!
Changes …
• Positive replaces
negative
• Non-confrontational
• Reward based
• Staff promotes
positive attitudes
• Discipline referrals
• Suspensions
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Mediation
Court Counselors
Counseling
Mid-year promotion/
Graduation
• Homebound
• Paid Internships
• Daily Staff Meetings
Total Involvement
• Entire School System
– Facilities update
– Maintenance
– Principal
– Community/Volunteers
– Communication
– Total support
– Planning for future
School Involvement
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Name Change
Day Treatment
Flexible Schedule
On-Line Learning
Class integration
Field trips
Cooking
Community Involvement
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High Country Council of Governments
Internships
Job Coach
YMCA
Back Pack Program
Goal Program
• Average 1 student per day
with a range of 1 to 5 daily!
• 86 referred to GOAL last
year!
• 98.8% of the students
completed academic and
service responsibilities!
• 1,833 days of community
service completed last
year
GOAL Program
Program Mission Statement
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To implement in Avery County a coordinated
program involving all components of the community
including schools, agencies, and governmental entities
to minimize unsupervised student activity and to
increase the sense of duty in our youth
Program Objectives
To develop alternatives to Out of School
Suspension in order to reduce unsupervised
student activity and avoid interruption of the
academic process as well as avoiding
involvement in the court system
• GOAL is:
– a collaborative community alliance
sponsored by the Avery County Schools
– GAOL is designed to target at-risk youth
who have been suspended for one to ten
days
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– These students are at risk for becoming
involved in the juvenile court system,
dropping out of school as well as developing
poor personal habits
Community Service…
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Combined with school work in a
structured environment may promote
positive feelings of self-worth
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May also result in positive behaviors at
school and in the community.
• Suspended students have an opportunity to report
to one of 15 participating agencies to perform
community service work during school hours. Upon
completing the program, the students will receive
the following benefits:
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– Academic process is not interrupted because students
receive homework assignments and spend a portion of
the day completing academic assignments as directed by
the GOAL coordinator. (LMS is helpful)
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– Participants are not counted absent from school.
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– Because this program is an alternative to traditional out of
school suspension the suspension may be reduced by
the principal
Other program components include
– Pre and Post counseling to address issues such as
attendance, discipline referrals, academics, personal
issues and short and long range goal setting
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– Information sharing with community agencies to assist
students and families
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– Coordinating services with schools, families,
community agencies, businesses, social services,
court system, law enforcement
• all entities are working together to offer alternatives and
preventives to suspension and dropping out of school
Program Components
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Community volunteer hours
Homework successfully completed
Counseling
Attendance credit
Student involvement
Parent involvement
ASU Reading Cohort
• 3 Cohorts
• Teachers receive Reading Licensure with
2 years of coursework
• Courses and practicums taught in Avery
County
• Replicates best practices in setting up
reading clinics for struggling students
• Early intervention & Literacy focus schoolwide
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In Closing
“ We can, whenever and wherever we
choose, successfully teach all children
whose schooling is of interest to us.
We already know more than we need to
do that. Whether or not we do it must
finally depend on how we feel about the
fact that we haven’t so far.” - Ron
Edmonds