STRATEGIC SCHOOL PROFILE NARRATIVES
1. EFFORTS TO REDUCE RACIAL, ETHNIC AND ECONOMIC ISOLATION
Killingly High School engages in several efforts to reduce racial, ethnic and economic isolation.
Killingly High School’s Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) promotes and supports diversity and tolerance in all
matters. The GSA actively recruits members, and is a popular club. The GSA sent a number of students to
the True Colors Conference held at the University of Connecticut, the largest LGBT youth conference,
attending workshops and performances that directly support our GSA curriculum. Our 9 th grade World
Cultures curriculum has students do projects and bulletin boards on major cultures in the world and how the
relate to the KHS community.
One of Killingly High School’s graduation requirements is 40 hours of community service, and through
this program students perform a range of tasks for the community. Several of our clubs, including the FFA,
Home Builder’s Association, Marching Band, Chorus, and others travel to regional and national
conventions and competitions to meet other students from across the region and country and experience
local culture. A variety of clubs and KHS community service organizations work to reduce economic
isolation of students and our community. The National Honor Society members volunteer at numerous
community functions and activities, and members of the Killingly Community Service Program provide
direct community support in areas of high need.
Our most comprehensive effort to reduce economic isolation is our 1:1 iPad Program, designed in part to
eliminate the “digital divide” for our students. Commencing with the 2013-2014 school year, every student
at Killingly High School can get an iPad.
2.
HOME AND SCHOOL COMMUNICATION AND SUPPORT
Killingly High School provides a wide variety of options for parent and guardian communication. A new
website was developed in the fall of 2009 for the school community which acts as a primary information
source and portal for further communication. Our system uses PowerSchool, and at KHS, parents can
access contemporaneous student grades through this portal, can communicate with teachers, and obtain
additional and extensive academic, athletic, and school calendar information.
KHS makes extensive use of Blackboard, an auto phone system that can reach all households and staff.
Regular informational messages are sent to parents and staff about events at the high school and in the
district.
The school provides a Freshmen Academy open house, a school-wide open house, several parent
conference evenings, an Academic Showcase, multiple informational seminars on study skills, college
applications and financial aid, and an information evening for parents of student athletes.
A school newspaper is produced regularly, and progress reports and report cards supplement online access
to student grades. The school also produces a community cable access program.
Parental involvement is encouraged through such programs as the Future Farmers of America
Alumni/Parent Group, the Band Boosters, School Governance Council and an Athletic Department evening
for parents and coaches.
3.
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANS AND ACTIVITIES
The school has aligned its School Improvement Plan to that of the district’s, and will focus on improving
comprehension strategies for students at all grade levels. An additional area of focus will be on
differentiating instruction in response to student need, and in implementing tiered intervention programs to
ensure academic and behavioral success for all students in reading.
The further development and implementation of school-wide rubrics will continue to be a focus.
4.
SUPPLEMENTAL SCHOOL INFORMATION
The 2010-2011 school year marked the opening of the new Killingly High School, a state-of-the-art,
dramatically beautiful and highly functional educational facility in a beautiful setting. The school is
becoming a focal point of the community. With interactive whiteboards and built-in projectors in each
classroom, full technological capability, dedicated common rooms for group work, new labs, a very
capable auditorium, and outstanding athletic facilities, the school is a wonderful place to get a 21 st-century
education.