1.     Defining the community:

Jackson does contain several major industries in its city limits. Mainly machinery products as well as metal products; the surrounding areas produces many types of agriculture.

            Jackson does have four companies that are publicly traded on the market.

These are Trustmark which is provides $8.1 billion in financial services.

Parkway Properties which is a major real-estate company, “Parkway owns or has an interest in 65 office properties located in 11 states with an aggregate of approximately 13.4 million square feet of leasable space as of August 3, 2009”.

Cal-Maine Foods-Largest producer of fresh shell eggs in the country.

East Group Properties- Has real-estate interests throughout the south and over 27.7 million square feet of property in their portfolio.

Jackson is also home to the Mississippi World Trade Center. Obviously the purpose of which is to foster international trade. It is unclear to how successful this venture has been to this point.

2.     Geography:

Jackson is located between Hinds and Madison counties. This allows Jackson

large access to their agricultural products as well as moderate business district.

Jackson is also bordered by the Pearl River, which provides goods transportation as well as the Ross Barnett Reservoir.

3.     Demographics:

Jackson has  a population of roughly 173,000 and 530,000 if you include the surrounding metropolitan area.

The racial makeup of the city is predominantly black (70.6%) and white (28%). Interestingly enough Jackson Public Schools in 97% black and 3% white, as most white kids are going to private or county schools.

25% of households had a single mother as the head. With 23.5% of the population living below the poverty line.  

76.1% of kids are living on free or reduced lunch.

In 2009 Jackson’s homicide rate ranked 4^th in the country and 2^nd in the country in terms of burglaries.

Population 25 years or older with a:

High school or higher: 79.1%

Bachelor's degree or higher: 27.1%

Graduate or professional degree: 10.2%

Unemployed: 8.9%

4.

5.     Physical Infrastructure:

Is controlled by the Public Works department downtown. They have separate departments for facility management, solid waste, infrastructure management, engineering, water/sewer, and vehicle maintenance. The city claims to have extensive capacities for infrastructure development and waste management, but many city roads are full of potholes and the city seems to have little care for repair.

6.     Cultural and Recreational Resources:

FAST FACTS:

The city does contain an extensive amount of recreational facilities. Unfortunately, the only quality ones are reserved for private use or big time sports events. Quality parks and recreational facilities actually open to the public are few and far in between. Many of these areas are so crime infested that children or people looking to relax would hesitate to venture inside.

7.     Power structure: How do things get done, individuals, board leaders, linkages. ..

Jackson mayor Harvey Johnson is likely the most powerful individual in the city. He has been credited with reviving downtown Jackson including Farish street and surrounding areas. Strangely this area still appears to be in need of repair and contains a plethora of abandoned buildings.

            This is likely why Johnson was easily ousted by former mayor Frank Melton in the 2005 election. Melton ran on a campaign to clean up the crime problem in the city in 90 days and received 63% of the vote.

            Johnsons does seem to have a reasonable amount of power over the city council. He is able to appoint people to run certain government departments and the city council must vote to approve them. The only mayoral nominee to be voted down by the council occurred during Frank Melton’s term. The leaders subsequently appointed heads of these departments, have a large amount of power and money in running their different areas (Fire, police, public works….etc).

            The council does have the power to control the payroll of these different leaders and chose to do so in the case of Melton’s appointments.

            In general when the council and mayor remain at odds, there is little the council can do to combat the mayor’s power.

8.     Heads of government agencies are appointed by the mayor then must be approved by the city council. They are independently run, but can have their finances checked by the city council.

9.     Community barriers

     Jackson is chock-full of community barriers. The first might be the huge amount of crime, homelessness, poor leadership, and poor schools. Obviously these are all factors, which are caused by the main problem of poverty.

            Downtown Jackson is the most rundown place I have ever seen in the U.S. Starting with the white flight after integration, downtown has grown progressively worse. This remains a large barrier today as not only white families, but now middle class black families are leaving Jackson. This is a huge problem as downtown teems with homelessness and crime no one wants to bring businesses into the city necessary to turn the problems around.

10. Values

I would say the main values in the community are religion, race, and sports. A large amount of our students value school as a means to play sports or hopefully to gain an education and get a good job. I would not say that education is as important as the first three values.

            At many schools sports will take the cake over any scholastic event and often cut into classroom time. Many teachers are also coaches and spend hours after school everyday and are forced to neglect their teaching duties.

11. Uniqueness

The most surprising part of the community I have witnessed so far is the huge population of immigrants. Most people would expect Jackson to be majority multi-generation Americans, but there is a sizeable population of African immigrants.

            At Murrah I have met a large amount of these kids especially coaching soccer. I have had players from Zimbabwe, Sudan, Uganda and others.

            The most public proof of this large group of immigrants I have found is the election of Chokwe Lumumba to city council. I found this excerpt from his website campaigning for city council “The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) is taking a bold step to advance the cause of New Afrikan Self-determination. Building off the experiences of developing the Freedom Party in Selma, Alabama and the Reconstruction Party in New Orleans, Louisiana, MXGM co-founder, Chokwe Lumumba, is running for City Council in Jackson, Mississippi. The aim of this run is to implement a program of progressive social and economic change that will not only improve the lives of New Afrikan people in Jackson, but also empower Black and other oppressed people throughout the Kush District (the Mississippi Black Belt) and the Deep South by advancing a new social and economic agenda and strengthening their self-organization.”

12. Schools, colleges, universities.

Jackson does have a number of good universities and colleges in many different areas of study.

            One unfortunate quality of JPS is its lack of diversity (97% black, 3% white), even though the city as a whole is more diverse (30% white, 70 % black). Most white kids go to private, or county schools.

Colleges and universities

Belhaven College (1883)

Hinds Community College's campuses in Jackson are the Nursing/Allied Health Center (1970) and the Academic/Technical Center

Jackson State University (1877)

Millsaps College (1890)

Mississippi College School of Law (1930)

Reformed Theological Seminary (1966)

Tougaloo College (1869)

University of Mississippi Medical Center (1955), health sciences campus of the University of Mississippi

Wesley Biblical Seminary (1974)

[edit]

Public high schools

▪                Bailey Magnet High School

▪                Callaway High School

▪                Career Development Center

▪                Forest Hill High School

▪                Jim Hill High School

▪                Lanier High School

▪                Murrah High School

▪                Provine High School

▪                Wingfield High School

Private high schools

▪                Christ Missionary & Industrial (CM&I) College High School

▪                Hillcrest Christian School

▪                Jackson Academy

▪                The Veritas School

Private Schools

▪                Magnolia Speech School [1]

St. Andrew's Episcopal Lower School - South Campus

References

http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/strong_mayor_weak_council_042209/

http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/jackson_one_of_20_strongest_performing_markets_092109 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Johnson,_Jr.

http://www.assatashakur.org/forum/hood-news/36815-chokwe-lumumba-jackson-ms-city-council.html 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson,_Mississippi#Political_structures

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Governor Haley Barbour is not an engaging speaker, but he is a Good Ole Boy. Is education really over 60% of the state budget? Education will still be $20 million more then last year because of stimulus funds. Guess we should not have taken them. I did not know the policy about the Governor being required to cut 5% from each area before they cut over 5%.

Barbour says schools get over $8,000 per student. Is this true, or is it highly skewed by richer areas of the state whose students receive substantially more.

Governor Barbour says that money for corrections facilities has gone up 10% in the last 5 years while money for education has gone up 35%. This is great, but is it not obvious that if we spent the money used for correctional facilities on our children instead we would not need the money for corrections down the road.

The argument that stimulus money hurts the economy down the road bewilders me. Maybe it is only short term help, but is it not help? Does it not give you more time to plan better down the road, and for the recession to hopefully recede? To me it seems like blatant partisan politics attacking Obama and democrats.

As someone once said Governor Barbour would rather “cut taxes then have sex”. Taxes will not be raised to help out those most hurt by the recession.  

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            To be quite honest the hazing at Millburn High does not seem to intense compared to what we have seen recently in Jackson. Jackson State recently suspended 27 band members suspected of hitting incoming freshman with beer bottles and 2x4 and committing other acts of violence JSU hazing.

            That being said I am sure that different forms of hazing, bullying, and the general stresses of being a new kid at a large school can be very damaging to a student’s psyche. In every class I have a substantial amount of students who are very withdrawn usually as a result of being intimidated or made fun of to a point where they no longer desire to speak up. These students are sometimes the most rewarding to reach, but it is often difficult in larger classes or when they are so stuck in their shell.

            I remember being hazed as a 9^th grader on the high school soccer team and taking it pretty lightly. Fortunately, I was one of the ones who did not get it the worst. First of all I had made the team and was accepted by my peers and the older kids. I knew I would experience a little hazing, but it was more exciting than something I feared.

            The kids who had it really bad where the ones who got cut from the team, did not have many friends in school, and were generally seen as outsiders. Because worse then being hazed by a team member, they were constantly ostracized by peers and older students alike. Creating a culture where this is unacceptable and all students are viewed as equal and important is one of the most important parts of our education system. This is a difficult point to reach and is only possible with good classroom management, a positive school culture, engaging extra-curricular activities for every kid, and probably eliminating all forms of hazing at school.

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First week: Required. 

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Once again my list of failures is almost as long as my list of successes. There are many students who I feel I failed to challenge enough, many who I felt I did not break things down enough for.

            The unfortunate thing about many of my failures is that in reality they are things that may be very difficult or out of my power to control. These are the failures which often hurt the most.

            I can confidently say that I inspired many kids to do better, to strive to succeed, and to feel as if they have some meaning in their life. These were many times my favorite students, who I know had so much potential for success, but needed someone to believe in them.

            One kid I know I could have done more for was Odis. During the first week of school Odis was challenged by one of the biggest kids in one of my classes and refused to back down. Both kids almost came to blows, but I had learned enough to send one out until security came to help me out. After this first confrontation I talked to Odis and let him know that I would be willing to work with him, but he would have to let me handle his problems in the classroom from that point on. From then on I looked out for him and he was always respectful towards me. For the next three weeks of school he quietly sat in the corner of the class and concentrated on his work. He rarely brought a backpack or pencils to class, but he always did his work and was eager to learn.

            Four weeks in he realized he had been going to the wrong class the whole time. He switched to World Geography and came back to my class second semester.

            By second semester he had changed. He hung out with Ron a 19-year-old still in a 9^th grade course who could care less about school. He still never brought his backpack, or pencils, but he had obviously become jaded by the prospects of his life. Unfortunately, it took me a while into second semester to notice how much he had changed. I think he wanted to start out doing his work again in my class, but he soon realized his prospects in school were severely hurt by his grades he had received in his first semester courses. He was routinely high in class and showed little desire to concentrate on work or any part of school. He was soon suspended for two weeks and returned with an even bleaker outlook.

            Upon his return I tried to talk to him about what was going on and if I could help. I told him I wanted him to stay after school so he could do his makeup work for my class and his other classes. He told me he could not stay because his mom did not get off work until ten. So everyday until ten he would hangout at one of his friends houses then return home.

            Around this time I also found out he had been suspended because he had liquid hydrocodone (lean or purple drink) at school. He also had left this drink at home and his younger sister had consumed some and fallen ill.

                        For the next week I told Odis I would give him a ride home if he stayed after school. Each day he said he would come, but he never showed up. Eventually Odis stopped coming to school and most likely dropped out. He might be back next year, but I have a feeling his spirit and attitude, at least towards school is broken.  It is kids like Odis who drive me to be better.

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My Biggest Success

It would not be possible to pin down a single most successful moment in a year that was probably the most tumultuous of my life. My successful moments range from coaching soccer and basketball to learning the history of Mississippi and by second semester truly feeling like I was becoming a MS studies teacher. During most of first semester I truly felt like a glorified babysitter, struggling to keep half of my kids in their seat, while at the same time attempting to teach to the other half who wanted to learn. Thus I would say my biggest transformation and biggest success was the changes and results I saw between my first and second semester.

A major factor in this success was that I was able to start over with a completely new group of kids for second semester (MS studies is a semester course). This gave me the opportunity to reflect upon my first semester and make a significant amount of changes.

Changes

My classroom philosophy had to change. I began the first semester assuming that if I respected my students and encouraged them to become engaged in positive learning environment that I would be able to focus less on rules and procedures. This attitude might have worked in a classroom with older kids or possibly if I had averaged less then 33 kids on the first day. I quickly learned that if I wanted to survive my thinking would have to change.

I started second semester very strict from the beginning. I religiously took attendance and punished for tardies everyday. I also made a major change in my Do-Now policy. My new policy was to take attendance, pass out all materials for the day, and then give a zero to any student who was yet to begin the Do-Now, or was talking. The combination of these two simple changes drastically changed the beginning of all my classes. Students came in knowing there was a process for what they had to do at the beginning of class with the understanding that there would be punishments if they did not follow my procedures. This made me realize how important it is to set the tone from the beginning everyday in order to run a smooth classroom.

Another change I wanted to make in my second semester was to have everyday fully mapped out and planned with exactly what I wanted to do. This made my life easier in a number of ways. I had more time to relax in and out of class; specifically was able to focus less on discipline and more on teaching/ grading. This also allowed me to set a tone of constant work in every class period. In addition to providing constant work, I was also able to collect and return work on a daily basis.

As a coach with 180 kids you might think this would be impossible to do without taking loads of work home everyday. I found the answer to this problem in Teacher’s assistants. At Murrah we are fortunate to have an abundance of Seniors who need classes to fill and enjoy sitting in your class and grading papers. I had three TA’s who I would provide a key for each assignment, which allowed me to do almost no grading.

Results

Less stress, more learning, and more respect from the administration. The policy of my administrators on the 9^th grade wing was usually if the chaos in your classroom is not running out into the hallway you are doing your job. I accomplished this for the most part both semesters, but as we came into second semester I also began to feel that my classroom was becoming a peaceful learning environment.

I gave out anonymous surveys to my students about my classroom and a majority of them reported my class was the class they learned the most in all year. A majority reported I was their favorite teacher, and my classroom got ranked an average of 4 out of 5 by all of my students.

I have been moved to U.S. History for next year, which I am sure will be more pressure, but less classroom management issues. I look forward to embracing this challenge and being as prepared as possible from the beginning so I am ready for the surprises that will come. 

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1. Be more consistent with discipline. Hank Bounds presentation stuck with me. I know I am not always consistent and often do not give out consequences evenly or fairly. I plan on being strict on little things, with everyone, to hopefully prevent bigger problems from occurring. 

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The Upper school in my district is a magnet school for grades 6-12 with an arts and foreign language focus (on top of the core curriculum). On campus we will have a performing arts center, arts building, Vo-Tech building (City of ________ Academy). We will offer a substantial arts curriculum as well as vo-tech curriculum (which we will partner with the local business community. Other highlights of my district include partnerships with Barksdale Reading institute, 9th Grade Reality Fair, locally grown organic lunch and a Positive Behavioral Intervention plan.

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                Abe Rubert-Schewel

                                                       It’s Always Sunny in Our District

With a focus on subject area courses as well as the Arts and Foreign Languages.

5/2/09

District Table of Contents                        

A. Governance.                                            3

B. Curriculum Specialists.                              3

C. Mentor Teachers.                                            3

D. Elementary School.                                3

E. Middle/ High School                              4

F. Curriculum Specialists                          4

G. Campuses                                                  4

H. Addressing Teacher Shortage.            6

I. Schedule.                                                     7

J. Improving Reading.                                 7

K. Curriculum.                                               8

L. Arts Curriculum                                        9

M. Vocational Curriculum.                         10

N. Teachers.                                                    12

O. Community Involvement.                      13

P. Bond Issue.                                                  14

Q.  Students.                                                    14

R. Positive Behavioral Intervention.       15

S. Budget.                                                         16

Governance: Andrew Mullins will be appointed as district superintendent. There will be two assistant superintendents who oversee operations at the Elementary and Middle/High School. There will be a seven-member school board elected by the community. The school board will appoint a new superintendent every 4 years.

One of the school boards main responsibilities will be the state/nationwide search for curriculum specialists in the necessary areas.

            Curriculum specialists: Will teach one class per day and will spend the rest of the time advising teachers in their subject area. They will serve at their position for a maximum of a four-year term.

They will also be responsible for holding bi-weekly meeting with mentor teachers and holding subject area meetings. They will also guest lecture in subject area courses once a week.

            Mentor Teachers: Will be a full-time teacher with one extra off period per-day. They will be assigned to mentor two younger teachers and will be required to sit-in on their mentees classroom once per two weeks. They will receive a significant pay raise.

            Elementary School

There will be 3 Elementary schools.

A head principal with three assistant principals will govern each elementary school. One assistant will have the main responsibility of teacher assessment and assisting curriculum specialists.  The second assistant will handle discipline, while the third will focus on finance.

Each Elementary school will also have a unique focus with a curriculum specialist in that area at each school. Curriculum specialists will work solely with teachers who specialize in that area.

All Elementary schools will have at least one Reading and one Math specialist.

Elementary School 1

Curriculum Specialist: Arts

Elementary School 2 

Curriculum Specialist: Math and Sciences

Elementary School 3

Curriculum Specialist: English and Foreign Languages

Middle/ High School

There will be one 6-12 School.

A head principal with five assistant principals will govern the Middle/upper School. One assistant will oversee curriculum instruction for the middle school; one will be assigned to the high school. Two assistants will be responsible for discipline; one over the middle school and one over the high school. One principal will be responsible for finance of the school.

There will be eleven Curriculum Specialists who teach one class per day and advise teachers in the area they specialize in.

Curriculum Specialists

6^th-8th English                  9^th-12^th English

6^th-8^th Math                    9^th-12^th Math

6^th-8^th Arts Specialist   9^th-12^th Arts Specialist

6^th-8^th Science               9^th-12^th Science

6^th-8^th Foreign Languages        9^th-12^th Foreign Languages

6^th-12^th Vocational Specialist

Campuses 

Three Elementary Schools 300 students each

Elementary Schools will each be divided into two buildings_. One larger building, which will house general courses and one smaller building which will house courses which are the specialty of that elementary school.

Middle/High School 1100 students

The Middle/ High School will be a spread out campus consisting of ___ buildings. 

Middle School Building

This building will house all English, Math, Science and Foreign Language Courses. One discipline principal and one curriculum principal will have their office in this building.

6^th Grade Wing: The 6^th grade wing will run off of this building and is where all 6^th graders will take their core classes. They will be able to move for arts and vocational courses.

High School Building

This building will house all English, Math, Science and Foreign Language Courses. One discipline principal and one curriculum principal will have their office in this building.

9^th Grade Wing: The 9^th grade wing will run off of this building and is where all 9^th graders will take their core classes. They will be able to move for arts and vocational courses.

Arts Building

This building will be between the Middle School and High School buildings so all students will have access to it and will not have to cross each other’s path when entering. There will be a Middle School wing and a high school wing. 

At this building students will take courses in Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Choral Music, and Band. This building will be equipped with state of the art facilities to support students in their artistic endeavors. The Curriculum Specialists for the arts will have their offices as well as their classrooms in this building.

Performing Arts Center

This building will be behind the Arts Building, but also between the Middle School and High School building. 

The Performing arts center will include a Black box, which will seat an audience of 600 and a moveable stage. There will also be two classrooms and a Dance studio with wall-to-wall mirrors in the Performing Arts center. 

Students will take classes in Theatre, Theatre Tech, and Dance in the Performing Arts Center. Performances in Theatre, Dance, Chorus and Band will also be held here.

Vocational/ Tech Building- City of _______________ Academy

This will be a smaller building adjacent to the High School building. At this building classes will be available in Service Industries, Business, Engineering, Repair and Construction.

At the Academy kids will also get training in Interview skills, creating a resume, and searching for Jobs.

The Main purpose of this building will be to connect kids with internships/jobs at local businesses. Starting in 9^th grade kids will have the opportunity to go to their internships during the last two periods of the day. There will be buses running from the school through downtown to pick-up/drop kids off from work.

Addressing Teacher Shortage

First off teachers will be paid $100,000 a year. Curriculum Specialists also teaching one class a day will make $150,000 a year. Mentor teachers will be paid 125,000$ per year.

New Teachers coming to the Elementary Schools will be able to request placement at the school with the focus they prefer (Science & Math, Arts, or Foreign Language). 

We will also spend $300,000 per year to advertise nationally to get top teachers at the school.

Elementary School Schedule

SPECIAL DAY PRE-SCHOOL

A.M. - 8:20 a.m. – 11:40 a.m.

P.M. - 11:50 a.m. – 3:10 p.m.

KINDERGARTEN

A.M. - 8:20 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. 

GRADE 1-2

8:30 -  9:25  Class (early readers)  

 9:25 -  9:35  Recess                             

9:35 - 10:30  Class (late readers)      

10:30 - 10:40  Recess                       

10:40 - 12:00   Class                         

12:00 - 12:45  LUNCH                  

12:45 - 1:55   Class              

1:55 - 2:05 Recess (early reader dismissal)

2:05 - 3:00  Class    

 GRADE 3

8:30 -   9:25  Class

9:25 -   9:35  Recess                             

9:35 - 10:30  Class    

10:30 - 10:40  Recess                  

10:40 - 12:00   Class                            

 12:00 - 12:45   LUNCH                              

 12:45 -   1:55   Class                     

 1:55 -    2:05   Recess

 2:05  -   3:00  Class  

GRADE 4-5 

8:30 - 10:05   Class              

10:05 - 10:15   Recess            

10:15 - 11:15   Class                         

11:15 - 11:25   Recess                          

11:25 - 12:30   Class                      

12:30 – 1:15   LUNCH            

1:15  -  3:00    Class  

 Improving Reading Ability-Barksdale Reading Program

 We will focus on our K-2 classes to improve reading ability. We will bring in Barksdale Literacy Coaches to work with our teachers. For our late readers we will bring in an Intervention Specialist from the Barksdale program.

 You can see time has been allotted for our struggling readers to be separated into an intervention class in 1^st and 2^nd grade. 

Middle/ Upper School Schedule 

2009-10 Regular Day Bell Schedule - 50 Minute Classes (Schedule #1)

            Calendar

We will run on a traditional calendar.

Tuesday & Wednesday Aug. 25&26 Kindergarten Orientation Dates

Tuesday Aug. 25 First Day of School for Grades 1-12 Students

Thursday Aug. 27 First Day of School for Kindergartners

Thursday June 10 Last Day for Students

Curriculum (taken from Durham School of the Arts in North Carolina)

Students will take seven classes per day. Four core classes along with three arts/vocational classes will be taken per day.

Vertical Integration

Specialists in the subject area will meet to discuss advancement through the grade levels and standards that should be covered in certain classes. Meetings will occur at the beginning, middle and end of each year.

Horizontal Integration

Curriculum Specialists and teachers will meet monthly within their grade level to discuss integration of separate subject areas. Teachers will be required to bring monthly lesson plans to each meeting and discuss how they will integrate.

Example of Core classes-

• World History
• Civics
• U.S. History
• Minority Studies
• Writing through Literature
• Creative Writing
• Newspaper/ Journalism
• Standard/ Honors/ & AP English
• Standard/ Honors/ & AP U.S. History
• AP Psychology
• AP Statistics
• AP Calculus
• AP Chemistry
• Biology
• Physics
• CTE
• Spanish
• French

Arts Curriculum

Dance:

• The dance department offers classes designed for dancers of advancing levels; Intro to Dance, Fundamentals of Dance, Dance Ensemble, Dance Collective, and Dance Company. At Durham School of the Arts, dance classes are based in modern based technique, dance improvisation, composition and choreography and performance and production. Our goal is to encourage each student to find their creative voice. 

Theater Arts:

• DSA students are afforded the opportunity to participate in various plays throughout the academic year.  Some of the previous productions include Run Aways, Annie, Guys & Dolls, and the Merchant of Venice.  Classes are offered each semester with foci ranging from the works of specific authors to the works of specific time periods and social groups.  The Hard Tech class gives students an insde look on the "behind the scenes" of theater arts; students design and create the stage props for the school performances.

Instrumentals:

• DSA offers a variety of classes for students to enhance their skills as instrumentalists.  The school band/ ochestra have both received numerous awards for their extreme talent.  Students may take classes in areas such as Band, Strings, Percussion, Piano, Trumpet and more.

Chorus:

• The Chorus department offers classes for all levels of singers to study traditional choral music.  The 6^th grade Chorus welcomes all 6th graders regardless of experience.  The Mixed Ensemble caters to 7^th and 8^th graders in their first or second year of Chorus.  The Advanced Middle School Chorus affords excelling 7^th and 8^th Graders a chance to perform more difficult music and occasionally collaborate with the upper-level high school choirs. 
• In high school we offer a Concert Choir and Descant Choir for beginning and intermediate level 9^th-12^th graders, plus an Advanced Women’s Choir that travels out of town at least once a year.  New this year (2007) is a Small Ensembles Workshop for advanced students to explore beyond the traditional choral world into music of all ages (Renaissance Madrigals to Barbershop Quartets, Vocal Jazz to Contemporary A Cappella).
• All Choirs at DSA perform in quarterly concerts.  In addition, various choirs will perform for Durham-area events, Triangle-area festivals, and National competitions.  Students are also encouraged to audition and participate in the NC Honors Chorus and NC All-State Chorus each year.

3D Design:

• Sculpture is one of the many exciting visual arts options for students to explore at DSA. Veteran art teacher and working artist, Larry Downing manages a unique workshop filled with found objects and traditional clay. He encourages students to interpret each project using their own vision.

Photography at DSA:

• DSA Photography has a three tiered creative based curriculum. Taught by DSA veteran teachers Mr. Darrell Thompson and Mr. David Antle, students are encouraged to experiment and interpret assignments in their own way.
  
  Beginning with Photo I, students learn camera basics and how to set up and process in a black and white darkroom. The creative emphasis is on design elements, frame modifiers and beginning to use the language of photography. The second semester takes students beyond basic techniques and helps them experiment more in the darkroom and with computer manipulation.
  
  In Photo II students wrestle with assignments that challenge their perceptions as well as explore the depth of their visual problem solving skills. Another big change is that students can elect to replace up to three assignments a semester with projects of their own design.
  
  Portfolio Photography or Photo III, is the last course in a direct line to preparing a portfolio of photography. Beginning with a week to explore Rennaissance painters and writing substitute assignments. Students begin the following week with their first assignment. By the end of the first semester they have completed a portfolio of matted photographs. At the year's end they have a Web Page of their work to add to that.

Other Courses Include:                                   

• 2d Media
• Media & Design II
• Drawing Fundamentals

Vocational Tech-Prep Courses

Some of these courses will be offered at the Tech-Prep center on campus, while a majority of these courses will be offered as work study programs with local businesses.

Teachers

Student Teacher Ratio

Elementary School

900 Students and 60 Teachers= 15:1

Middle/ Highschool

1100 Students and 70 Teachers= 15.7:1

Contracts

            Will be renewed on a yearly basis. Principals may recommend the firing of a teacher to the school board. Before a teacher can be fired they must have two formal observations; one by the curriculum specialist and one by the principal. Both must approve the termination of the teacher.

            Staff Development

Subject Area teachers will fulfill Professional Development requirements by attending local University courses. Teachers will be required to do this until they receive their masters and either a specialist or Doctorate degree. Teachers will also have the option of fulfilling Professional Development requirements by working on their National Board certification. Professional Development will also consist of bi-weekly meetings with curriculum specialists to review teacher observations.

Arts and Vocational Teachers will complete Professional development by partnering with the local arts and business community. Art teachers will take classes/workshops in the community. Both arts and Vocational teachers will partner with the community to put on seminars in their area of specialty. Organization of these seminars will be the responsibility of Curriculum Specialists.

Evaluation 

Teachers will be evaluated monthly by Curriculum Specialists and monthly by mentors. Evaluators will be required to meet with their mentees within the week of the evaluation and provide constructive criticism.

Curriculum Specialists will also guest lecture in one classroom per week of their subject area.

Community Involvement

Career Training

Through our Vocational Tech Prep center we will partner with many local businesses to provide internship and job opportunity to our students. At the beginning of each year businesses will hold seminars at school and students will choose what jobs they would like to interview for. Interviews will also be held on campus.

Partnerships will be especially strong with the local arts community. Local Theater, Choral, and dance workshops will be held in the black box. Students will participate in these events, as well as intern and work with professional artists.

Businesses will also be encouraged to hold regular seminars and participate in our yearly Reality Fair.  

Reality Fair

All 9^th graders will participate in the Reality Fair. During the month before the fair they will work on resumes, career research, check writing, paying taxes, and budgeting skills. Based on their grades and behavior they will be allotted a certain monthly salary. At the reality fair they will use this monthly salary to write checks and pay for items they would need on a monthly basis.

Local sponsors will provide booths and employees who will take checks and provide mock services to the kids (groceries, cable, cell phone, Car payment, house payment…etc).

Hopefully this will teach the kids basic budgeting and check writing skills, as well as the effect school will have on their future.

Organic/ Locally Grown Lunch

Research has shown that Mississippi is the least healthy state in the U.S. Kids routinely miss school and sleep in class when they are present because of their poor physical state and diet.

One of the ways we plan on combating this and encouraging community participation is through partnering with local farmers to provide lunch and breakfast to our students. This way we will ensure that students are provided with a fresh, healthy lunch every single day.

We will also partners with local farmers to help start a garden where students in the Vo-Tech program can learn agricultural skills. 

Bond Issue

We will float a 10 million dollar bond issue to build a new Black box theater. This theater will be state of the arc with a rotating stage. It will hold 700 people and be used by local theater companies and as a general performance space for the community.  Traveling shows will also perform their and already have pre-arranged contracts upon construction.

Technology

All teachers will be provided a technology budget of $5,000 to use for their classroom. Curriculum specialists must approve purchases.

Students

We will have only two graduation tracks at our school.

College Track

Students on the college track must pass Math and English classes all four years they are in high school. They must also pass Science and History courses three out of four years. Students on the College Track must also complete at least 25 hours of Arts or Vo-Tech classes, or a combination of both.

Students on the college Track are also required to take one at least one semester of ACT/SAT prep.

Vocational Track

Students on the Vocational Track must pass English and Math for at least three years. In their fourth year they may take remedial courses, but they are still required to pass. Students on this track must pass science and history courses for at least two years.

To graduate students must also take at least 40 hours of Vo-Tech classes in their specialty area.

             Discipline

            Discipline rules and procedure will be decided upon separately for Elementary schools and the Upper/Middle School.

            Upper/Middle School and Elementary school will each have an 8-person executive board that reviews and implements rules each year. The executive board will be made up of the Superintendent all principals; with the remaining spots being filled by Curriculum Specialists. This board will meet at the beginning of each year and can be called for emergency meetings if necessary.

            Our Behavior and Rules plan will be based on a Positive Behavioral Intervention plan. Teachers and administrators will attend workshops to become educated in this type of positive reinforcement.

            Positive Behavioral Intervention (taken from the Mississippi Youth Justice Project)

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a research-based method for improving student behavior and creating a safe and productive school climate. PBIS is:

Proactive: All students are taught the critical social skills needed for success. PBIS schools set clear expectations for behavior, acknowledge and reward appropriate behavior, and implement a consistent continuum of consequences for problem behavior. Students with serious or chronic behavior problems receive behavior assessments to determine the causes of their behavior, individualized interventions, and specialized behavior supports.

Comprehensive: PBIS is employed throughout the entire school, including the cafeteria, the buses and the hallways. All school personnel are trained in PBIS and are continually supported in implementing it.

Data-driven: Schools rely on data, tracked most easily in the form of office referrals, to both develop and modify their PBIS approach (e.g. “When/where do most office referrals occur? Which teachers are referring the most students? Which students are most often referred?”).

Schools that effectively implement PBIS have:

» Reduced office referral rates (and, subsequently, suspension and expulsion rates) by up to 50%

per year.

» Improved attendance and school engagement

» Improved academic achievement

» Reduced dropout rates

» Reduced later delinquency and drug use

» Improved school atmosphere

» Increased instructional time

PBIS is consistent with special education programs. In fact, the Individuals with

Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) encourages the use of PBIS to reduce the need

to suspend or expel students with disabilities. The U.S. Department of Education’s

Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) operates a National Technical

Assistance Center that promotes PBIS and provides capacity-building information

and technical support to states and school districts.

PBIS is currently practiced in more than 4,000 schools across the country. It is recommended or required by statute in three states and is the subject of statewide initiatives or school/university partnerships in all 50 states. PBIS has shown positive effects in elementary, middle and high schools, and has proven to be effective in schools with higher percentages of at-risk students. According to the Alabama Department of Education, which has a PBIS initiative, “the PBIS program has demonstrated that it can reduce unilateral removals, long-term suspensions, and office discipline referrals.”

Budget

Superintendent= $200,000

Assistant Superintendent= 2 x 175,000= $350,000

School Board= 7 x 10,000= $70,000

Principal= 4 x 165,000= $660,000

Assistant Principal= 155,000 x 14= $2,170,000

Curriculum Specialist= 21 x 150,000= $3,150,000

Elementary Teacher (Mentor)= 20 x 125,000= $2,500,000

Elementary Teacher= 40 x 100,000= $4,000,000

Barksdale Literacy Coaches= 10 x 110,000= $1,100,000 

Upper/High School (Mentor)= 23 x 125,000=$2,875,000

Upper/High School= 47 x 100,000= $4,700,000

Office Staff = 15 x 40,000= $600,000

Security Guards= 10 x 40,000= $400,000

Technology= 130 x 5,000= $650,000

Total=23,425,000

Total x 1.25= 29,281,250

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I think these districts did the right thing. Swine flu is obviously
very contagious and it would be a much bigger problem if the virus
spread.
It is likely that the virus will not cause any significant problems,
but it is always better to err on the side of safety. As far as missed
class days, I think the schools should extend into the summer to make
up any exams that have to be taken. This should only be done after all
cases of the virus have been eliminated or atleast no one is showing
the symptoms.

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