2010 - Blue Ribbon Schools Program
Type of School: (Check all that apply) / []Charter / []Title I / []Magnet / []Choice
Name of Principal: Mr. William Childers
Official School Name: Grundy County High School
School Mailing Address:
24970 SR 108
Coalmont, TN 37313-9998
County: Grundy State School Code Number*: 0025
Telephone: (931) 692-5400 Fax: (931) 592-5403
Web site/URL: http://www.grundyschoolsystem.comE-mail:
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge all information is accurate.
Date
(Principal‘s Signature)
Name of Superintendent*: Mr. Joel Hargis
District Name: Grundy County Schools Tel: (931) 692-3467
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
Date
(Superintendent‘s Signature)
Name of School Board President/Chairperson: Mrs. Jenny Roberts
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
Date
(School Board President‘s/Chairperson‘s Signature)
*Private Schools: If the information requested is not applicable, write N/A in the space.
The original signed cover sheet only should be converted to a PDF file and emailed to Aba Kumi, Blue Ribbon Schools Project Manager () or mailed by expedited mail or a courier mail service (such as Express Mail, FedEx or UPS) to Aba Kumi, Director, Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Office of Communications and Outreach, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Room 5E103, Washington, DC 20202-8173
The signatures on the first page of this application certify that each of the statements below concerning the school‘s eligibility and compliance with U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) requirements is true and correct.
1. The school has some configuration that includes one or more of grades K-12. (Schools on the same campus with one principal, even K-12 schools, must apply as an entire school.)
2. The school has made adequate yearly progress each year for the past two years and has not been identified by the state as “persistently dangerous” within the last two years.
3. To meet final eligibility, the school must meet the state’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirement in the 2009-2010 school year. AYP must be certified by the state and all appeals resolved at least two weeks before the awards ceremony for the school to receive the award.
4. If the school includes grades 7 or higher, the school must have foreign language as a part of its curriculum and a significant number of students in grades 7 and higher must take the course.
5. The school has been in existence for five full years, that is, from at least September 2004.
6. The nominated school has not received the Blue Ribbon Schools award in the past five years, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 or 2009.
7. The nominated school or district is not refusing OCR access to information necessary to investigate a civil rights complaint or to conduct a district-wide compliance review.
8. OCR has not issued a violation letter of findings to the school district concluding that the nominated school or the district as a whole has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes. A violation letter of findings will not be considered outstanding if OCR has accepted a corrective action plan from the district to remedy the violation.
9. The U.S. Department of Justice does not have a pending suit alleging that the nominated school or the school district as a whole has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes or the Constitution‘s equal protection clause.
10. There are no findings of violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in a U.S. Department of Education monitoring report that apply to the school or school district in question; or if there are such findings, the state or district has corrected, or agreed to correct, the findings.
PART II - DEMOGRAPHIC DATAAll data are the most recent year available.
DISTRICT (Questions 1-2 not applicable to private schools)
1. Number of schools in the district: (per district designation) / 6 / Elementary schools (includes K-8)Middle/Junior high schools
1 / High schools
K-12 schools
7 / TOTAL
2. District Per Pupil Expenditure: 8619
SCHOOL (To be completed by all schools)
3. Category that best describes the area where the school is located:
[ ] Urban or large central city
[ ] Suburban school with characteristics typical of an urban area
[ ] Suburban
[ ] Small city or town in a rural area
[ X ] Rural
4. 1 Number of years the principal has been in her/his position at this school.
5. Number of students as of October 1 enrolled at each grade level or its equivalent in applying school only:
Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade Total / Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade TotalPreK / 0 / 6 / 0
K / 0 / 7 / 0
1 / 0 / 8 / 0
2 / 0 / 9 / 122 / 92 / 214
3 / 0 / 10 / 93 / 91 / 184
4 / 0 / 11 / 80 / 79 / 159
5 / 0 / 12 / 72 / 81 / 153
TOTAL STUDENTS IN THE APPLYING SCHOOL / 710
6. Racial/ethnic composition of the school: / % American Indian or Alaska Native
% Asian
% Black or African American
% Hispanic or Latino
% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
100 / % White
% Two or more races
100 / % Total
Only the seven standard categories should be used in reporting the racial/ethnic composition of your school. The final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic data to the U.S. Department of Education published in the October 19, 2007 Federal Register provides definitions for each of the seven categories.
7. Student turnover, or mobility rate, during the past year: 9%
This rate is calculated using the grid below. The answer to (6) is the mobility rate.
(1) / Number of students who transferred to the school after October 1 until theend of the year. / 13
(2) / Number of students who transferred from the school after October 1 until the end of the year. / 51
(3) / Total of all transferred students [sum of rows (1) and (2)]. / 64
(4) / Total number of students in the school as of October 1. / 710
(5) / Total transferred students in row (3)
divided by total students in row (4). / 0.090
(6) / Amount in row (5) multiplied by 100. / 9.014
8. Limited English proficient students in the school: 0%
Total number limited English proficient 2
Number of languages represented: 2
Specify languages:
Chinese and Spanish
9. Students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals: 69%
Total number students who qualify: 491
If this method does not produce an accurate estimate of the percentage of students from low-income families, or the school does not participate in the free and reduced-price school meals program, specify a more accurate estimate, tell why the school chose it, and explain how it arrived at this estimate.
10. Students receiving special education services: 21%
Total Number of Students Served: 150
Indicate below the number of students with disabilities according to conditions designated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Do not add additional categories.
3 / Autism / 0 / Orthopedic Impairment0 / Deafness / 8 / Other Health Impaired
0 / Deaf-Blindness / 116 / Specific Learning Disability
0 / Emotional Disturbance / 7 / Speech or Language Impairment
2 / Hearing Impairment / 1 / Traumatic Brain Injury
6 / Mental Retardation / 0 / Visual Impairment Including Blindness
2 / Multiple Disabilities / 0 / Developmentally Delayed
11. Indicate number of full-time and part-time staff members in each of the categories below:
Number of StaffFull-Time / Part-Time
Administrator(s) / 2 / 0
Classroom teachers / 42 / 0
Special resource teachers/specialists / 10 / 0
Paraprofessionals / 10 / 0
Support staff / 6 / 0
Total number / 70 / 0
12. Average school student-classroom teacher ratio, that is, the number of students in the school divided by the Full Time Equivalent of classroom teachers, e.g., 22:1 14 :1
13. Show the attendance patterns of teachers and students as a percentage. Only middle and high schools need to supply dropout rates. Briefly explain in the Notes section any attendance rates under 95%, teacher turnover rates over 12%, or student dropout rates over 5%.
2008-2009 / 2007-2008 / 2006-2007 / 2005-2006 / 2004-2005Daily student attendance / 92% / 84% / 96% / 95% / 98%
Daily teacher attendance / 92% / 90% / 90% / 90% / 90%
Teacher turnover rate / 25% / 15% / 15% / 15% / 15%
Student dropout rate / 2% / 8% / 6% / 7% / 4%
Please provide all explanations below.
Daily student attendance has decreased over the last three years. Much effort has and are currently being implemented to correct this problem. Efforts are centered around incoming freshman and making sure they are getting a solid foundation for them to begin their high school career.
Over the last several years GCHS have had several teachers that have taken maternity leave and alsohave had some teachers get seriously ill and have had to take extended leaves.
Due to being in a rural county, some teachers that start at GCHS go to other surrounding counties due to possible higher pay or closer to conveniences.
The 08-09 school year had a lot of teacher turnover due to budget cuts in which five positions were not filled. If five was taken from the total number the percentage would be 17%.
For the past several years, programs have steadily brought the dropout rate down. Some students do leave to begin jobs early or do not receive that solid foundation early on and would graduate late and so some chose to go ahead and drop out rather than graduate one year or a half year later then their peers.
14. For schools ending in grade 12 (high schools).
Show what the students who graduated in Spring 2009 are doing as of the Fall 2009.
Graduating class size / 174Enrolled in a 4-year college or university / 15 / %
Enrolled in a community college / 20 / %
Enrolled in vocational training / 15 / %
Found employment / 10 / %
Military service / 3 / %
Other (travel, staying home, etc.) / 12 / %
Unknown / 25 / %
Total / 100 / %
PART III - SUMMARY
The vision of Grundy County High School is to encourage students to develop to their highest potential by completing a rigorous course of study while becoming life-long learners and contributing members of the community. Traditionally, members of the community favored Friday night football and other sports activities over academics. Today, while the community enjoys the successes of their sports teams, it is supportive of the academic successes experienced by our students. Community support is shown through the volunteerism of its members and its financial support from businesses and individuals as supporters of the school’s Renaissance Program that recognizes students for good grades, behavior, and attendance. Approximately ninety percent of the students who take the state mandated end of course and Gateway exams score proficient or better.Seventy-five percent of the current faculty graduated from Grundy County High School.
In the past eleven years, Grundy County High School has experienced several milestones, including moving into a new building at a new location. Prior to the move, teachers did not have access to copy machines or internet access and were fortunate to have an overhead projector and a computer. Today, all faculty members have computers and an overhead or LCD projector, and several classrooms have Promethean boards. All mathematics classrooms have sets of graphing calculators for student use. The school has two mobile computer labs, each containing thirty laptop computers for student use and making it possible for every student to have access to a computer and the Internet.
Having been named as a High School That Works site,Grundy County High School received the High Schools That Work Gold Improvement Award for achieving significant gains in reading, mathematics, and science on the High Schools That Work Assessment Examination for the years 2004-2006. The school’s yearbook, The Mountain Laurel, has received several national awards from the University of Columbia. The Building Trades classes build a house every year on campus that is auctioned off each summer with proceeds going to purchase materials for the construction of a new house the following school year.
The school’s Comprehensive Development Classroom (CDC) has been recognized for their accomplishments in academics through the use of music. Members of CDC with the help of their instructor and assistants have formed the Seedy Sea Band and performed at different venues across the state including the 2009 National High Schools That Work Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. The band was formed as a learning technique used to enhance the academic program set forth in the class.
Another milestone achieved by Grundy County High School is that more students have attended the Governor’s Schools and are taking college preparatory classes and receiving college credit. Over the past five years students have been offered Advanced Placement courses in English and history, Dual Enrollment courses in statistics, calculus, psychology, English, and computer classes.Several career and technological courses have articulation agreements with Chattanooga State Technical Community College and Tennessee Technology Center of Shelbyville.