For our New Teachers: The Journey has Begun . . .

EXCELLENT teaching, EVERY day in EVERY class for EVERY student

After almost two full weeks of "scheduled" preparation (even though many of you spent much more time than that!), you finally met your students last week.  Today you are seeing them for the fourth day and, I hope, your school day is beginning to feel a little more routine.

I remember 17 years worth of the first week of school.  Exhausting is too kind of a word for what I felt at the end of each day; not just physical exhaustion but mental exhaustion as well. I didn't have my "teacher voice" back yet and I often had a week of laryngitis after the first full week of teaching.  There was so much "stuff" to do that I found myself not being able to do the important thing--planning for instruction for my students--until late into the afternoon or early evening.  The good news is that my stamina would increase, my organizational skills would adapt to the new schedule and students, and I would get into the "swing" of planning, grading, giving feedback, etc. for yet another year.

It was a joy to get to meet you all during our new teacher orientation days.  I look forward to getting to know you better and to learn alongside you as we all journey together to help our students achieve their potential and more.  I have two "hopes" for you at this stage of your journey in Hoover City Schools.

Hope #1

I hope that you sensed at new teacher orientation that we were welcoming you into our Hoover Family.  Even though we are a large school district, we had fairly small beginnings and we strive to hold onto that family feeling.  Dr. Dodson and our curriculum staff embrace the idea of a large professional learning community, continually growing and learning to meet the diverse needs of our students.  I hope that you know that you are a VALUED MEMBER of our family!

I hope you have found a community to belong at your school.  I hope that you are engaging with a grade level team or discipline department or other community at your school.  I hope that community is providing you with information and support to help you navigate the very difficult first few weeks in a new school.  

I also hope that you feel a part of the larger community, your school.  I hope that your school leadership has provided opportunities during the days prior to the beginning of school for you to meet with the entire faculty so that you get a sense of the culture of your school.  I hope that your principal articulated his/her vision of what s/he hopes you will accomplish together.  I hope that you feel a part of something very important as you work as a team member to help your school achieve its best year ever.

Finally, I hope that you have either been assigned or have found that one "buddy", "mentor", "friend" who can be your 'go to' for any question you might have.  We all have questions we can't ask in a grade level/department meeting or a faculty meeting!  We need someone safe to help us with those issues.  I hope you have that person.  If you don't, please reach out to your school leadership or to Dr. Adams or me and we will help identify that person for you.

Hope #2

I hope that the students that have been in your class for three days now also feel a sense of community.  I hope that every student in each of your classes feels that s/he "belongs".  I hope that each of your students feels that you believe in him/her and that s/he can be successful in your class.  I hope that each of your students knows that s/he has an advocate in you and that you are there to help him/her succeed.  It would be my ultimate hope that if someone asked your students what they knew about you after four days of school, they would say, "my teacher cares about me."

I saw the photo on the top of the blogpost on Facebook.  It was posted by Shades Mountain third grade teacher Deanna Straub and these are the "real" hands of her third grade students this year.  This photo spoke volumes to me.  When I saw the photo, I could just imagine the potential that was attached to these precious hands.  I can't really tell boys from girls, tall from short, extrovert from introvert.  But the photo just shouts we are here to live, learn and grow together.  What a vision of a classroom community!

I had the privilege to be at Bluff Park Elementary School during the primary grades (K - 2) meet the teacher.  It was one of the most moving experiences that I have had in a long time.  I stood in the foyer greeting students and parents as they came in.  They came in smiling, both students and parents.  There were almost as many dads and granddads as there were moms and grandmothers.  Some came in laden with school supplies and materials.  Some did not speak English.  Some came in wheelchairs.  I would ask students who their teacher was going to be, many could tell me, others were too young to remember.

But, the aspect that inspired me the most was that EVERY parent, grand parent, aunt, uncle, guardian and child who came into that building brought HOPE with them.  These people brought their most precious treasures with the HOPE that the Bluff Park staff was going to take good care of them, love them, and teach them well.  The HOPE was palpable in that school foyer. God help us all to not disappoint these families.

While I never experienced that exact kind of "meet the teacher" experience as a high school teacher, I have been a middle and high school mom and know that those parents, grandparents, guardians, also HOPE for us to be exceptional for their child.  Sometimes, they even HOPE we will be the miracle person to reach their child because few have been able to.  Sometimes, they HOPE we will inspire their child to succeed because they haven't tasted success in school in a long time.  Many parents HOPE that we will teach, coach and/or direct their students so they are better able to compete for academic scholarships, athletic scholarships, music & art scholarships, military academy appointments, and college acceptance.   Mostly, they HOPE we will help their young person mature and grow into an adult able to successfully take on the 21st century world.  God help us all to not disappoint these families.

I HOPE that one day you can echo me when you say that coming to work for Hoover City Schools is the best professional decision that you ever made.  We are here to support you along this journey!

  

First Day of School- August 13, 2015

There are a lot of tired children (and teachers) tonight, but what a great first day of school in Hoover! I saw so many wonderful things in schools across the district today.  Little ones were learning to walk in line for the first time, middle schoolers were struggling to master new locker combinations, and newly licensed teen drivers were driving themselves into high school parking lots for the first time.  I just love the first day of school!

Thank you teachers for showing up in the hundreds on a volunteer basis over the summer for workshops that will push learning in your classroom that extra degree to 212!  Thank you bus drivers for safely transporting thousands of children to and from school!  Thank you to the maintenance and grounds crews that made our schools comfortable and productive today!  Thank you to our custodians who worked so hard to make the floors shine and all the hallways clean!  Thank you to the resource officers who keep our schools safe!  Thank you to the counselors who soothed broken hearts of children (and mothers)!  Thank you to the office workers and school leaders who were ready to step in and get things back on track when the unexpected occurred!

This was a great day for starting the new school year in Hoover City Schools!

New Response to Intervention (RTI) Procedures

After several years of working with the new Response to Intervention (RTI) approach to assisting struggling learners, the district undertook efforts this summer to revise our RTI academic procedures.  The goal was to simplify procedures and provide more practical guidance to common problems and questions faced by school Problem-Solving Teams.  One mark of success is evident in the fact that the manual was reduced in size from 59 pages in the previous version to only 15 pages.  Each year, a new RTI Assessment and Resource Guide will be published that will specify the assessments and resources that will be supported by the district for that academic year.  Because assessments and resources often change from one year to the next, this approach should reduce the number of times that the manual itself will have to be updated.  We hope that these resources will be useful to teachers and leaders in planning and delivering progressive intervention strategies to assist our struggling learners. 

Follow this link to download a copy of the new RTI manual for Hoover City Schools.

Follow this link to download a copy of the RTI Assessment and Resource Guide for 2015-16.

ACT Aspire Results for Spring 2015

As promised by the state, we have received our ACT Aspire results much sooner this year.  Reports are still being released, so there are things we don't know yet, but we've seen enough so far to know that we have a lot to celebrate in the 2015 scores.

The ACT Aspire assessments are given in the 3rd through 8th grade (in 2016, they will extend through the 10th grade).  The tests are aligned with the same ACT test that high school juniors and seniors take to qualify for college admission.  In 2015, students were tested in the areas of English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science.  Students scores fall into the category of Ready (the student is on track to meet college readiness benchmarks on the ACT), Close (the student is below but near the readiness benchmark), and Needs Intervention (the student is below the readiness benchmark).  If you want to know more about the student score reports, follow this link. 

The English test focuses primarily on the development of language skills.  The college readiness benchmark for this test is based on typical performance in a first-year college English composition course.  Based on the spring 2015 results, 82% of our students are Ready in this area (a 2% increase from 2014).  The National Percentile Rank (NPR) for all students in this area was 63.3 (this means our students scored as well as 63.3% of the national population who took this test).  

The Mathematics test focuses on the ability to solve problems, justify mathematical explanations for why things work the way they do, and use mathematical drawings and expressions as models for understanding problems.  The college readiness benchmark for this test is based on typical performance in a first-year college mathematics course, and because mathematics is challenging for the typical college freshman, this is a more difficult benchmark for students to reach.  Based on the spring 2015 results, 65% of our students are Ready in this area (a 5% increase from 2014).  The NPR for all students in this area was 68.3. 

The Reading test focuses on the understanding increasingly challenging text and integrating knowledge and ideas from different sources.  The college readiness benchmark for this test is based on typical performance in a first-year college history course.  Based on the spring 2015 results, 58% of our students are Ready in this area (a 3% increase from 2015).  The NPR for all students in this area was 65.3.  

The Science test focuses on the use of science practices using investigations of real-world scenarios. The college readiness benchmark for this test is based on typical performance in a first-year college biology course, and like mathematics, this is a difficult benchmark to reach because college biology is a course in which a lot of college freshmen will struggle.  This was the first year that we assessed grades 3 through 8 using the Aspire Science test.  Based on the spring 2015 results, 55% of our students are Ready in this area.  The NPR for all students in this area was 65.3. 

Because 2015 was the second year that we have administered the ACT Aspire, we received a new score category this year for those students who took Aspire tests in both 2014 and 2015.  This new score category is a Growth Percentile, and it represents the degree to which each student increased his or her score from one year to the next in comparison with the national population.  A Growth Percentile higher than 50 means that a student made greater gains than at least half of the national population, and our combined scores for all tests except Science exceeded that measure.  Growth Percentile was not reported for Science this year because 2015 was the first year for our students.  Growth Percentile scores for the other tested areas were:  

• English- 55.0
• Mathematics- 54.9
• Reading- 53.2

I am very proud of our students and teachers for the great improvements evident in this year's scores. We must always be careful about reading too much, for good or bad, into a single measurement of any kind.  What the data says is not as important as how we respond to the data as educators.  When we see evidence that students are growing and improving, it helps us to know that we are doing the right things.  I am excited for the future of this school system and the children it serves!  

Ron Dodson, PhD

Assistant Superintendent of Instruction

Hoover City Schools 

Civics and Government Awareness Month: August 2015

The Alabama State Department of Education has designated August 2015 as Civics and Government Awareness Month.  Dr. Bice is encouraging teachers and school leaders to visit the Alabama legislature to witness state government in action, so they can share firsthand with their students what they learned from the visit.  The Alabama legislature's special session reconvenes on August 3, 2015 and may continue through August 11 and provides an opportunity to see government in action as we start a new school year.

The ALSDE also encourages 7th Grade Civics and 12th Grade Government teachers to consider the following exploring the following activities during August:

• Review the roles and responsibilities of local school board members, state school board members, county commissioners, and city council members.
• Visit a meeting conducted by any of the above governmental entities.
• Invite school board members and other elected or appointed officials to visit a classroom in one or more of your schools.
• Review the three branches of state government and focus on the roles and responsibilities of your state representatives and senators in the Alabama legislature. Invite your legislators to visit your classroom.
• Review the structure of the three branches of federal government and focus on the roles and responsibilities of the US Congress and Alabama's Congressional delegation.

The month of August also coincides with the US Congressional break, and some of our national leaders could be invited to visit your classrooms.

HCS Students earn record number of International Baccalaureate (IB) diplomas and record number of Advanced Placement (AP) qualifying scores

The 2015 Hoover High School International Baccalaureate (IB) graduates earned an unprecedented number of IB diplomas.  HHS had 38 students going for the full IB diploma and 31 of those students made the required scores to earn this prestigious diploma, recognized worldwide as a mark of exemplary achievement.  Both of these numbers are record highs for Hoover City Schools.

IB Coordinator, Brad Coltrane made the following observation about the 2015 IB graduating class.  "In addition to the record number of students earning diplomas, we also saw an increase in students taking individual IB exams, which allows students the benefits of IB classes with additional flexibility. In most subjects, Hoover IB students score well above the national and worldwide averages.  Passing one IB exam is considered a key indicator of college success; all of our IB diploma students passed three or more."

He continues to say, "I am extremely proud of our pass rate of 82%.  Our district goal is 80%, because it shows you are providing students a very strong chance of success and also providing the opportunity for students who may struggle, have to work harder, or care more about the process than the result.  We had numerous students in the class who overcame personal and academic obstacles to complete the program, and they are all very well prepared for college."

The 2015 HHS IB classmembers are not only very capable in the classroom, but in all areas of life.  Several will be attending college on both athletic and academic scholarships.  Some are award-winning artists and musicians.  One will be serving our county in the U.S. Marine Corps.  Hoover IB graduates will be freshmen this fall at Princeton, Yale, Georgetown, Alabama, Duke, Columbia, UAB, Georgia Tech, Auburn, Berea, and Rhodes.

In addition to historical IB success, Hoover City Schools also saw an unprecedented number of qualifying scores on Advanced Placement exams.  Hoover and Spain Park High School students took 1,440 Advanced Placement exams.  Our students earned a qualifying score on 925 of these exams!  Congratulations to all of these students and to the teachers from kindergarten through grade 12 who prepared them to undertake rigorous college-level coursework while in high school.

A qualifying score on an AP exam has the potential to earn our students college credit at many colleges and universities.  The average cost of a three-hour course at Alabama and Auburn is approximately $1,000.  If each of the 925 qualifying scores resulted in a single course worth of credit at Alabama or Auburn, Hoover families would save $925,000 in college tuition based on this year's results!  While not every score will earn college credit (or some students will not opt for the college credit), many of our students will go to out-of-state colleges and prestigious private universities where the tuition costs are much greater.  Hoover City Schools does a great service to our students and their families by preparing them for success in AP.

One of the areas of extraordinary success in AP is the social studies department of Spain Park High School.  Under the leadership of department chair, Richard Stamper, and Craig Thompson, Spain Park students earned 204 qualifying scores in this discipline alone including 72 qualifying scores in Human Geography and 70 qualifying scores in U. S. History.  When asked about the success of the social studies program Mr. Stamper stated, "Our belief at SPHS is that enrollment in AP courses is critical if our school is to remain one of the strongest academic high schools in Alabama. Even for students who do not "pass" the AP exam, exposure to the rigor of the AP US History curriculum is critical as they move into a university setting.  The growth of the AP US History program, along with solid pass rates, are clear indicators that there continues to be untapped academic potential within the students of Hoover City Schools."  These teachers encourage students who have not previously considered Advanced Placement to take on the challenge of these courses--and their results speak for themselves.  Congratulations, SPHS social studies teachers and students!

Another notable area of achievement in Advanced Placement is physics.  Even at many very large high schools like HHS and SPHS, there is a small enrollment in AP physics.  Between both of our high schools, our students earned 107 qualifying scores in an AP physics class; 44 in AP Physics 1 and 63 in calculus based AP physics, mechanics.

Jeff Johnson, who moved from HHS to SPHS last year to grow the AP physics program there, made the following comment, "We finished our first year of AP Physics 1 and AP Physics C at Spain Park and I could not be more proud of these remarkable students. These students stepped up to the challenge of AP Physics and demonstrated a tremendous amount of growth over the year.  They never gave up, never stopped accepting the challenges that were thrown at them.  I am proud of the scores they achieved but, more than any number, I am proud of the perseverance and 'grittiness' they demonstrated.  If I could give my students a gift, it would be the ability to see themselves through my eyes and realize how special they are.  I am so so proud of them."

Dr. Mark Conner directs the engineering department at HHS and teaches calculus based AP physics.  His former students continue to share with him the value of what they learned in his course.  Ashley Garner, Class of 2013, wrote to Dr. Conner, "Thank you for making me take AP Physics C.  I would be totally lost in Engineering Physics 1600 right now, and I definitely would not have scored 53 percentage points above the class average on our fist exam (had I not taken this class.)"

HCS students also earned qualifying scores in biology, calculus, chemistry, computer science, English language, English literature, environmental science, European history, Chinese, German, Japanese, Spanish, economics, music theory, psychology, statistics, art and U. S. government.

In addition to a record number of AP qualifying scores, Hoover City Schools had an unprecedented number of students earning recognition from the College Board because of their achievement on AP exams during their high school careers.  The College Board recognizes four different levels of achievement which are summarized in the table below:

Note:  A qualifying score on an AP exam is a score of 3, 4 or 5.

Achievement	Hoover High School Awardees	Spain Park High School Awardees	District Awardees
AP Scholar A score of ‘3’ or better on 3 or more AP Exams	51	58	109
AP Scholar with Honor An average score of ‘3.25’ or higher on all AP exams taken, and scores of ‘3’ or better on four or more of these exams	15	24	39
AP Scholar with Distinction An average score of ‘3.5’ or higher on all AP exams taken, and scores of ‘3’ or better on five or more of these exams	16	30	46
National AP Scholar An average score of ‘4’ or higher on all AP exams taken, and scores of ‘4’ or higher on eight or more of these exams	1	6	7

One of the students earning the National AP Scholar recognition was SPHS graduate, Elizabeth Sturgeon.  Elizabeth's parents, Richard and Jill Sturgeon are teachers at HHS and SPHS respectively, and Richard is the AP U. S. History teacher at HHS.  Elizabeth will be attending Samford University this fall where she will BEGIN with 28 hours of college credit, just shy of being a sophomore before her first day of college!  When asked about her AP experience she said, "Beyond the advanced material in AP, I am glad that I have had teachers who pushed beyond the AP curriculum to help me think and just be educated.  I am appreciative that AP goes beyond the test to deeper learning.  I had some of the best teachers who challenged me.  Plus, thanks to Mr. Carboni's AP Calculus class, I do not have to take Calculus in college."

In addition to Elizabeth, other SPHS National AP Scholars were Rachel Ferrell, Ayaka Fujihashi, Veena Krishnan, Christina McLaughlin, and Joshua Taggert.  Rebecca Townsend from HHS also earned the National AP Scholar designation.  Congratulations to these outstanding students!