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Creating a 7-12 School: Lessons Learned Lyn Stevens, Principal

Creating a 7-12 School: Lessons Learned Lyn Stevens, Principal Port Hope High School & Dr. Hawkins Catharine Tozer, parent of 4. Port Hope High School & Dr. Hawkins (grades 7 & 8). Located in Port Hope, a town of 12,000 on Lake Ontario an hour east of Toronto

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Creating a 7-12 School: Lessons Learned Lyn Stevens, Principal

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  1. Creating a 7-12 School: Lessons Learned • Lyn Stevens, Principal Port Hope High School & Dr. Hawkins • Catharine Tozer, parent of 4

  2. Port Hope High School & Dr. Hawkins (grades 7 & 8) • Located in Port Hope, a town of 12,000 on Lake Ontario an hour east of Toronto • Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPR) • In 1999: One high school in Port Hope, five elementary schools K-6, one stand-alone intermediate school grades 7&8 (Dr. Hawkins), one elementary school outside of town K-8.

  3. Dr. Hawkins school (grade 7&8) 1999

  4. Port Hope Highschool

  5. Background The Fact Finding Committee was formed in September 1999 to examine the possible closure of Dr. Hawkins Senior P.S. and the relocation of these students into Port Hope High School. The high school was under capacity. Dr. Hawkins was 104 years old, over crowded, with two portables, lacking in field/yard space and having limited facilities for the delivery of the new curriculum. During the two-year process, recommendations were made to the Board that included the decision to close Dr. Hawkins and the building and renovations necessary to amalgamate the two schools.The students and staff moved into Port Hope High School in September 2001.

  6. Initial Parent concerns • Separation of two age groups • Space accommodation/room allocations • Supervision • Staffing • Shared spaces- how will it work?

  7. The process • 1. Fact finding Committee appointed by Board of trustees • 3. Board of Trustees votes to close Dr. Hawkins school (7/8), with conditions • 4. Implementation Committee

  8. Year one: Fact finding committee • In the first year (1999-2000), we gathered information that culminated in the decision to close Dr. Hawkins and move the students into high school. The following recommendations were presented to KPR Board: Administration allotment (1 Principal & 2 Vice Principals) to serve the needs of all students and staff and to provide for a smooth transition into the new facilities; new gym to be built for Dr. Hawkins’ students; renovations to existing PHHS space to provide improvements for curriculum delivery to include 2 Science & Technology classrooms for grades 7 & 8, a large open area to be remodeled for grades 7 & 8 Special Education programming, a music room for Dr. Hawkins, the relocation of PHHS Machine Shop and Communication Technology classrooms; and separate office area, classrooms and entrance for Dr. Hawkins’ students

  9. First things we learned as parents • Students & teachers for 7&8 are still elementary, not high school, no matter what building they’re in! - supervision requirements - union - books - rules & code of behaviour - rotary, but limited, same as before - grade 8 graduation & grad dance

  10. parents learned … 2. Not complete strangers, surprise! • outside of big cities, high school kids & grade 7&8’s already know each other, they’re siblings, cousins, neighbours etc. 3. Embarrassing - grade 7&8 kids act MORE MATURELY around high school students

  11. Board of Trustees’ decisions • School closure • Delayed one year • High school renovations • Additional vice principal time for Hawkins (grade 7&8s) wing

  12. Year Two:Implementation Committee In the second year (2000-01), we examined all possible staff, student and parent concerns: location of Hawkins’ classrooms, areas to share (cafeteria, library, field space), areas to separate (office, gym, computer lab), implications for timetables/scheduling, staffing; School Councils; school dances/activities. The committees worked diligently to create a “school within a school” that would enable Hawkins’ students to feel welcome, safe and secure in the new facility.

  13. Lessons learned • Communicate, communicate, communicate: there can never be enough! ·Regular communicationwith all people involved in the school community (staff, students, parents, and community members) through the use of minutes, newsletters, pamphlets, local radio station, newspapers and community forums to disseminate information and gather input. ·Thorough examination of all options available, keeping an open mind, focusing on the needs of students, efficient and effective use of resources, the best ways to provide programs and services, the best use of facilities and the future projections for growth.

  14. 2.     The Change Process Recognize that change is a process and acknowledge the transition stage (3-5 years). ·Moving was stressful and caused anxiety in all (staff, students, parents) ·Loss of identity, creation of new identity ·Sharing space ·Focus on the positives, building relationships and connections across the school

  15. 3.Current realities ·ProfessionalLearningCommittee. third year (2001-present) The Professional Learning committee was formed to begin the process of developing our new school identity, Dr. Hawkins/PHHS. Parents, staff and students were very clear on their vision of our school organization as “A School Within a School”. We believed that it was important to recognize our shared beliefs, our distinctive characteristics and begin to envision our future directions.

  16. We started with the creation of a shared vision: • In an environment that is safe, secure and respectful, we provide programs and services that recognize the distinct characteristics and diverse needs of our senior elementary and secondary students. Our goal is to enable all students to acquire knowledge, skills and experiences that prepare them to become contributing and caring members of society.

  17. The school community (staff, students, parents) continue to support distinct identities for each school. There are also several barriers to becoming “one school”: separate federations, two sets of working conditions/collective agreements, two school organizations (semester & year long), different daily schedules/period lengths/bell times, budgets. • Students and staff are very territorial and need spaces to call their own. The grade 6 students and their parents want a smaller school community area to ease the transition into a new environment.

  18. Our current focus is on BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS and MAKING CONNECTIONS between the staff and students across the grades 7-12. The activities, which facilitate building capacity, are: • Teachers in grades 7-12 meet together at monthly staff meetings and share expertise: Reading and writing strategies which focus on preparation for the OSSLT, Standards of Practice and Professional Conduct, Teacher Performance Appraisal, Emotional Intelligence, Instructional Strategies That Work, Valuing Our Differences, Classroom Management, Assessment & Evaluation Tools, Character Education

  19. ·Two school-wide committees have been developed that focus on student achievement, one in area of Literacy, the other in Mathematics. 1) - teachers in grades 7-10, all subject areas, meet monthly to prepare students for the OSSLT; they developed a school action plan and facilitated/ coordinated the implementation of strategies in all subject disciplines to increase student success.

  20. 2) - teachers in grades 7-9 meet to prepare students for grade 9 Provincial Mathematics Assessment. They examine curriculum expectations and instructional strategies, especially in the Grade 9 Applied program and they align concepts in gr.7, 8 & 9; they developed a parent brochure on our Mathematics program; they assist with the placement of students in grade 9. A selected group of grade 8 students were placed in grade 9 Academic Math during second semester. Consideration is being given to students in all levels for advanced placement.

  21. Six Keys for Success 1. Separate office areas & 7/8 secretary 2. Separate entrance for 7&8’s 3. Administration – one principal and two vice principals. 4. Separate recess yard for 7&8’s 5. Washrooms for 7&8s separate from high school washrooms 6. United School Council

  22. Best ideas • Reinvest dollar savings: Four years of savings from closing the old school were reinvested in renovations to the high school • 7&8’s have their own gym – no scheduling problems or rivalries • Acknowledge the high school’s loss of space – use some dollars to improve program delivery at high school level too - benefits all students in the building • Entire 7/8 staff kept together and moved to the new building • Extra administration time for the first two years adjustment • Strong leadership – board chose a principal who strongly believed the 7-12 model could work: absolutely critical

  23. Could have done differently… • New gym - different location • Cafeteria too small for 7/8’s all at once • 7/8 yard usable but not completed • Transportation-best to have students mixed on buses for best behaviour • Library- could be expanded • Computer labs- all on same server • School bells- ring at different times

  24. Evidence it’s working well • One student transition into the building and established comfort levels and feelings of confidence • Code of Conduct and expectations are consistent and established throughout the building • Coaching extracurricular sports activities: PHHS students coach Dr. Hawkins’ students in after school sports and teachers from dr. Hawkins and PHHS coach each others’ students • PHHS students act as Peer Mentors/Helpers and Teacher Assistants in Dr. Hawkins’ classrooms through the Cooperative Education Program and through the Student Leadership course. • PHHS students attend orientation in August to assist with transition of Dr. Hawkins’ students from grade 8-9. • PHHS students travel in September to Camp Olympia, and in June to Midland, with grade 7 students and act as Group Leaders

  25. Joint Spirit Activities; such as Terry Fox Run, Anti-Bullying assemblies, Guest Speakers • Joint Guidance and Career Education activities planned in the Teacher Advisor Program grades 7-10 • Student government: the grade 8’s hear high school student candidates’ election speeches and get to vote in the high school election in May • Increased student achievement on grade 9 EQAO math test( highest in Board last year) and grade 10 Literacy scores ( 98 % success rate in test + course) • Student, parent & teacher feedback- 100% positive on decision as best for program delivery

  26. Can we come in too? • The grade 7 & 8 students from North Hope P.S. (40 students) were added in September 2003 to Dr. Hawkins. The parents from this rural community of Garden Hill did not want to add their children at the time of amalgamation. A review occurred 1 year after amalgamation of the schools. The parents are very pleased with the decision to have their children at the new school because of the advantages in our facilities, program, staffing and resources.

  27. We believe that combining Dr. Hawkins 7&8’s and PHHS into one building has provided us with multiple opportunities to increase our focus on improving student achievement and success.

  28. Dr. Hawkins school - 2005

  29. Other Questions??????????????????????

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