ERIC Number: ED462564
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1999
Pages: 14
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Case Study: Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School [and] Orangeburg Consolidated Five Technology Center, Orangeburg, S.C.
Southern Regional Education Board, Atlanta, GA.
When the new superintendent of Orangeburg School District Five was appointed in 1992, he found that Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School graduates did not have the skills to enter the workplace and postsecondary institutions that require high-level academic skills. He identified these three things that Orangeburg would need to do to improve academic and technical achievement: find a principal with energy, dedication, and concern for students; convince the community the school needed to improve; and build faculty commitment and support teachers in holding students to high standards. The superintendent and his leadership team took these steps to raise standards and improve student achievement: made the high school a place where students can learn; raised graduation requirements; provided a special environment for ninth graders to give them a boost as they enter high school; raised expectations at school and in the classroom; provided structure, time, and staff development to support improved student performance; taught in ways that motivate students to learn challenging content; upgraded the vocational program; and strengthened guidance and advisement. Orangeburg's leaders and teachers changed the culture of learning at the high school and technology center. Overall academic performance improved; students took the recommended curriculum; and the high school increased its expectations of students. (YLB)
Descriptors: Academic Achievement, Block Scheduling, Case Studies, Community Support, Educational Change, Educational Environment, Educational Improvement, English Instruction, Grade 9, Graduation Requirements, High Schools, Instructional Leadership, Integrated Curriculum, Mathematics Instruction, Program Improvement, School Community Relationship, School Guidance, School Holding Power, School Organization, Science Instruction, Staff Development, Student Motivation, Teacher Administrator Relationship, Teacher Collaboration, Teacher Expectations of Students, Vocational Education, Vocational Schools
Southern Regional Education Board, Publication Orders Department, 592 10th St. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30318-5790 (99V01; $1). Tel: 404-875-9211, ext. 236; Fax: 404-872-1477; Web site: http://www.sreb.org/. For full text: http://www.sreb.org/programs/hstw/publications/case_studi es/Orangeburg.asp.
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Southern Regional Education Board, Atlanta, GA.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A