RECOMMENDATIONS
From an analysis of the data, observations of schools, and interviews with school
district officials, the SchoolMatch Audit team makes the following recommendations:
Academic Program
- In the Osceola County Schools we find that the grade point average is 3.03
(reflected on Graph 9), which is higher than the mean of 2.4 for this districts’
demographic group of similar schools. This indicates grade inflation does exist in
the district. To attain the effectiveness level of a 2.2 GPA, the district should
encourage teachers to assign grades appropriate to the level of student work.
Likewise, the district should make efforts to have students and parents understand
that admissions directors in institutions of higher education are far more interested
in class rank and college entrance examination scores than they are in grade and
that inflated grades will not positively affect either of these indicators. Doing so
will reward high quality work and raise expectations for all students.
The district should consider administering departmental exams for all cognitive
areas of study and adopting rubrics to establish uniformity in grading practices.
- The district should redouble efforts to assist students in scoring 3, 4 or 5 on AP
exams.
- The pre-kindergarten initiatives in the Osceola County school District over the
course of the last few years have been commendable. Regrettably legislative
changes may threaten the funding and existence of some pre-kindergarten
programs in the Sunshine State. The audit team strongly recommends that the
Osceola County School District make pre-kindergarten programs a high priority
in their budgeting process recognizing the value of early childhood education in
eliminating many academic problems in later years.
Leadership
- Develop guidelines for shared governance in all buildings to assure that each
school is truly site-based rather than just principal-based. Principals need to
receive guidelines and training for the involvement of their staff and school
advisory councils on critical issues such as new staff selection, budget allocations,
curriculum selection, and facility modification. Principals should be encouraged
to think in term of “we” rather than “I” when describing school program,
accomplishments and achievements.
- As indicated by the responses on the Perception Survey, there is a need to
improve communications in the district with parents, teachers and administrators.
- The district leadership should seek ways to involve teachers, parents, and students
in more decision-making as indicated by the ratings of parents and teachers on the
Perception Survey.
- Teachers indicated a need for clearer and more equitable implementation of
policy. Therefore, the district leadership should develop strategies to address this
issue.
Emphasis on Learning
- While FCAT scores for 2000-2001 showed overall improvement from the
previous year, efforts should be increased to ensure that improvement in these
important measures of student achievement continues.
- A “home computer survey” conducted by the Osceola County School District
gives evidence that a majority of students in the Osceola County School District
do not have access to computers in their homes. Research has documented the
extreme advantage that students with computers in their homes have over other
students in terms of academic success. It is therefore recommended that the
district implement a technology plan to provide equity for all students with
priority actions identified to address the learning needs of the poorest achieving
students. Specifically it is recommended that the district:
- Reduce disparity in low and high income student access to computers and
other new technologies by seeking new funding to provide software,
hardware, and needed faculty training.
- Consider the implementation of programs such as “ET (Educational
Technology) Goes Home,” summer personal computer load programs, and
school district supported staff computer purchasing program, particularly
in low income communities.
- Identify clear, data-driven learning needs that will guide the
implementation of new instructional technologies.
- Accelerate plans for introducing new instructional technologies including
comprehensive staff training, Internet connectivity, on-line library
database, district-wide inventory of hardware and software.
- Establish administrative procedures for the identification and use of
software in classrooms.
- Establish policy on technology and technology equity.
- Establish collaborations with universities, governmental agencies,
community agencies, and others to support, enhance and continuously
upgrade the District Technology Plan.
- In keeping with Florida’s Best Financial Management Practices, the district
should develop an equipment replacement policy that specifies a timeframe for
technologies to be retrofitted, recycled or replaced.
- Parents, teachers and administrators indicated in perception surveys and
interviews that there was a need to reduce the number of interruptions to
instruction in the secondary schools of Osceola County. Guidelines should be
established to correct this infringement upon academic time.
- The district should develop a plan to showcase programs that have been proven
effective in improving student achievement in Osceola Schools
- During site visits, the team did not hear a clear emphasis on improving student
achievement as a priority of the school. The district leadership should explore the
manner in which their priority for student achievement is being implemented at
the school level.
School Climate
- More effort needs to be made to get parent volunteers into the schools to
encourage them to take an active part in school committees and functions
- Recognizing the difficulty of improving attendance in mobile, diverse and lowsocioeconomic
schools, it is recommended that efforts be redoubled to reduce
student absenteeism as perceived by parents, teachers, and administrators.
Parents, teachers and administrators agree that rules regarding attendance and
promptness have been made explicit in the schools and that students are expected
to be prepared for class. Both teachers and administrators, however, perceive that
teachers could do a better job in taking attendance and school personnel could
improve procedures for contacting parents when children are absent.
Monitoring Student Progress
- The audit team recommends the district institute a program of follow-up of all of
its graduates, particularly those in the 25-30 year age range, using such data to
refine and improve the high school experience.
- Continue to employ every creative strategy to keep students in school and cause
further decreases in the annual dropout percentage. Successful strategies for
decreasing dropouts are similar to those utilized for improving attendance:
- Build on the successes of the already-established alternative educational opportunities
- Monetary incentives for high risk children
- Mentoring programs with high-profile community leaders
- Work/Study options
- Class acceleration scheduling
- Community partnerships aimed at dropout reduction
- Intensive counseling sessions for high risk students
- Reclamation programs for students who have dropped out of school
The most effective way to reduce dropouts is to provide ways for students to
succeed based on concrete, attainable effectiveness levels and to promote
participation in school activities. Principles for school success include the ability
to read well, particularly for academically at-risk students.
Community Involvement
- Increase the number of courses available to student who are not college bound.
- Explore options to increase capital building to reduce the number of portable
classrooms.
- Very few vocational opportunities exist for Gateway students.
- The Osceola School District should adopt a standardized format for staff business
cards that emphasizes the district affiliation and logo as well as the school logo.
- The district leadership should increase efforts to utilize the system-wide cable
channel more fully in each school.
Human Resource Management
- The district leadership should develop a systemic process for central office
review of teacher appointment recommendations.
- The district leadership should make efforts to identify and appoint
administrators with diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, especially at the
highest levels of school system management.
- The school district leadership should consider a systemic process for inclusion
of teachers in the hiring of teachers.
- Osceola administrators should work with the Osceola County Education
Association and principals to reduce the teacher absentee rate as evidenced by
the hard data and the perception of parents, teachers and administrators that
teacher absentee rates are too high from the current 8.88 days/year toward the
average of 7 days/year and effectiveness level 5 days/year.
- Significant efforts should be made by the district leadership to reduce the
number of teachers with temporary certification or letters of authorization.
- Consideration should be made to re-examine the school-based management,
including shared governance with teachers, staff, and parents rather than
simply principal based. Site visits and interviews indicate a variance in the
manner in which this process is being implemented in the schools.
- Efforts should be redoubled to recruit and retain effective teachers and staff
for the Osceola School District.
Facilities
- While the district has been commended for its maintenance of facilities, the
audit team is concerned by the number of portable classrooms deployed in the
school district. This is a concern shared by most everyone in the district. The
district houses approximately 7100 students in 310 temporary/portable
buildings. These buildings appear to be becoming permanent structures.
Portable classrooms inhibit instructional supervision, limit the sharing of
resources, and limit opportunities for teachers to enjoy the advantage of
casually observing other teachers in action as well as limiting teacher
interaction and support.
Despite the excellent maintenance program, the cost will continue to increase
as these temporary buildings age and the value depreciates. There is a need to
provide permanent classrooms to accommodate an anticipated increase in
pupil populations. The audit team recommends that district leadership and the
school board move aggressively to address this issue.
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