2010 - Blue Ribbon Schools Program
Type of School: (Check all that apply) / []Charter / [X]Title I / []Magnet / []Choice
Name of Principal: Mr. Chris Mance
Official School Name: Gainesville High School
School Mailing Address:
830 Century Pl
Gainesville, GA 30501-3002
County: Hall State School Code Number*: 3050
Telephone: (770) 536-4441 Fax: (770) 287-2031
Web site/URL: http://www.gainesvillehighschool.net/E-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*: Dr. Merrianne Dyer
District Name: Gainesville City Schools Tel: (770) 536-5275
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: Mr. David Syfan
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) / 5 / Elementary schools (includes K-8)1 / Middle/Junior high schools
1 / High schools
K-12 schools
7 / TOTAL
2. District Per Pupil Expenditure: 8315
SCHOOL (To be completed by all schools)
3. Category that best describes the area where the school is located:
[ ] Urban or large central city
[ X ] Suburban school with characteristics typical of an urban area
[ ] Suburban
[ ] Small city or town in a rural area
[ ] Rural
4. 2 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 / 260 / 232 / 492
3 / 0 / 10 / 184 / 163 / 347
4 / 0 / 11 / 121 / 128 / 249
5 / 0 / 12 / 101 / 124 / 225
TOTAL STUDENTS IN THE APPLYING SCHOOL / 1313
6. Racial/ethnic composition of the school: / % American Indian or Alaska Native
4 / % Asian
23 / % Black or African American
47 / % Hispanic or Latino
% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
23 / % White
3 / % 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: 14%
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. / 30
(2) / Number of students who transferred from the school after October 1 until the end of the year. / 160
(3) / Total of all transferred students [sum of rows (1) and (2)]. / 190
(4) / Total number of students in the school as of October 1. / 1313
(5) / Total transferred students in row (3)
divided by total students in row (4). / 0.145
(6) / Amount in row (5) multiplied by 100. / 14.471
8. Limited English proficient students in the school: 14%
Total number limited English proficient 179
Number of languages represented: 9
Specify languages:
Chinese, Czech, German, Gujarati, Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese, Other African, and Other Asian.
9. Students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals: 69%
Total number students who qualify: 902
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: 9%
Total Number of Students Served: 118
Indicate below the number of students with disabilities according to conditions designated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Do not add additional categories.
8 / Autism / 0 / Orthopedic Impairment0 / Deafness / 19 / Other Health Impaired
1 / Deaf-Blindness / 47 / Specific Learning Disability
21 / Emotional Disturbance / 1 / Speech or Language Impairment
0 / Hearing Impairment / 1 / Traumatic Brain Injury
20 / Mental Retardation / 0 / Visual Impairment Including Blindness
0 / 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) / 5 / 0
Classroom teachers / 87 / 0
Special resource teachers/specialists / 12 / 0
Paraprofessionals / 6 / 1
Support staff / 8 / 0
Total number / 118 / 1
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 13 :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 / 97% / 97% / 96% / 95% / 95%
Daily teacher attendance / 97% / 99% / 99% / 98% / 97%
Teacher turnover rate / 4% / 2% / 3% / 3% / 3%
Student dropout rate / 5% / 4% / 5% / 5% / 4%
Please provide all explanations below.
The drop out rate is calculated by the number of students with a withdrawal code corresponding to a dropout divided by the number of students that attended the school. Our current enrollment of 495 ninth graders includes 165 retained freshmen. The retained freshmen are determined to be highly at risk having a great possibility of becoming a dropout. Our retention rate is due to our stringent promotion policy. Through our hybrid block schedule which includes a credit recovery lab, we work diligently to help students graduate on track in a timely fashion. We have an extremely transient population due mainly to socio economic reasons. We are also one of two schools systems in Hall County, Georgia so students have the flexibility to move within the two school systems.
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 / 211Enrolled in a 4-year college or university / 42 / %
Enrolled in a community college / 43 / %
Enrolled in vocational training / 10 / %
Found employment / 2 / %
Military service / 2 / %
Other (travel, staying home, etc.) / 1 / %
Unknown / 0 / %
Total / 100 / %
PART III - SUMMARY
Gainesville High School (GHS), located in Gainesville, Georgia, near beautiful Lake Lanier, has served the educational needs of students in central part of Hall County since 1892.Gainesville High School is the only high school in the Gainesville City School System with an enrollment of 1,393. Its mascot is “The Red Elephants”. It is a public, four- year, comprehensive high school with a strong college preparatory program.The student body has become more diverse in the last several years and presently has a student population of 48% Hispanic, 23 % Caucasian, 22 % African-American, 3% Multi-racial and 4% Asian. GHS prides itself in its tradition of excellence in academics, fine arts, sports, and community service.
The school’s mission is to promote life-long learning, citizenship, and responsibility by providing challenging programs of study and activities in a nurturing learning environment while encouraging unity among diverse cultures and involving all stakeholders in the achievement of school goals. The goals of the school are to prepare students to live in a multi-cultural world by promoting harmony through open communication and acceptance, sharing power and responsibility, and seeking to include rather than to exclude.The Gainesville High School charge of “Respect, Restraint, and Responsibility” is given to each student every morning in promoting a vision of “Excellence for All” as students and staff work together to promote life-long learning.
Gainesville High School believes that learning is a continuous and rewarding process and is the priority of the school as it provides a rigorous and challenging academic curriculum to meet the needs of each individual student. Classes offered range from advanced placement and honors courses to apprenticeship programs where students receive credit for supervised work experience.A joint enrollment program is available for seniors in cooperation with local colleges and technical schools. The high school celebrates excellence by maintaining high standards for the staff and student body, by sustaining a safe, secure, and nurturing environment where students are the top priority, and by encouraging students to learn how to think, not necessarily what to think. The learning needs of students will be the primary focus of all decision making and will be data driven providing both differentiated instructional strategies and assessments to support their learning style.It is the desire of the faculty to instill in the students a lifelong love of learning.
Gainesville High School is a “model” for excellence in education and is a transparent accountability model that makes sense. GHS has been recognized as a State School of Excellence. With an extensive extracurricular program, Gainesville has received many accolades for academic teams, sports, band, and drama. The drama department was honored as one of 50 high schools chosen to participate in the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2005.In 2008, Gainesville was named a Georgia School of Character.
There is a tradition of Governors Honors participants and National Merit Scholar recipients, with test scores consistently in the top 10% in the state.
PART IV - INDICATORS OF ACADEMIC SUCCESS1. Assessment Results: