PART I: Application Face Sheet
College Access and Student Success Programming
1. Funding Requested: Project Year 2009-2010 $ 4,000
2. School name sponsoring/administering the program: Hiwassee Dam High School
3. School County/District: Cherokee County
4. Approximate number of students who will be served by the program: 100 students 9-12th
5. Contact Information (Program Coordinator): Mr. Ms. Dr.
Name: Tammy Roberts
Title: Counselor
Department/Division: Counseling
School Address: 267 Blue Eagle Circle
City: Murphy State: NC Zip Code: 28906
Phone: 828-644-5115 Fax: 828-644-9463 E-mail:
Home Address: 460 Boones Farm Road
City: Murphy State: NC Zip Code: 28906
Phone: 828-494-4114 Fax: E-mail
NUMBER OF HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES ATTENDING HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS /Academic School Year / Size of 9th Grade Cohort* / # Enrolled Beginning of Senior Year / # Graduating
from High School / # Actually enrolled in 2- or 4-yr. Institutions
Class of 2009 / 62 / 50 / 50 / 38
Class of 2008 / 53 / 42 / 43 / 33
Class of 2007 / 24 / 19 / 18 / 12
Class of 2006 / 67 / 43 / 43 / 34
*Number of students who were enrolled during their ninth grade enrollment period.
PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW DATA COLLECTED. THIS WILL BE YOUR BASELINE SO IT SHOULD BE ACCURATE. Data was collected through the use of SIMS rosters, yearbooks, and N.C. High School Graduate Surveys.
6. Certification and Signature: To the best of my knowledge, the information contained in this application is accurate and I understand that our county/district is expected to provide a minimum $5000 match in dollars or in-kind service:
Name of Superintendent (print): Dr. Stephen E. Lane______
Signature of Superintendent/Date: ______
II. Abstract
Hiwassee Dam High School is committed to the idea of higher expectations for all students to empower them to seek and gain higher education. In 1999, we became a High Schools That Work site. High Schools That Work incorporates ten key practices that basically integrates higher expectations, challenging vocational studies, applied academic studies, work-based learning, and many other core ideas that encourage higher expectations in our students. Because of our rural demographics our faculty has committed itself to guiding our students towards occupations which suit their talents and accentuate their abilities. We feel that the growth in the Educational and Health Services Industries match our students talents and will allow them to help alleviate the continuing need in Cherokee County for these occupations. In Cherokee County Educational and Health Services encompass 24.1% of existing employment.
As stated in the Information Guide for locating North Carolina labor force data on the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina web site.
Over the 2002-2012 projection period, North Carolina is expected to have about 1.8 million job openings. The occupations expected to grow the fastest (annualized growth rate) over the projection period are dominated by healthcare-related occupations. Of the top 15 fastest-growing occupations, 10 are either in the Healthcare Support or Healthcare Practitioners and Technical occupations categories. Most of these occupations will require some degree of educational training (postsecondary vocational training or above). Of the top 10 largest employment-gaining industries, three industries are either directly related to healthcare or mixed healthcare related: Hospitals, Ambulatory Health Care Services and Nursing & Residential Care Facilities.
Although the highest-growth occupations are dominated by healthcare-related occupations, the next group (moderately high-growth) is dominated by education-related occupations. Educational Services industry has the largest employment base and projected employment figures of the top 10 industries, it ranks second (65,073) behind first-ranked Administrative and Support Services industry (87,443) for largest employment gain from 2002-2012.
Manufacturing super sector is expected to experience the largest decline in the number of jobs (32,600). Textile Mills industry is projected to decline at an annualized rate of six percent over the period. (http://eslmi23.esc.state.nc.us/projections/brief_overview2.doc)
We continually encourage students to seek “something better.” A current and continuing goal for our faculty and staff is to better provide students with exposure to college life through day and overnight field trips. We not only want to provide opportunities to our 4-year college bound students, but we also want to offer our 2-year community college bound students a chance to experience and visit community colleges and vocational/trade schools outside our area. Through guest speakers and career fairs we also anticipate strengthening an interest in education and/or health related services as a career for our students. We look forward to increasing our college going rate and college retention rate through the funds made available by ARC.
III. Program Narrative
A. Need
Hiwassee Dam High School is located in the western section of Cherokee County North Carolina. It is the western most school in the state of North Carolina being located approximately seven miles from the borders of Georgia and Tennessee. The area is very rural with few business and industry opportunities. Since it is a community based school, there is not a strong commitment from partnerships with area service organizations. The current U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent report stating the poverty level in Cherokee County is 17.4% compared to the states 14.3% which gives you an idea of the great need our students have when compared to other students across the state (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/37/37039.html). The 73.3% educational level of our residents is far below the national average of 80.4%. Due to the continuing economic crisis, as reported in local news, our county’s unemployment rate stands at 15.4%. (http://www.thecherokeescout.com/articles/2009/05/08/news/doc4a009c512c00f098532895.txt) The Appalachian Regional Commission designates Cherokee County as an at risk county. All these factors collectively contribute to a cycle of poverty that is very difficult to break. Our school is devoted to finding ways to help break this cycle by teaching students that they can afford to go to college; they do have the intellectual ability to be successful in college; and they have the potential to work in jobs related to education, health career fields, engineering, marketing, economics, and computer science.
B. Goals and Objectives
All students have different talents and enjoy different activities. Over the past few years, our students have excelled in and out of the classroom. However, many of these bright minds do not pursue post secondary educational opportunities because of low self esteem. Our students believe they cannot compete with students in the post secondary setting due to our small size. In other words, these students believe that “bigger is better”. Our students have developed a mindset that they cannot compete with other students that have attended larger high schools. They lack self confidence to explore the possibilities of furthering their education because the environment of many higher educational institutions is not similar to the small confines of our community and school.
This lack of self esteem has created a stereotype for our students that they cannot succeed. According to the Appalachian Regional Commission, Cherokee County, NC in the year 2000 only had 11.0% of the population with a college degree. The United States experienced a rate of 24.4%.
Cherokee County experienced a growth rate in population of 20.5% over the ten year period from 1990 to 2000. With this high rate of growth come alternate opportunities for employment in our region. The two major sectors for employment that are growing at a rapid rate are pubic education and health care. Cherokee County Schools is going to experience a shortage of highly qualified personnel over the next five to ten years due to retirement. The health care industry is rapidly growing due to the need for highly qualified people to fill positions (especially in the care for elderly citizens of the county).
Education and Health services are two of the most prevalent occupations in Cherokee County. This industry super sector is projected to grow faster, 30.6%, and add more jobs than any other industry super sector. About 3 out of every 10 new jobs created by the U.S. economy will be in either the healthcare, social assistance or educational service sectors.” (Occupational Outlook Handbook http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco2003.htm).
Hiwassee Dam High School would like to develop a program for students in order to promote opportunities in the health care and public education field. During this project, the students will witness the leadership needed to be successful in these careers. Also, students will be put into positions where they must lead various activities that are career related in these fields of study.
It is Hiwassee Dam High School’s goal to involve, if not all, the majority of our students with career exploration. This program will allow our faculty and staff to “raise the bar” in career exploration in these high demand fields of study for Cherokee County.
C. Plan of Operation
There are many ways to inspire high school students to pursue these types of careers. Funding is typically the stumbling block for many of these opportunities. Staff development, field trip opportunities, and classroom experiences are vital in the development of career exploration initiatives. If Hiwassee Dam High School receives funding for this proposal, the following events or activities are planned.
First, to promote the profession of public education, Hiwassee Dam High School has implemented a Future Teachers of America (FTA) program for interested students. Carolyn Hyde, a veteran teacher of thirty years, will be the club sponsor. She has been instrumental in arranging various opportunities for potential educators to experience career exploration through guest speakers and field trips. One of the opportunities that the FTA club would pursue is the “Teachers of Tomorrow” program through Western Carolina University. Besides the opportunity to visit the WCU campus, the students attend sessions geared toward their specific interests in the field of education.
Hiwassee Dam High School has also confirmed to partner with Western Carolina
University in creating a Teacher Cadet Program for the 2009-2010 school year.
Through the Teacher Cadet Program students will receive scholarship information;
elective college credit for Teacher Cadet classes; promotion of education as a career;
college access initiatives; and other support services geared towards fostering a desire in
our students to pursue a teaching career in North Carolina.
Locally, future teachers are missing out on opportunities in their own school. Hiwassee Dam is allowing students to work after school and on teacher workdays to give students a more realistic perspective of the overall duties of an educator. The biggest dilemma for this project is transportation to the sites on teacher workdays. Funding for transportation is needed to provide this service to future teachers.
Next, attendance at a prestigious and a highly recommended staff development conference for students (Teachers of Tomorrow Day) will promote teacher recruitment. Hiwassee Dam High School is actively involved in such initiatives as the High Schools That Work (HSTW) and A+ Schools of North Carolina. Plans for future teachers to attend these types of staff development would give insight into the demands of education in the 21st century. Transportation, lodging, meals and application fees could be provided by the ARC grant for these students to participate.
Encouraging and helping our high school students to enter the field of education is a common goal of the faculty and staff at Hiwassee Dam High School. In order to promote post secondary educational opportunities for the medical field, guest speakers are a great way to help our student’s access medical careers. They can provide our students with a wealth of opportunities. Health care workers, especially those from our community can share their history and compare their backgrounds with those of our students. They can share educational experiences, the opportunities provided by their career, a basic job description and, of course, average starting salary. Advancement opportunities will also be discussed with our students. This will help our students realize their potential and make the dream of being a health care provider more attainable and realistic.
Field trips to hospitals, health departments, clinics, doctor’s offices and colleges and universities help boost the passion for a medical career. When students see health care providers performing their jobs and meet other students currently enrolled in health care programs, it often sparks a passion for entering the profession. The student will have a driving force stronger than any obstacle they may face because they have met people who have faced and overcame adversity in order to be gainfully employed in their career.
Hands-on learning is the most effective way to help students make informed decisions about their future. When students are allowed to learn and perform skills necessary to their health care career, they learn and grow more than they have ever imagined. Clinical experiences in our area are valuable tools to promote the health care industry.
In our Allied Health II classes at Hiwassee Dam High School, our students receive six to nine weeks of clinical experience. With completion of the Allied Health II course students have the opportunity and are required to take the state licensure exam for becoming a Certified Nurses Assistant (CNA). By helping our students become licensed CNA’s through our Allied Health Vocational program we are providing them with something they can take into the work force, we encourage our more at-risk students to stay in school and take this course or similar courses here on campus. We encourage the idea of a high school gained certificate, which will help them find employment, as a reason to stay in school and graduate.
Uniform requirements are outlined and mandated by the program. It is the student’s responsibility to purchase these required items. Sometimes, students do not enroll in the course due to the fees for the licensure exam and uniform. If the ARC grant is secured, part of the funding could help needy students fulfill this commitment and enroll in the course without economic distress on their families.
Ms. Lynn Barry-Toth, health occupations teacher at our school, will oversee this part of the project. She has been instrumental in establishing the health curriculum at Hiwassee Dam High School.
The overall project coordinator for Hiwassee Dam High School is Tammy Roberts. She is the counselor for the school and has served as the site project coordinator for the A+ program for North Carolina that promotes integrated and differentiated learning. Through her duties as school counselor, Mrs. Roberts has been instrumental in helping students explore different educational and career opportunities.