10-4-11 —     It is almost as if Wayne County Schools have fast forwarded ahead to begin meeting the future expectations mandated, which is a good thing for students because they are already being exposed to more rigorous curriculum and improved teaching strategies so they will be better prepared for the future.

    The Wayne County School system has been in the forefront of preparing for these new standards brought about by Senate Bill 1. In fact, local teachers’ efforts were recognized last year in a statewide publication called The Kentucky School Advocate magazine for their proactive approach to developing the new standards.  Just this past week, several teachers from Bell Elementary School were asked to present, “Sharing What Works” in Science at the Kentucky Association of School Council’s (KASC) Leading the Next Generation Conference in Louisville.

    Not only are Wayne County Schools’ scores ranking well amongst neighboring area school districts, but according to the recently released 2011 Kentucky Core Content Tests results released from the Kentucky Department of Education, the district’s elementary scores are quite impressive. For instance, Bell Elementary School ranked 39th out of 718 elementary schools across the state in their combined Reading and Mathematics Proficient/Distinguished score.

    “We are very proud of the quality of work our students and educators have exhibited, as we move into this next phase of assessments,” said Wayne County Schools Superintendent John Dalton. “It is nice to see that our efforts are validated through data compiled through groups like KASC who ranked our district’s 2011 transition index 32nd out of

174 school districts across the state. The transition index is based on the Kentucky Core Content Tests results which we have been using to measure academic progress over the past several years.”

    So, basically students in the Wayne County system are fortunate to have teachers that are ahead of the curve in some very creative learning opportunities that benefit them on a daily basis. Teachers no longer lecture to their students each day. Instead, they compliment lectures with more concrete hands-on activities, real life parallels, and apply skills they are learning through experiments or technologically driven presentations. Local teachers have been developing these new strategies to match the new standards since last year and have embraced this new style of learning. In addition, the district has provided many more resources for students through advanced technology that students gravitate to in this modern age of instruction.

    Wayne County’s scores were broken down into three levels – elementary, middle and high school levels.  Elementary scores (which include Bell Elementary and Turner Intermediate jointly) were highest in the subject area of Science with a score of 89.20 percent of the students scoring proficient or distinguished, followed by a score of 87.20 percentin Reading.  There were 79.22 percent of the elementary students scoring proficient or distinguished in Mathematics and 71.43 percent in Writing On- Demand.

    Wayne County Elementary is composed of Walker Elementary, Bell Elementary, and Turner Intermediate Schools. The three principals – Derek Harris, Donna Rice and Don Neal would like to congratulate their students for the outstanding job they do. They attribute their success to extremely hard work by their students and staff and very supportive parents. Wayne County Elementary has a history of excellence from very effective teaching and great student effort.

    Wayne County’s Middle School scores revealed an impressive jump in Social Studies with a score of 77.13 percent of the students scoring distinguished or proficient, compared to 70.22 percent the previous year. Students scored well in Reading with a score of 75.52 percent, as well as 75.13 percent in Science. In Mathematics students improved from the previous year to a score of 68.10 percent, compared to 66.42 percent in 2010.

    The middle school has a solid 9.8 increase in eighth grade Reading, according to Wayne County Middle School Principal Tracy Bale, as he and his teachers reviewed the results recently. There was an intentional focus on real-world and informative reading passages.  

Students were asked to make connections between the things they read in class and their lives which made the passages more meaningful to them. Also, teachers used a wide variety of materials to try and appeal to the students’ varied interests. Strategies were also implemented for struggling readers. Having students be able to read well, and enjoy what they read was the key to their success.

    Also, eighth grade Social Studies marked a pleasing increase of 5.13 points with students scoring strongest in the areas of government and civics, cultures and societies, and historical perspective. This is attributed to an intentional focus in the Social Studies department on real world experiences and embracing diversity. Teachers want their students to learn how to interpret history and understand our place in today’s world by exploring our ancient past to the post Civil War era. The Social Studies department has worked aggressively over the past few years to make the curriculum enjoyable and rigorous.

    The middle school also posted an impressive gain in 8thgrade Mathematics with an 11.88 point increase. Students scored highest in algebraic thinking and geometry.

At the high school level, 75.14 percent of the students scored proficient or distinguished in Reading, up from 68.13 percent in 2010. This is an all-time high Reading score for Wayne County High School, ranking the school among the top 20 percent of high schools in the state in Reading achievement.

    In addition, 43.26 percent of the students scored proficient or distinguished in Writing, a dramatic improvement from the 20.92 percent in 2010. Mathematics scores also improved for the third consecutive year.

    “The faculty and staff of Wayne County High School are working very hard to implement all the provisions of Senate Bill 1, now known as Unbridled Learning,” said Wayne County High School Principal Brian Dishman. Teachers have deconstructed new content standards for Math and English Language Arts into student friendly learning targets. New units of study for English and Math have been developed around these standards.

    “Our faculty has embraced all the requirements outlined in Senate Bill 1. I have been very pleased with their attitude and work ethic.  

The new accountability system values college/career readiness for all students. We are working hard each day to ensure that all our students have the opportunity to be prepared for the next step after high school,” noted Dishman.