JAY — RSU 73 is in its last year of a $1.2 million school improvement grant that was initially awarded to RSU 36’s Livermore Falls High School in 2010.

The school received the money after it was named one of 10 “persistently low achieving” schools in reading and math and applied to improve education for students.

Jay School Department and RSU 36 consolidated July 1, 2011, to form RSU 73. Their respective high schools were renamed Spruce Mountain High School north and south campuses, respectively.

Since then, training and other new practices and strategies have taken hold. Last year, the Jay and Livermore Falls high schools’ staff worked with the second year of grant money.

This year, $542,000 is anticipated. The money is not part of the proposed $18.59 million budget.

Superintendent Robert Wall went over strategies outlined in the grant for this year during a school board meeting Aug. 9.

A large number of teachers and administrators took part in a three-day institute titled “Educators for Social Responsibility,” he said. They addressed critical conditions that need to be in place to support an effective advisory program to support high school students in a safe, equitable school culture, he said.

They also discussed strategies needed to lead to students feeling more self-directed and on track to graduate.

Part of the grant is to make sure students are being supported in their efforts.

Staff attending the summer institute told him it was the best in-service program they have had, Wall said.

At each high school there will be defined goals for the advisory program and a pre-service plan to launch advisory and organized communications.

All freshmen will attend the high school in Jay and will take a freshman course to support them that will be necessary for graduation credits.

There will also be an aspirations laboratory at each high school. An educational technician will be available to support students during the day, before and after school, Wall said.

Programs available will include an online coursework credit recovery and virtual high school software programs for all four grades to improve academics. The grant will also pay for advanced placement course costs. Seniors will all be required to apply to post-secondary education programs and the grant will pay for the applications, Wall said.

There will also be an alignment of English curriculum, he said.

The English curriculum will be vertically aligned with standards this fall and the latest revisions of the state’s Common Core will be embedded in the assessments.

“All Spruce Mountain High School English instructors will use the College Board Spring Board curriculum with a clear and articulated scope and sequence,” Wall said.

NEXT Navigator, an online tool that school leaders and teachers can use to support more performance-based experiences in the classroom, will be introduced in the fall and fully implemented by the fall of 2013.

The Read 180 program will be updated to the newest version that provides “robust writing and reading application materials.” Teachers have seen significant gains in students who worked in the Read 180 program to improve their reading skills, Wall said.

A ninth-grade team has been formed and is currently working with Ken Templeton of Great Maine Schools as well as the Educators for Social Responsibility to plan and implement training at that level, Wall said.

During this school year, Great Maine Schools will work with the Leadership/Vision Keepers to design the grade 11 and 12 career path academy that will be implemented in 2013-14, he said.

dperry@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link