School Report Card

JACKSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Jackson County Public Schools has made significant progress in many areas in the past year. As you view the North Carolina State Report Card for our school system, please allow me to highlight our successes.

We have analyzed both our hard and soft data from multiple sources. Our district formed a Data and Assessment Review Team (DART) several years ago to promote and support data driven practice in the classroom and improve student outcomes. In reviewing our hard data, we have focused on the performance of our students.

Additionally, Jackson County Public Schools prides itself in maintaining safety as is demonstrated by our comprehensive District and School Level Safe Schools' Plan. Our highest priority is student safety; however, a close second is teaching and learning for success. Our district reviews other external effects such as attendance, suspension/dropout rates, teacher credentialing, and other relevant data in our District Leadership Team (DLT) monthly meetings. Other soft data is typically internal and is most often identified within the district e.g., teacher surveys, instructional strategies, etc. Administrators often collaborate in professional learning communities (PLCs) and Communities of Practitioners (P-COPS) to develop initiatives for addressing student learning. These initiatives are designed to build successful classroom environments and use instructional strategies to provide instructional support. It is important we consider the whole child when data is analyzed.

Our district works on a continuous improvement model and we use data to continue providing curriculum support and on-going professional development. Data analysis is critical to targeting specific areas in different schools to ensure that we make consistent gains in all areas of the school system. There are many additional key factors that determine the quality of a school. We are proud of our teachers; they are among the most highly qualified in the state. Our focus is to prioritize the classroom in our decision making process and to align our budget to teaching and learning.

The latest Highly Qualified Teacher Rating (HQ) available is from 2016 with a 93% rating for Jackson County Public Schools. HQ ratings are determined by licensure appropriate to teaching assignment and completion of coursework as determined by the Department of Public Instruction and the degree granting institution. Each of our staff members is important to the education of our children and we consider our staff members our greatest strength.

We have excellent opportunities available in our schools including: Freshman Academy, Early College Experiences, Health and Wellness Initiatives, Child Nutrition activities, and programming such as the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support approach for academic and behavior interventions, enrichment, athletics, clubs, after-school programming, academic events and competitions, STEM and Arts opportunities, and Career Technical Education Programming. These programs and others work together for the success of each student.

We offer a wide range of opportunities for students, while attending to the individual student’s needs. We have an excellent collaborative relationship with Western Carolina University and Southwestern Community College. We continually work with our higher education partners in projects, grant writing, sharing resources and research. Partnerships with our stakeholders and our families are critical to the success of our students and our community.

We are privileged to live, study and work in the beautiful Smoky Mountains. It is important that we recognize and encourage our students to embrace a sense of place. We honor our mountain traditions, history and culture.

Please feel free to review our data and contact us with any questions you may have. Thank you for your support of Jackson County Public Schools.