Pathways

DHS rolled out the red carpet to welcome in new teachers and welcome back the rest of the family. The beginning of any school year brings excitement and challenges. This year we welcomed block scheduling, technology, and personalized learning strategies in some classes. To prepare, several ninth grade teachers took advantage of our 3-day summer planning sessions. Teachers met each day for 3 hours to have a jump start in creating unit plans, suggestions boards, assessments, and more. One of the biggest challenges with block schedule is time; maximize the time! A group of teachers also attended a PBL training. DHS hit the ground driving towards excellence in August by being the first school to deploy chromebooks to 1600+ students! Teachers began to effectively utilize the technology in various ways such as Google classroom, Nearpod, Quzzizz, Learner Profile, and Kahoot. Students began using their chromebooks to track and monitor goals, blogging, creating youtube videos and more! We also welcomed 11 more pilot teachers to personalized learning!

The next two months were packed with activity. Pilot classes were observed by district officials and our consultant, Jeff early in September. The design team met every Tuesday, frequently after school, and had two all day planning sessions. In late September our consultant, Diana, came to observe pilot classes and offered valuable feedback. In October, the design team delivered our 3rd PL presentation before Board officials. Also in October, a team of teachers visited Taylor County High School in Cambellsville, Kentucky. The team was impressed with the leadership demonstrated by the superintendent, county officials, and administrators who supported the work that was being done as well as many unique programs being implemented throughout Taylor County. The group walked away with ideas that would be used to help inform our PL plan. At the monthly faculty meeting, the design team delivered our PL presentation to the faculty, parents, and students and use the feedback to make changes for the next presentation before the Board. From September to February, 23 members of the faculty will participate in (FIP) Formative Instructional Practices training given by Griffin RESA. The modules help teachers to understand, create, and effectively use formative assessments. These members will put this knowledge to action in the classroom and share with their content area teams.

The month of November finds the Design team working hard with our consultants to finalize the School Readiness Criteria (SRC) and presentation. Several conference calls and many emails with Jeff and Maddy helped to shape the final products that were delivered with success at the end of November. Also in November, members of the technology team attended the GaETC conference and learned about new and innovative ways to incorporate technology into the classroom. Re delivery of these methods will take place during second semester. In December the project manager, Mrs. Tukes, attended Locust Grove High School's Exhibition night. Students presented their passion projects, artifacts and artwork from projects and various classes. In addition, Mrs. Tukes toured Eagles Landing High school's personalized learning classes at a project manager's meeting. Information from these visits was redelivered to the leadership and design teams. Prior to the holiday break, the design team was able to go on break having answered all feedback questions from the county's panel review of the SRC. The Dutchtown cluster project managers ended the year with a final meeting to discuss our plans and progress.

Email: ktukes@henry.k12.ga.us
Website: https://schoolwires.henry.k12.ga.us/domain/12180
Location: Hampton, GA, United States