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JCHS leaders report steep drops in failures and office referrals, higher graduation rate after multi-tiered support work
Summary
Jennings County High School presenters credited MTSS, Student Resource Time, PBIS and counseling reorganization with reducing disciplinary referrals by 76%, cutting failures by more than half since the high point after COVID, and raising graduation to 93.63% for the latest cohort.
Jennings County High School administrators presented data to the Jennings County School Corporation board showing marked improvements in discipline, attendance and graduation outcomes after targeted school-improvement work.
"In the 7 years that I've been the principal ... we've seen a 76% reduction in disciplinary referrals to the office in that time," said Mr. Roller, the high school principal, who led the presentation. He reported the school reduced failing grades by more than 50% compared with the high point after the COVID-19 pandemic and increased the official graduation rate last year to 93.63 percent for that cohort.
Administrators attributed the gains to a coordinated set of practices: a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) coordinated by Pam Lovegrove, the establishment of certified-staff Student Resource Time (SRT) labs for English and math, a Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program that rewards desired behaviors, tiered attendance interventions led by Taryn Kent and Josh Land, and a restructured counseling team that assigns academic advisers and student-support counselors to students.
Mr. Roller highlighted that improvements in on-track-to-graduate metrics — tracking students to 10, 20 and 30 credits in successive years — moved the school from 83% on track to 90% by the end of the previous year and to 91% by the most recent December measurement. He said the increase in the graduation rate between two measured years represented 25 additional students earning diplomas.
Presenters also credited targeted classroom interventions: English department chair Teresa Veil (identified in the presentation) led efforts that reduced combined semester failures in English 9 and English 10 to six students in the most recent reported period. Megan Buchanan was credited with running the math SRT and improving math outcomes.
The board did not take action on the presentation; it was submitted for information and will inform ongoing work and future budget and staffing decisions.
