NCLA Developmental Projects
Middle School Developmental Project- Fall 2017
This comprehensive report includes the following information for Grades 6-8: District Context, Programing Information, Child Development, Day in the Life of a Child, Data Collection, and Implications.
Reflections/Lessons Learned
From the completion of the Middle School Project, I learned a great deal about the cognitive and physical development of students and how it relates to the current programs and practices within Lenoir County Public Schools. Students in Grades 6-8 have an improvement in coordination and reaction time. They also have an increased interest in competitive sports. Prior to this school year, only students in 7th and 8th grade could participate in school athletics. However, the decision was made for the 2017-18 school year to open up participation to 6th grade students in all sports with the exception of one sport; football in the Fall. Students in Grades 6-8 also have improved finger and eye coordination to play musical instruments. Currently all of our middle schools within the district have a Band and/or Chorus program. With regards to the cognitive development of students in Grades 6-8, they begin to take an interest in solving problems, learning how things work, along with logical consequence and sequence. The addition of the STEM lab at each middle school has increased the focus on the cognitive development of students, as well as, helped them begin to consider future career choices, since students at this age also often daydream about the future.
High School Developmental Project- Spring 2018
This comprehensive report includes the following information for Grades 9-12: District Context, Programing Information, Child Development, Day in the Life of a Child, Data Collection, and Implications.
Reflections/Lessons Learned
There are many different pathways for high school students with regards to college or career readiness in Lenoir County. In addition to the IB program offered at KHS, Project Lead the Way at South Lenoir, and the AP coursework offered at North and South Lenoir High Schools, in Lenoir County, we have a partnership with Lenoir Community College called Career Pathways which offers high school students the opportunity to earn certification in a variety of occupational skills or get a head start on college degrees that will lead to prosperous careers. From a financial standpoint, the career pathway option allows students to earn transferrable college credits or receive job skills while still attending high school. The benefits of this program include opportunities for students to complete a certificate such as Work Keys in CTE courses, earn a high school diploma, as well as, earn a two-year associates degree by attending high school for one additional year.
In Putting this all together, to address what’s missing there still exist a need for more parental involvement at the high school level. We noted in the middle school project, that parental involvement begins to decline as students progress from elementary to middle and high school. As seen in the Day in the Life of one of our high school students, Hunter, offers tutoring to Math I students. This is made possible by the flexibility afforded to her by her online course schedule. This practice needs to be more widely practiced by all the high schools in the District. There still exist a disconnect or lack of continuity among the three high schools and early college in Lenoir County. As a result, some students will choose to enroll in a high school outside of where they currently reside to take advantage of a program. However, despite the disconnect in programming, no matter which school students attend, the Lenoir County School District is committed to ensuring the success of all its students.
In Putting this all together, to address what’s missing there still exist a need for more parental involvement at the high school level. We noted in the middle school project, that parental involvement begins to decline as students progress from elementary to middle and high school. As seen in the Day in the Life of one of our high school students, Hunter, offers tutoring to Math I students. This is made possible by the flexibility afforded to her by her online course schedule. This practice needs to be more widely practiced by all the high schools in the District. There still exist a disconnect or lack of continuity among the three high schools and early college in Lenoir County. As a result, some students will choose to enroll in a high school outside of where they currently reside to take advantage of a program. However, despite the disconnect in programming, no matter which school students attend, the Lenoir County School District is committed to ensuring the success of all its students.