Lincoln Public Schools Mr. Brent Toalson, Principal 2930 South 37th Lincoln, NE 68506 Document Generated On November 22, 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 3 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 4 Additional Information 5
Introduction Every school has its own story to tell. The context in which teaching and learning takes place influences the processes and procedures by which the school makes decisions around curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The context also impacts the way a school stays faithful to its vision. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as an identification of stakeholders, a description of stakeholder engagement, the trends and issues affecting the school, and the kinds of programs and services that a school implements to support student learning. The purpose of the Executive Summary (ES) is to provide a school with an opportunity to describe in narrative form the strengths and challenges it encounters. By doing so, the public and members of the school community will have a more complete picture of how the school perceives itself and the process of self-reflection for continuous improvement. This summary is structured for the school to reflect on how it provides teaching and learning on a day to day basis. Page 1
Description of the School Describe the school's size, community/communities, location, and changes it has experienced in the last three years. Include demographic information about the students, staff, and community at large. What unique features and challenges are associated with the community/communities the school serves? Established in 1955 Lincoln is centrally located in Lincoln, Nebraska. Lincoln is home to over 251,000 residents. The capital city, it is home to the University of Nebraska, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Union College, Southeast Community College and several private vocational-technical schools. For almost 60 years Lincoln has created a tradition of excellence. Built in 1955, has only had 7 principals contributing to the success and stability of the school. LSE is a centrally located school with boundaries that extend as far South as Rockeby Road, as far North as Randolf Street, as far East as 96th Street and as far West as 5th Street. Because students in LPS can choose which high school they would like to attend, Southeast students truly represent all parts of the Lincoln community. For the current school year, Southeast welcomed over 1,000 students who chose to attend Southeast instead of their "home" school. This is far more than any other high school in the district, showing that LSE is a school where students want to go and a place where parents want to send their children. During the 2013-2014 school year, Lincoln Southeast will serve approximately 2,009 students with a comprehensive high school course of studies that includes grades 9-12. Southeast anticipates continued growth for the coming years. The class of 2015 was the largest freshman class at Southeast since 2001 with the opening of two new high schools in LPS. Southeast currently employs over 120 teachers, 1 principal, 3 associate principals, 2 special education coordinators, 2 educational coordinators, 6 counselors, 22 custodians and 12 food service employees. The school day consists of eight 50-minute periods. Most classes meet five periods per week. Southeast operates on a twosemester system for the school year. Serving over 2000 students this year Southeast student population is the largest it has been since the addition of the two LPS high schools in 2001. In addition to gains in student population LSE has also grown more diverse over the last ten years. Southeast's minority population has increased from about 5% of the total population in 1998-1999 to over 20% during the current 2012-2013 school year. While enrollment at continues to rise, the number of students enrolled in the free or reduced lunch program is growing at a faster rate. Over the last decade, the number of students receiving free or reduced lunch has risen over 17%. Page 2
School's Purpose Provide the school's purpose statement and ancillary content such as mission, vision, values, and/or beliefs. Describe how the school embodies its purpose through its program offerings and expectations for students. Mission: Learning, Leadership, and Service Vision: Inspiring excellence in all of our students through innovative teachers, invested community, involved families and inclusive programs. The program offerings and expectations for students at Lincoln embody the mission and vision of the school. Programs such as Knightly Success and Knight House help to provide additional resources for students to learn outside of the regular school day. A diverse and challenging set of course offerings provide students the opportunities to learn and grow in a variety of areas. The extensive professional development opportunities provided by the district help to provide LSE teachers with the knowledge and tools to implement best teaching practices for all students. LSE utilizes a well-communicated plan between administrators and counselors to monitor student attendance and grades and provided supports as needed to help keep students on track for graduation. With more than 35 club offerings students have the opportunities to develop connections with adults in the building while enhance their leadership and service opportunities. This year Student Council and DECA have teamed up for a canned food drive in the month of October, Student Advocates for World Change are hosting a run to help raise funds to fight human trafficking. LSE staff also get involved in a number of service opportunities such as Back Pack Extra Mile and the school Food Market. The PTSO, Parent Advisory Council, Student Advisory Council, and various other Booster clubs all take active roles in the school helping to make LSE a great place for students. Page 3
Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement Describe the school's notable achievements and areas of improvement in the last three years. Additionally, describe areas for improvement that the school is striving to achieve in the next three years. One of the school improvement goals for Lincoln Southeast for the 2013-14 school year was to improve the graduation rate to 90% by 2016. Three years ago the school graduation rate was 82% for the class of 2011, for the class of 2012 it increased to 87%, and then increased again to 90% for the class of 2013. As a result of this faster than expected rise in graduation rate LSE will be looking at a new benchmark for the 2016 school year. For the 2012-13 school year NeSA scores increased in Reading, Math and Science. In addition subgroups such as African American and Free/Reduced lunch increased helping to narrow the schools achievement gap. LSE has also worked to continue to establish a culture for high expectations in both academics and behavior while keeping a focus on positive relationships. Through the efforts of our PBIS committee (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) LSE has been able to better communicate school wide expectations to students and staff and address areas of concern for the school. Last year LSE implemented random tardy sweeps to offset a trend of increased tardies to class. Tardies have been dramatically reduced and students understand the need to be to class on time. This year in an effort to increase the safety of everyone in the building LSE has placed an emphasis on student I.D.'s. Students are not allowed in the building without an ID. Students who forget or lose their I.D. are required to get a temporary or replacement I.D. Random I.D. checks are also done to ensure students are wearing them when in the building. During the last I.D. check less than 1% of our student body was not wearing an I.D. There has also been a push for more consistent enforcement or school wide expectations by all staff members. Students have a better understanding that not following an expectation will result in similar consequences regardless of the teacher or administrator. As a result LSE has seen a decrease in discipline referrals. Page 4
Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. Over the last three years Lincoln Southeast has seen a consistent increase in enrollment and a change in school demographics. In 1999 minority students made up 5% of the student population. This year minority students represent over 20% of the student population. Southeast has seen a considerable rise in the number of students receiving free and reduced lunch going from 16% in 2004 to over 33% for the current year. In addition to a change in demographics LSE has also seen a significant change in leadership. Over the last two years LSE has welcomed a new principal, two educational coordinators, an assistant special education coordinator, athletic director, and assistant athletic director. Page 5