Congrats NORTHWOOD

[votecounter]

Seems like Chris Blice was just the ticket Northwood needed to prove it was a gem in the rough.  They are now posting score of over 91% proficiency.  Just goes to show how leadership makes all the difference in a school.  That's the only way to explain it because there are a lot of the same teachers there and the students haven't changed, or have they?  Now they have someone to believe in them and encourage them to do their best and that mediocre is not acceptable.  Northwood could be a school of excellence this year if they can keep it up.  Thank you Mr. Logan for finally finding a principal who believes in Northwood.  And thanks to Chris Blice leading the way.

[munn5]

Good news, but could you give a few more specifics - 91% proficiency on what?

[Matilda]

My understanding is that this is the composite score for students testing proficient (level 3 or 4) on the EOCs. Over 91% tested proficient. That is a VERY high number for any school and truly great achievement. I also believe that most of the credit goes to Mr. Blice. I think that the number was in the mid 70s when he arrived on the scene.

[munn5]

I'm still trying to understand. I think this relates to the 1st semester (2011/12) EOC exams in Algebra I, Biology, and English I - that info isn't published on the DPI or the CCS website, and I can't find it on the Northwood site. Was there an announcement somewhere?

Last year (2010/11), Northwood's EOC composite was 84.1%, so an increase to 91% is great.

[votecounter]

I guess you'd have to take into consideration the fact that SS isn't counted anymore and the comparison is going to have to be made across the board as to how that affected all high schools.  But still NW is certainly continuing it's climb from bottom feeder to school of excellence.  Bottom feeding under Carrie Little, when it was at it's lowest point in the last decade so it's been an amazing feat for C. Blice to pull off in 4 years.

[Everett McGill]

I guess you'd have to take into consideration the fact that SS isn't counted anymore and the comparison is going to have to be made across the board as to how that affected all high schools.  But still NW is certainly continuing it's climb from bottom feeder to school of excellence.  Bottom feeding under Carrie Little, when it was at it's lowest point in the last decade so it's been an amazing feat for C. Blice to pull off in 4 years.

Mr. Blice has been there four years.  That is the key.  He has been there longer than Carrie and Joel County combined.   Don't forget we have gone through a few Superintendents too.  I can't pin the previous "poor" performance on any one person and hope you can take a step back too.  Joel has been successful at his new school and Carrie is apparently successful as a CCS administrator in the Central Office.   IMHO, both were polarizing figures with detractors and supporters....not a lot of middle ground.   In the end, I don't believe either of them were interested in making things worse for our young people.

A lot has happened at NHS in the past four years.  Most of it very positive.  Mr. Blice is a fine man.  However, it would not be accurate to say it all happened (NHS making positive improvements)
because of Chris Blice or in spite of Carrie Little......again, just my opinion.

[hulahoop]

Northwood was never a bottom feeder," that's ridiculous. You should visit some really bad schools, then you'd know how good we had it, even during the bad ole days.

[Everett McGill]

Northwood was never a bottom feeder," that's ridiculous. You should visit some really bad schools, then you'd know how good we had it, even during the bad ole days.

I agree with that sentiment.  NHS was not an ideal place and still is not.  No school is.  If you graduated from NHS in 2009 you had three principals in your time there......Three (3) principals in Four years is not a good situation for any school.  When you couple that with churn at the Superintendent position (which there was then too) .....it is kind of tough.   Don't forget the world population of Chatham County was going to explode in the Northeast, schools needed to be built, NHS needed to be upgraded, BOE's were working through tough issues....and.....then the economy tanked.  Plans were/are being reformulated.   It's all part of it.

[hulahoop]

Btw, I think the three exams that remain were typically the WORST three, so the change is not due to cherry picking what students take.

[votecounter]

Northwood was never a bottom feeder," that's ridiculous. You should visit some really bad schools, then you'd know how good we had it, even during the bad ole days.

Bottomfeeder, maybe not but pretty close under Little.  Three fights the first week she was principal, kids didn't like her and she never supported her teaching staff and you can ask any one of them that is there now that was there then, and they will tell you that the difference is 100% Blice.  There were always good teachers and smart kids who wanted to learn, but neither had the atmosphere to do that in. Blice created and maintains a school where kids who want to learn can and do and those who don't, well, they have other options.  He has also had a lot of support from Logan.  The one weak area still remains the guidance office and I say that in hopes that someone will do something to improve it.

In 2013 Northwood will become a 3A school and there are plans to increase the student body numbers.

[Everett McGill]

Northwood was never a bottom feeder," that's ridiculous. You should visit some really bad schools, then you'd know how good we had it, even during the bad ole days.

Bottomfeeder, maybe not but pretty close under Little.  Three fights the first week she was principal, kids didn't like her and she never supported her teaching staff and you can ask any one of them that is there now that was there then, and they will tell you that the difference is 100% Blice.  There were always good teachers and smart kids who wanted to learn, but neither had the atmosphere to do that in. Blice created and maintains a school where kids who want to learn can and do and those who don't, well, they have other options.  He has also had a lot of support from Logan.  The one weak area still remains the guidance office and I say that in hopes that someone will do something to improve it.

In 2013 Northwood will become a 3A school and there are plans to increase the student body numbers.

Guess we'll just have to disagree.  I don't blame Ms. Little for everything and don't give Mr. Blice credit for everything.  I will not dismiss the fact that Ms. Little came in after one principal committed suicide, followed by a one year principal (Mr. County) and then a switch in Superintendents.  I would guess that Mr. Logan supports her too, or it would seem she would be out of a job?

[votecounter]

Ok, then what's the excuse for her years at NCS being equally abysmal?  She's where all ineffective principals end up, the county office. I might add they created a position for her.  She may do a better job not having one on one contact with students and parents.  Some people aren't meant to be principals, God knows I couldn't do it.  For that matter, some aren't meant to be teachers but don't find out until they've graduated and are in the classroom.  It's a tough job and the right fit is tougher.

[baileysdad]

Without doubt, the administration has had a huge effect on the learning atmosphere, but let's not forget that the kids learned this material and took the tests.  The students should be congratulated on their performance.

I'm not ready to view these scores as indicating a trend just yet.  This year's freshman class is relatively large for Northwood, and these kids have been performing well for years.  This uptick may indicate more about the cohort that was tested than the school in general.  Only time and additional data will allow us to make this distinction.

Still, regardless of how we interpret the data, this is good news for our school and for our kids.

[hulahoop]

The last three years have gone up and up and up, that's the definition of a trend.

The students certainly deserve congratulations, so does every school employee whose had contact with them the last 10-11 years, from custodians to first grade teachers to secretaries to the teachers who taught them this year.  Scores on the test are attributable to a thousand small impact each of those people has had, not just the work of one semester!

And, of course, the parents

[munn5]

I finally found the source of this - http://board-of-education.chatham.k12.nc.us/modules/locker/files/get_group_file.phtml?gid=2348954&fid=15197323&sessionid=2c4e4778db5e851f1c2e3a46f7ac2d97 It is the EOC test scores for 1st semester only classes. I've never seen this info published before by the district or the state.

The 91.8% proficient for Northwood is true, but a little misleading. The proficient rate for Biology was outstanding, 97.5%, and more than half of the tests at Northwood were in Biology. Last year Northwood's Biology proficiency rate was only 84.8%, so whatever they did differently in Biology this year made a big difference. The Northwood scores for Algebra I, 80.7%, and for English I, 87.3% were pretty good (both higher than the state and district averages last year), but not the highest in the district.

Kudos also to JM for 100% passing in the English I class of 24 students.

Last year's EOCs (both semesters combined) http://board-of-education.chatham.k12.nc.us/modules/groups/homepagefiles/gwp/2394738/2348954/File/2012-2013%20Budget%20Advisory%20Committee/2012-02-07%20Budget%20Advisory%20Meeting%20/End-of-Course%20Tests%202010-2011.pdf?sessionid=9294fee474f21df330499f245195902b

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