Sevier County High School is nestled in the foothills of The Great Smoky Mountains. Established in 1921, SCHS has been the home to many great success stories. Our most famous graduate, Dolly Parton, has shown much support to our school and community over the years. Dolly’s generous donation of $150,000 to our alumni association has helped our endowment fund grow to half a million dollars at this time. Sevier County High School prides herself on always striving for excellence in all areas of student life.

Why?

At Sevier County High School, we had beenobserving a high percentage of students in a

downward spiral as a result of not beingsuccessful their freshman year. At one point, over 40%

of our 9th graders were not meeting our standards of passing 7 of 8 classes to advance to the 10th grade.

Many of these failures occurred as a result of our school being so big

that students fell through the cracks, never really becoming a part of the school community, and

never having at least one teacher who truly cared abut their success.

Believing that a strong foundation

in a student’s first-time ninth grade year

insures future success, we believe

these are the key “pieces” to a student

graduating high school in four years:

•improve attendance rate •increase the % of students “passing”

their freshman year •decrease the # of discipline referrals

Statistics do not lie!Let’s take a look at

how FRAC has been successful at

SCHS!

SCHS 9th grade failures 1996-2003

184213

180107

5287

3968

0 50 100 150 200 250

1

20032002200120001999199819971996

35%

40%

34%

24%

15%

21%

11%

17%

These statistics clearlygives validity to

Freshman Academy’s academic success rate!

86.00%

87.00%

88.00%

89.00%

90.00%

91.00%

92.00%

93.00%

94.00%

FRAC 10th 11th 12th total school

Attendance Percentages: 1996-1999

1996 1997 1998 1999

YEAR FRAC 10th 11th 12th total school1996 89.95% 91.80% 92.48% 91.84% 91.31%1997 88.55% 91.01% 90.10% 91.53% 90.23%1998 90.33% 91.90% 91.18% 90.24% 90.84%1999 92.22% 93.30% 93.15% 92.32% 92.71%

90.00%

91.00%

92.00%

93.00%

94.00%

95.00%

FRAC 10th 11th 12th totalschool

Comparison of Attendance %'s 2000-2004

2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004

Year FRAC 10th 11th 12th TOTAL SCHOOL2000 94.10% 93.03% 92.67% 92.28% 92.54%2001 93.30% 93.61% 93.15% 91.53% 92.43%2002 94.30% 93.65% 93.90% 92.65% 93.24%2003 94.17% 92.66% 93.27% 93.50% 93.10%

Attendance Percentages: 1996-2003

85.00%

86.00%

87.00%

88.00%

89.00%

90.00%

91.00%

92.00%

93.00%

94.00%

95.00%

FRAC 10th 11th 12th total school

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

YEAR FRAC 10th 11th 12th total school1996 89.95% 91.80% 92.48% 91.84% 91.31%1997 88.55% 91.01% 90.10% 91.53% 90.23%1998 90.33% 91.90% 91.18% 90.24% 90.84%1999 92.22% 93.30% 93.15% 92.32% 92.71%2000 94.10% 93% 92.67% 92.28% 92.54%2001 94.30% 93.61% 93.15% 91.53% 92.43%2002 94.30% 93.65% 93.90% 92.65% 93.24%2003 94.17% 92.66% 93.27% 93.50% 93.10%

Suspension 1997-2004

230

171133

45 5727

58

0

50

100

150

200

250

1

1997-1998

1998-1999

1999-2000

2000-2001

2001-2002

2002-2003

2003-2004

The incidents of suspensions continued to be lower than years prior toFRAC:

1997-1998 230 (No FRAC)1998-1999 171 (No FRAC)1999-2000 133 (No FRAC)2000-2001 45 FRAC students2001-2002 57 FRAC students2002-2003 27 FRAC students2003-2004 58 FRAC students

Key used for Student Status Data

G-R: graduated in 4 years with regular diplomaG-Ged: passed GED within 4 years

G-Sped: graduated meeting the goals of IEPW-1: withdrew following 18th birthday,

did not pursue GEDW-0: withdrew under 18 ( runaway, married)

W-3: transferred to another school in TennesseeW-4: transferred to another school in county

W-5: transferred out- of- stateW-6: transferred to non-public school

W13: did not drop out after turning 18, but did not meet credit requirements

for graduation within a 4- year period.

0

50

100

150

200

250

G-R

G-g

ed

G-S

E

W0

W1

W3

W4

W5

W6

W13

Eight-Year Comparison with FRAC/without FRAC

1997-2000/ w ithout FRAC 2000-2004/w ith FRAC

We have been able to decrease the number of “negatives”

from 11% in the class of 2000 to 5% in the class of 2004.

Plan…Plan…then Plan some more!!!

Doing “what’s best for kids” mustbe the primary motivation for a

reorganization of a school!

Incorporating research of successful

freshman transition programs can only

improve the quality and sustainability of

FRAC

The program model of “Academic Teaming”

is the “heart”

of FRAC!

Staff selection and sufficient professional development is

critical to success!Support from all “stakeholders”!

Freshman Academy is a work in progressat SCHS!

We have overcome many obstacles over the

past five years:•increase in numbers

•cross-teaming difficulties•changes in scheduling due to

Gateway Testing•teacher turnover

However, on the flipside..•We were awarded the only implementation grant for the smaller learning communities grant program in Tennessee in 2000. •In 2002, we were selected as one of eight “exemplary “ programs in the nation for the SLC grant program.•Our teachers have been given opportunities for professional grawth ,funded by our school system as well as the grant program.•Our students have been provided with positive reinforcements throughout the school year.•We have also provided our students and teachers opportunities to spend “fun time” together and to develop strong ties to each other and to our school!•We have been visited by schools from all our surrounding states,looking to model our program in their schools