PROGRAMS OFFERED AT LONE STAR HIGH SCHOOL
Lone Star is a tuition-free public high school that operates two sessions per day – morning and afternoon. Students have the opportunity to enroll in the session that best fits their personal schedule so they have the flexibility to earn a quality education while working, caring for family, or managing other commitments.
Once enrolled, the school works with the student to create a personalized academic plan to graduate, and immediately helps the student to start earning credits as his/her own pace. Courses are computer-based to help the student to focus and track progress, and certified teachers provide individualized support.
The school serves ages 16 to 21. Graduation ceremonies are held in June.
There is no cost to attend. All programs are free.
INSTRUCTIONAL AND PROGRAM MODEL:
Assessment and Placement at Entry – Every enrolling student participates in a 3-day orientation during which each student’s skills are assessed and each student’s transcript is reviewed to determine appropriate coursework and remedial assistance. Initial social support needs are determined and the student is provided appointments with appropriate social service providers. The student is then placed in one of two flexible sessions to accommodate his or her work schedule or family care responsibilities.
Ongoing Progress Monitoring – Because attendance, coursework and homework are tracked online, teachers have immediate access to the progress and achievement of their students. Teachers review daily and weekly tracking reports to identify students who are not progressing as expected. Students are consulted and provided with academic and social service supports, as needed. School administrators likewise access daily, weekly and monthly tracking reports to identify any broader trends that need addressing.
Academic and Social Services Interventions – The schools’ instructional software programs provide comprehensive assessments that help teachers individualize instruction, ensuring each student has the opportunity to achieve to his or her potential. Online diagnostic assessments pinpoint student strengths and weaknesses. Detailed reports provide teachers with performance information for an entire class and individual students. Students with identified deficiencies in FSA scores or EOC exams are provided individualized attention through tutoring and coaching on effective strategies for success on the assessments. Identified gaps in content knowledge are addressed through intensive remediation using teacher-directed approaches, technology-enhanced activities, and offline resources and materials.
Family Support Specialists (FSS) and Career Coaches work with each student to address and remove the personal, social, and behavioral barriers that prevent students from attending school and being successful. The School Social Worker works closely with other faculty members to identify students in need of support services, and will link with community resource providers to identify programs that will provide wraparound services to meet students’ personal needs. The Graduation Coach provides additional instructional time to students in the areas of employability skills, career and college readiness, and post-secondary options based on each student’s ISP.
Ongoing Feedback to Students and Parents – Students have online access to grades and progress. providing each student instantly with the following: progress and grades in current courses, Our Graduation Coach provides attendance calendars, progress to graduation (credits and GPA), planning and implementation of a post-secondary plan and a list of short and long term goals. Students meet regularly with their academic adviser and meet, as appropriate, with social services providers. Parents and guardians are printed access to the same information in a quarterly progress report for each student. Twice yearly parent nights are hosted by the school.
LONE STAR HIGH SCHOOL – SCHOOL GRADE
Florida Statutes, Section 1008.341 allows alternative schools that provide dropout prevention and academic intervention services to at-risk students to elect to receive a School Improvement Rating (SIR) in lieu of a School Grade.
The SIR rating is calculated based on student growth from year to year versus percentage scoring at high proficiency as measured by the standard A++ school grading system.
Based on the percentage of students who make learning gains, the School Improvement Rating identifies schools as having one of the following ratings defined according to rules of the State Board of Education:
“Improving” means schools with students making more academic progress than when the students were served in their home schools.
“Maintaining” means schools with students making progress equivalent to the progress made when the students were served in their home schools.
“Declining” means schools with students making less academic progress than when the students were served in their home schools.
In order for a school to be assigned a SIR rating, it must have at least 10 students with assessment scores in applicable subjects (reading and math) for the current year and the previous two years.
Because of FLDOE changes in the way math students were matched, most alternative education high schools lacked a sufficient number of matched math students for the FLDOE to report learning gain percentages. As a result, Lone Star High School was not assigned a SIR rating.
Additional information about the Computation of School Improvement Ratings is available here:http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/pdf/1314/SchoolImprovementRatingGuide2014.pdf.