Bright Future Schools
Where every CHILD has a bright future ahead
Created by:
Amani Solange Floyd
EDSE 610
I.Governance plan
A.The Governing School Board (GSB)
A seven-member board consisting of one community parent, two teachers, three administrators, and one superintendent will govern Bright Future Schools.
Community leaders and district officials will nominate the parent, teachers, and administrators on the GSB. After nominations, there will be a seven-member volunteer selection committee consisting of district officials and community leaders who will vote on the nominated individuals.
The Superintendent will be hired and paid a salary of $100,00/year. There will be a hiring committee consisting of all school administrators and department heads. These individuals will select a superintendent from an eligible applicant pool.
Each GSB member, with the exception of the Superintendent, will serve a three-year term and will receive no pay.
The GSB will make decisions pertaining to district policies/rules, administrative employment, and budgeting.
Each GSB member will share an equal vote on issues. The Superintendent will reserve veto power, which can be overruled by a majority vote by other GSB members.
In addition to the regular responsibilities of board members, the Superintendent will have additional responsibilities such as: executing GSB decisions and policies; running Central Office; managing the schools, keeping GSB informed of school programs, practices, and problems; making decisions about internal operations of the district; and appointing and managing district personnel.
B.Administrative Staff
One principal and two assistant principals will head each school except for the high school, which will have three assistant principals.
Additionally, there will be a total of six counselors. There will be two counselors at each school, except for the high school, where there will be three counselors.
Additionally, there will be a total of six counselors. There will be two counselors at each school, except for the high school, where there will be three counselors.
There will be a district total of four principals who will be paid $80,000/year, six assistant principals who will be paid $70,000/year, and six counselors who will be paid $60,000/year.
Administrative Payroll:
|
School |
Superintendent |
Principals |
Assistant Principals |
Counselors |
Total |
|
K-4 |
- |
1 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
|
5-6 |
- |
1 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
|
7-8 |
- |
1 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
|
9-12 |
- |
1 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
1 |
4 |
9 |
9 |
- |
|
Salary/year |
$100,000 |
$80,000 |
$70,000 |
$60,000 |
- |
|
Salary Totals |
$100,000 |
$320,000 |
$630,000 |
$540,000 |
$1,590,000 |
|
Taxes (25%) |
- |
- |
- |
- |
$397,500 |
|
Total Admin. Payroll |
- |
- |
- |
- |
$1,987,500 |
There will a total of four schools:
One elementary school (K-4)
500 students
10:1 student/teacher ratio
50 teachers needed
One upper elementary school (5-6)
350 students
10:1 student/teacher ratio
35 teachers needed
One middle school (7-8)
350 students
10:1 student/teacher ratio
35 teachers needed
One high school (9-12) = 500 students
800 students
10:1 student/teacher ratio
80 teachers needed
TOTAL: 2000 students with a 10:1 student/teacher ratio = 200 teachers needed
C.Building Layout
The Elementary School:
Bright Future Elementary School will have an average class size of ten students. There will be a total of sixty classrooms.
Each grade will have its own wing. There will also be an elective wing where art, music, etc. will be housed.
There will be a theater, a cafeteria, a library, a gym, full sized track, and a state-of-the-art playground for the children to play on during recess.
The Upper Elementary School:
The average class size at Bright Future Upper Elementary School will be ten students for a total of thirty-five classes. There will be forty-five classrooms.
The building will be separated by grade. There will be a 5th grade wing and a 6th grade wing.
There will be four fully furnished science labs, three computer labs, a library, a cafeteria, a theater, a gym, a swimming pool, and a full sized track.
The Middle School:
Bright Future Middle School will be divided by departments and grades. Each grade will have its own wing and each department within the grades will have its own floor with all necessary equipment and labs.
There will be a four fully furnished science labs, three computer labs, a library, a cafeteria, a theater, a gym, a swimming pool, and a full sized track.
The High School:
Bright Future High School will have a separate freshmen building, where all freshmen classes will be held. After freshman year, the students will transfer over into the main building.
The main building will be divided into departmental floors and wings.
There will be a six fully furnished science labs, four computer labs, a library, a cafeteria, a theater, a choir room, a study hall room, a tutoring center, a gym, a swimming pool, and a full sized track.
There will also be an elaborate teacher lounge for teachers to use during their planning period.
There will also be a senior lounge, where seniors can go during their off periods, lunch, and before school.
D.School Schedule
Classes will be held Monday-Thursday from 8-5pm
Fridays will be reserved for detention, remediation, and administrative activities/meetings.
There will be eight 60-minute classes/day and one 60 minutes period reserved for lunch/social time. Bright Future High School will have an open campus. All other schools will have a closed campus.
Bright Future Schools will be in session year-round, modeled after Virginia Beach City School Calendar 2008-2009. (http://www.vbschools.com/cal_current_yrs.html)
Please note that the following calendar is for the 2008-2009 school year and consists of regular school weeks/schedule. Bright Future Schools will base their alternative school calendar on this 2008-2009 calendar.
School Calendar:
FIRST
DAY OF SCHOOL
• July 21, 2008
STAFF DAYS - schools closed for
students
• July 14-18 • January 30
• September 26 • March 27
• November 4 • June 19
INTERSESSION STAFF DAYS staff
only - schools closed for students
• September 29 • March 30
• January 2
HOLIDAYS - schools closed for
students & staff
• July 4 (Independence Day)
• September 1 (Labor Day)
• November 11 (Veterans Day)
• November 27, 28 (Thanksgiving)
• Dec. 22-Jan. 1 (Winter Holidays)
• Jan. 19 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)
• April 10-17 (Spring Holiday)
• May 25 (Memorial Day)
INTERSESSION DAYS
• Sept. 30-Oct. 10 • January 5-16
• March 31-April 9
PROGRESS REPORT SCHEDULE
• August 15 • February 20
• November 7 • May 15
REPORT CARD SCHEDULE
• October 16 • April 23
• January 22 • June 25 (mailed)
First Semester (grading periods)
• July 21-September 25 (48 days)
• October 13-December 18 (45 days)
Teaching Days: 94
Non-Teaching Days: 7
Intersession Days: 9
Intersession Staff Days: 1
Second Semester (grading periods)
• January 20-March 26 (47 days)
• April 20-June 18 (43 days)
Teaching Days: 89
Non-Teaching Days: 3
Intersession Days: 18
Intersession Staff Days: 2
First & Second Semester:
Total Teaching Days: 183
Total Non-Teaching Days: 10
Intersession Days: 27
Intersession Staff Days: 3
ADJUSTED DISMISSAL
• November 26 (all year-round students)
• December 19 (all year-round students)
• January 27-29 (all students)
• June 17, 18 (all year-round students)
LAST DAY OF SCHOOL
• June 18, 2009
II.Community Outreach Plan
A.Community Outreach Statement
Community support is essential to school success, therefore Bight Future Schools will put forth every effort to gather and maintain community support and involvement throughout the entire district to ensure that every child and the community as a whole has a bright future ahead.
B.Community Service
Completion of two community service projects or 50 hours of documented community service is required for graduation from Bright Future High School. Students have four years to complete this graduation requirement.
Each student must get documentation of his or her community service projects or hours from the site/project coordinator.
Examples of acceptable projects would be Habitat for Humanity, food/clothing drives, volunteering at nursing homes/community center, etc.
C.Bond Issues
Bright Future schools will actively advertise any bond issues that are up for vote through radio commercials and billboards.
The advertising budget will be $250,000/year.
D.Parental Involvement
Parents will have the opportunity to be directly involved in the schools every Friday. As a requirement for enrollment at Bright Future Schools, parents must agree to serve lunch, tutor, serve as a teacher aide, or participate in a career day once each academic year.
III.Teachers
A.Student : Teacher Ratio
As noted on page 3, the student-teacher ratio will be 10:1 district wide. In order to achieve this ambitious ratio, Bright Future Schools will need a total of 200 certified teachers.
There will ne NO tenure in Bright Future Schools.
B.Teacher Salary
The teacher pay scale will be based on years of experience, level of education, merit, subject area taught, and grade level taught.
All satp teachers and 9th grade teachers will receive extra pay. This will help attract exceptional teachers to these two important positions.
The average teaching salary at Bright Future Schools will be $60,000/year.
Teacher Budget:
|
Number of Teachers |
Average Salary |
TOTAL |
|
200 |
$60,000 |
$12,000,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
Taxes/Benefits (25%) |
- |
$3,000,000 |
|
TOTAL TEACHER PAYROLL |
- |
$15,000,000 |
C.Teacher Contracts
Bright Future teachers will be under annual renewable contracts. All teachers that are asked to return will sign nonbinding letters of intent. Binding contracts will be signed in June, one month before the school year starts.
There will be NO tenure for teachers.
D.Hiring and Firing Procedures
All new teachers will be hired by school administration and approved by the GSB. New teacher applicants are to submit an application, a resume, and a copy of their teacher certification. All veteran teachers need to have any performance data available upon request.
The dismissal of teachers will be based on underperformance, incompetency, disciplinary problems, unprofessional behavior, and/or request. The decision to dismiss a teacher will largely be based on formal evaluations, performance data, and citations.
E.Professional Development
70% of professional development seminars will be based on staff requests. The other 30% of professional development seminars will be selected by the administration.
Each staff member must complete at least 30 hours of professional development throughout the year.
Several professional developments are required: differentiated instruction, student sensitivity, cultural exposure, developing engaging lessons, technology prep, and methods reflection.
F.Evaluation Procedures
The Superintendent will make unannounced visits to each school at least twice a semester. He/she will be looking for effective leadership, organization, school safety, and a positive learning environment. He/she will also sit in on some classes.
School administrators will conduct unannounced formal/informal evaluations at least twice a semester. School administrators will be checking for lesson plans, effective teaching, classroom management, and engaging lessons. The administration will keep a file on each teacher’s performance and evaluations. They will also provide each teacher with a copy of the observation form with any comments/criticism.
Teachers will also observe their peers at least once/year. The teachers are to take note of interesting and effective ideas and share comments/suggestions with each other.
IV.Curriculum
A.Elementary School
Bright Future Elementary School’s curriculum will largely focus on developing reading and writing skills. Those students who are not reading at grade level, will be moved into a special reading program to help compensate for where they are weak.
Bright Future Elementary School will use the Success For All reading program at the cost of $4,000,000. This price will include on-site training plus additional training for the principal and facilitator, telephone contacts, and conferences. The $4,000,000 will also cover all necessary materials and staff.
For more information on the Success For All reading program, please go to the following website: http://www.successforall.net/elementary/index.htm
B.Upper Elementary School
The upper elementary students will alternate between two teachers. One teacher will teach reading, writing, and math. The other teacher will teach social studies and science. The students will also have electives such as gym, art, and music.
C.Middle School
The middle school curriculum will focus on developing study skills, reading, and writing. Bright Future Middle School’s goal is for every student to be ready for high school upon entry into the 9th grade.
The students will be divided into teams, where they will share four teachers. There will be one math teacher, one science teacher, one social studies teacher, and one English teacher per team. Each team will integrate and horizontally plan their curriculum.
In 7th grade the students will take: English, Biology, Geography, and Math Skills
In 8th grade the students will take: English, Physical Science, U.S. History, and Pre-Algebra.
The students will also have a wide array of electives to choose from: woodworking, cooking, gym, health, art, choir, drama, keyboarding, etc.
D.High School
Bright Future High School is a nontraditional high school. The goal of Bright Future High School is to prepare every student for college. Therefore, all students will have to complete a core curriculum in addition to choosing a major/concentration. The majors include: math, science, English, and social studies. A major consists of extra electives in a certain subject area in addition to completion of the core curriculum.
The core curriculum consists of a total of 20 credits. A major/ concentration consists of 15 additional credits. Each student needs 35 credits to graduate.
The students will earn 10 credits/year while in grades 9-11. During senior year, the students will attend school part-time while completing a senior project or work-study.
High School Credit System:
Year-long classes = 1 credit
Semester classes = 0.5 credits
9th grade = 10 units (core curriculum year-long courses only)
10th grade = 10 units (core curriculum year-long courses only)
11th grade = 10 units (major semester/year courses)
12th grade = 5 units (major semester/year courses)
senior project, work study, or study abroad
V.Technology Plan
A.Computers
As a whole, the district needs 1100 computers.
All 200 teachers will have a personal Dell desktop computer in their room.
All ten computer labs in the district will be furnished with 30 Dell desktop computers.
Additionally, every teacher will have three student computers in the room.
The district will supply all 1100 Dell OptiPlex 960 computers at $989.86 per unit.
The computer budget is $1,088,846
B.SMART Board 600i Series
All 200 teachers will have a SMART Board 600i in their classroom.
This unit runs at the price of $369.00. Thus, the SMART Board budget will be $73,800.
Technology Budget:
|
Computer Budget |
$1, 088,846 |
|
SMART Board Budget |
$73,800 |
|
TOTAL technology budget |
$1,162,646 |
VI.Students
A.Graduation Requirements
Graduation requirements include completing 35 credits of course work (core curriculum and major/concentration), 50 hours of community service or two community service projects, and completion of a senior project or work-study.
B.Pass/Fail Rules
Students will have the pass/fail option for two electives outside of the core curriculum. Students will NOT be allowed to take any core curriculum classes for pass/fail.
C.Discipline Rules
Bright Future School will implement a strict discipline plan.
The discipline plan is as follows:
Step #1: Write up
Two write-ups will result in Friday detention.
Step #2: Friday detention
Two Friday detentions will result in in-school suspension.
Step #3: In-school suspension
Two in-school suspensions will result in out-of-school suspension.
Step #4: Out-of-school suspension
Three out-of-school suspensions will result in expulsion.
Step #5: Expulsion
When expelled, students will be forced to withdraw from Bright Future Schools and enroll in another district.
Bright Future Schools will have a no tolerance policy towards fighting. Any student that fights will automatically be suspended for at least 10 days. Additionally, the student(s) will have to complete 5 hours of additional community service for fighting in school.
The assistant principals will be responsible for addressing discipline problems and executing the discipline plan.
VII.Budget
A.Staff Budget
|
School |
Secretaries |
Custodians |
Cafeteria Staff |
Security |
Other* |
|
|
K-4 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
|
|
5-6 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
|
|
7-8 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
|
|
9-12 |
3 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
9 |
11 |
18 |
10 |
20 |
- |
|
Salary/year |
$30,000 |
$25,000 |
$20,000 |
$28,000 |
$20,000 |
- |
|
Salary Totals |
$270,000 |
$275,000 |
$360,000 |
$280,000 |
$400,000 |
$1,585,000 |
|
Taxes (25%) |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
$396,250 |
|
Total Staff Payroll |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
$1,981,250 |
B.Total Available Funds = $30,000,000
|
Budget |
Amount |
Balance |
|
Administrative Payroll |
$1,987,500 (page 2) |
$28,012,500 |
|
Teacher Payroll |
$15,000,000 (page 9) |
$13,012,500 |
|
Staff Payroll |
$1,981,250 (page 15) |
$11,031,250 |
|
Advertising |
$250,000 (page 8) |
$10,781,250 |
|
Technology |
$1,162,646 (page 13) |
$9,618,604 |
|
Reading Program |
$4,000,000 (page 11) |
$5,618,604 |
|
Athletics* |
$4,000,000 (below) |
$1,618,604 |
|
Savings/Emergency Funds |
$1,618,604 |
$0.00 |
*Athletics: facility up-keep, travel, coaches pay, etc.
Bright Future Schools
For more information please contact
Amani S. floyd
amani.s.floyd@gmail.com
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