Vision+of+HHS+-+2008

Here's where we were in 2008:

 * We were just beginning our PLC work
 * We were struggling to articulate our mission
 * We were open to growth
 * We began to make decisions about what we were going to do
 * Our middle students were not engaged or connected to their learning
 * We weren't clear about what made us unique or different
 * We waited for students to fail before we addressed their problems
 * We had teacher-centered classrooms.
 * We had limited technology in the classrooms and used it with trepidation. We often asked students to "power down."
 * Our copiers always broke down.
 * We still did poster projects
 * Our food service program lost money every year
 * We had only two laptop/personal device charging stations throughout the building.
 * We had few open conversations between students and parents regarding curriculum
 * We continually "showered students with sugar "
 * Teachers didn't always know each other or what each other taught
 * Work load equity didn't exist
 * Our technology coordinator wasn't involved in any building PLCs
 * Essential learnings weren't well known
 * Learning stopped for 3 weeks during CSAP
 * We were just beginning to tap into global connections
 * Most of the faculty thought we were doing "good enough"
 * High performing students didn't know low performing students
 * Musicians didn't know athletes
 * It was very difficult for students to be both athletes and musicians
 * Credits were only earned during the school day (no after-hours or online classes)
 * We had to make a lot of staff cuts, program cuts, etc. due to decreasing enrollment
 * Students were geared to grades which weren't necessarily reflective of their true learning
 * The Top Ten was predictable from 9th-12th grade
 * The Top Ten played the numbers game
 * 1/4 of the freshman class did not graduate (dropped out, transferred schools, etc.)
 * Only 20% of our graduates were totally prepared for college (didn't need remedial classes in college)
 * Not every student felt connected to an adult at school
 * We showed 3-hour videos when a 12 minute clip would have worked
 * U-Tube was blocked and most of us didn't use blogs or wikis or other Web 2.0 services (or even knew what they were)
 * Technology was an end, not a tool
 * We spent incredible amounts of money buying textbooks