a conversation with…
Camille A. Nasbe, Superintendent, Winton Woods City Schools
printer friendly >
Conversation Archives >
This page includes occasional conversations with colleagues about pertinent issues, exemplary programs, or relevant research.
Principal’s Office: Each month the Principal’s Office features one of the leadership standards from the ISLLC Standards. This month Standard #3 states “A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by ensuring the management of the organization, operations, and resources for a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment.”
The theme this month related to this standard is the promising practice of providing Full Service Schools. Often the issues of students surpass the capacity of the school to deal with them. Many schools have found the answer to be repositioning resources from social agencies into the schools to address these needs.
PO: Dr. Nasbe, describe what you do in your district to meet the needs of students that surpass the capacity of the schools to deal with them.
Dr. Nasbe: We have an Educational Services Personnel Team that assists students and families with outside agency contacts and referrals. This team consists of our nurses, school psychologists, guidance counselors, and family support specialist. They meet regularly as a team with the Director of Student Services who serves as a facilitator. Last year, the team redefined job descriptions so they could better service schools. The addition this year of a family support specialist has really helped to address the whole child by counseling the family, providing information, or making referrals to community agencies. The hearing officer for the district has also used the services of the family support specialist by referring students & their families to her in lieu of expulsion. Working as a team has helped to enhance services by eliminating duplication and building upon team members’ strengths.
We also have a full-time School Resource Officer (police officer) assigned to our high school that assists our staff and students. A DARE officer also provides a drug awareness and prevention program to elementary students. These programs build relationships between our youth and the police; and between staff and police. They also help with issues of substance abuse, safety and security. Additionally, district-level staff members conduct building audits with local fire and police representatives each year. Recommendations are implemented by our Maintenance Department to ensure that safe conditions exist in all district schools.
PO: In the case of your high school, describe what agencies have been repositioned to assist this goal of ensuring an effective learning environment for every student.
Dr. Nasbe: Three years ago we were successful in developing a therapeutic intervention program (TIP) with St. Joseph Orphanage. TIP was designed to serve students who had mental health issues. A therapist did both group and individual counseling; sometimes she coordinated social skill activities with students, served on IEPs, and identified students with a mental health diagnosis. A psychiatrist was part of the team and conducted monthly medication checks for the students. St. Joseph Orphanage funded the program through Medicaid reimbursement but our students were slow to qualify for services so the program was pulled. The high school teachers involved with the program were sorry to see it leave.
Our district has a high percentage of students who are foster children, special needs, or highly mobile. Last year nearly 20% were new to our district (excluding kindergartners), so we hired a new transitional intervention specialist who expands and supports the guidance program. He assists students who enroll mid-year. They take an assessment and write an autobiography about themselves. He also gives them a booklet about their new teachers, which includes an autobiography of each teacher. He meets with every senior during the first semester to discuss college plans and / or plans after high school, and to provide financial aid and scholarship information. He also helps them meet deadlines for college and scholarship applications and admissions. He provides professional development to staff about writing letters of recommendation for the students. He arranges college trips for juniors during the second semester. Our district also hired a family support specialist to assist our current ESP staff. These individuals also work with external agencies to help students with mental health issues and transitional issues.
The district has also partnered with Hamilton County Head Start to offer an Early Learning Initiative (ELI) program. ELI is a preschool for economically disadvantaged students. The district funds the teacher and the classroom space; Head Start funds an aide and materials. The teacher and aide also participate in professional development sessions with Head Start staff, as well as our district’s special needs pre-school teachers. The teacher is the bridge between the district and Head Start and provides a valuable service in preparing these students for kindergarten at the nearby elementary school where she used to work.
Head Start rents one of our district’s buildings. One of its programs is the Forest Park Health Center that serves as a clinic for area residents. Our nurses often refer our students and their families to the center for health-related needs.
PO: What has been the impact of your Alternative High School on your dropout rate?
Dr. Nasbe: The district has increased its graduation rate 10 percentage points since the program began two years ago. The school requires an application process and a quarterly parent conference with the staff and counselor. There is actually a waiting list to enroll in the school, as many parents and students see this as a last chance and take advantage of it! The secret to its success is the staff—the administrator, counselor and three teachers. Students earn credits online both at school and at home, but they have a lot of instructional support and counseling by staff. Staff members call parents immediately when a student has an attendance problem; they rarely see students acting out in class. Their mission is to see students succeed and have a plan for when they graduate. The response from students and their families to the program has been tremendous. They even campaigned for the levy because they were afraid the program would be cut if the levy failed!
PO: Do you have any other plans for the future related to Full Service Schools?
Dr. Nasbe: Yes. Our family support specialist is currently writing a grant to reposition social service agencies in two of our schools. These schools have a large percentage of economically disadvantaged students and students with special needs. The family support specialist was initially hired to work with elementary schools as they have no guidance counselors but she is also called to help with middle and high school students. (The hearing officer also refers students to her for counseling). The grant would enable her to “replicate herself” as she says. It would allow her to coordinate services and use outside agency representatives in the school as either repositioned social service workers, helping in the Intervention Assistance Team (IAT) process, or to make referrals from the IAT team. Under the grant, the family support specialist would continue to build relationships with families so they would feel comfortable accepting the referral to an outside agency but her primary job would be to coordinate the repositioned social service agencies.
A final consideration is being given to renovating the Community Building, a district-owned building that houses administrative offices and the Alternative Education Program. Part of those renovation plans would include housing an agency that supports our families such as the Winton Woods Community Coalition. We often partner with this nonprofit agency to provide drug prevention and leadership programs to district students.
PO: Dr. Nasbe quickly attributes the success of these initiatives to the contributions of the staff members. For information about these and other district programs see http://www.wintonwoods.org/.
