Community Profile for Jack P. Nix Primary

Karen Dockery

EDIT 6320

White County Schools are located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in North Georgia. There are two main towns located in White County. Cleveland, the county seat, is the home of the famous Cabbage Patch Kids and Truett McConnell College. Helen, Georgia’s Alpine Village, is nestled in the mountains and is a favorite vacation site for many visitors. White County is a rural area that has historically based its economy on the land and its natural resources. The economic base has changed dramatically since the 1970’s, with major segments of White County’s economy now comprised of government, industry, and tourism. This shift has produced a growth in population, which has resulted in the school system emerging as one of the largest employers in the county. Based on the 2000 census, the county had a population of 19,944 with a projected annual growth rate of 5.3%. The median per capita income in 1998 was $21,642.

Jack P. Nix Primary School was named a School of Excellence in 2003. Visitors to the school are greeted by a giant topiary of a brontosaurus (the school’s mascot) designed by a young artist from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. JPN currently has eleven kindergarten classrooms, twelve first grade classrooms, and eleven second grade classrooms with a total enrollment of 625 students. The ethnic makeup of the school is .003% American Indian, 4% Hispanic, .003% Asian, 2.1% Black, 1.9% multi-racial, and 92% White. 45.68% of the students are eligible for free and reduced lunch. After attending grades K-2 at JPN, students enter White County Intermediate School (grades 3-5). Mt. Yonah Elementary School (grades K-5) serves students living in the northern part of the county. All students in the 6^th-8^th grades attend White County Middle School, then the Ninth Grade Academy, and then the high school.

The community plays an active role in the life of JPN. Parent volunteers and community mentors are both involved in helping students who need additional academic, emotional, or social intervention. The Adopt-a-Class Business Partners in Education Program offers another venue for adult/student interaction. Many businesses enjoy participating in the annual Truck and Tool Day. A percentage of purchases made by school stakeholders at Ingles provides equipment for the school. Yonah Bowl and Skate has a special night for JPN when they donate some of the profit to the school. JPN has also been adopted by Papa’s Pizza, with a portion of their profits received on one night each month being donated to JPN.

One of the missions of JPN is to develop lifelong learners, and the teachers model that desire by continuing their own formal education. Eighty percent of the certified staff has a Master’s degree or higher educational level. Many of the teachers at JPN were formerly paraprofessionals who found their jobs so rewarding that they continued their education in order to become career teachers themselves. A full-time paraprofessional is provided for all kindergarten and first grade classrooms, as well as special education, media, and P.E. Fifty-four paraprofessionals are now employed at the school.

The professional staff shares the responsibility to design and implement assessment procedures to measure each student’s academic, social, physical, and emotional development. Both formal and informal procedures are used. Students in first and second grades are assessed using the Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). 2005 CRCT results for first grade in reading showed 5.9% fell below standards, 40.4% met standards, and 53.2% were above standards; in English Language Arts 12.3% were below, 43.8% met, and 43.8% were above; and in Math 8.4% were below, 45.8% met, and 45.8% were above. Results for second grade in reading were 16.1% low, 33.5% met, and 50.5% were above; in English Language Arts 14.2% were below, 53.2% met, and 32.6% were above; and in Math 9.6% were below, 53.2% met, and 37.2% were above. Second grade students are also administered the CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test). In 2004, they scored in the 50^th PR in Verbal, the 55^th PR in quantitative, and the 64^th PR in nonverbal. Kindergarten students are assessed using the GKAP-R, a performance based assessment. The spring, 2005 GKAP-R summary reported an overall readiness score of 188.

Library media services at JPN relate directly to the curriculum and to classroom instruction. A K-12 Research Skills Continuum is in place in the White County School System. At JPN, students visit the library individually, in small groups, and with their class to check out books for pleasure reading; to work in the computer lab; to listen to visiting storytellers; and to do research with the media specialist on whatever theme their class is studying. The library collection totals about 16,000 books, audiovisual materials, and other items including a large professional collection for teachers and a well-used section of parenting materials. An average of 475 items is checked out each day. All teachers have been trained in InTech, and training for staff members, called Technology Tuesdays, is provided weekly after school by the media specialist or the system’s software trainer.

The integration of technology into the curriculum is one of JPN’s school improvement goals. Technology is widely used by teachers and students. A school-wide computer network is in place, connecting the media center, computer labs, all classrooms, and the administrative offices with each other and with the rest of the school system. Internet access is provided school-wide. JPN has three computer labs with 23 computers each, although one of them is equipped with very outdated Apple IIe computers. Every classroom has a minimum of four computers. Each pod area has a digital camera to share, and the library has a scanner. Our library is staffed with one media specialist, one media paraprofessional and one technology paraprofessional. Also, a technology specialist is assigned to work at JPN one day a week.