• Category 2

    Selected in 2017

  • Grades: pre k - 8
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 1,037
    Student Enrollment: 475
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0.5%
    White/Caucasian: 98.5%
    Hispanic: 0.5%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0.5%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:17
    % Reduced Lunch: 63%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1977
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Dr. Rick Bolling
  • CONTACT:
    10824 Orby Cantrell Hwy
    Pound, VA 24279
    276-796-5419
    rbolling@wisek12.org
J.W. Adams Combined
Pound, VA
Discussions of "your group" and "that group" are not tolerated. They are all our kids.
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.
J. W. Adams focuses on building strong relationships with parents, families, and the surrounding community. We understand that we are a learning community and must work together to close achievement gaps and see all students succeed. When all stakeholder relationships are strong, students benefit.
Strong communication is a hallmark of J. W. Adams. We know that each individual student is important. We contact parents with both praise and concern. Our goal is to work together. An example of how we build these relationships is through the use of positive referrals in addition to punitive referrals. We aim to have our positive referrals exceed the punitive ones.
J. W. Adams works with the community by having our Family Engagement Coordinator (FEC) instruct a Learning Club for four-year olds and a Toddler Story Time for children from birth to age four. The focus is on literacy instruction and early intervention.
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
The most successful activity our school has initiated to strengthen ties with the community is truly simple, yet requires daily effort. We work hard to build productive relationships with all community stakeholders. We want our school to be the welcoming hub of the community. The school is a community learning center, and we want all stakeholders engaged in the learning process. We greet visitors at the front door each morning. We solicit feedback related to our school's performance and standing in the community. We value and evaluate all feedback. We want all visitors and community stakeholders to feel respected and valued. When we all work together, students achieve at higher levels.
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
School improvement is a non-ending cycle. Although our school has exceeded all its goals in recent years, we cannot rest. The goal is to continually improve as there is always room for improvement. . Through the diligent efforts of the school’s faculty, the achievement gap in reading for students with disabilities has gone from 43.12 percentage points in 2012-13 to 2.50 percentage points at the conclusion of the 2016-17 school year. Similar to reading, the achievement gap for students with disabilities in mathematics has narrowed from 41.72 percentage points in 2012-13 to 5.74 percentage points for the 2016-17 academic year. Our school celebrates these accomplished and its recent status as a National Title I Distinguished School, but also knows that we can still improve.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
1. The school will exceed all targets for both state and federal accreditation by engaging students and the community in high-quality instruction.
2. The school will build stronger partnerships and have more stakeholders engaged in the learning community at J. W. Adams.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
The faculty and staff at J. W. Adams place high value on building productive relationships with all stakeholders, especially with students and parents/guardians. Each student is treated with respect and seen as a contributing member of our learning community. The faculty offer remediation services on a daily basis before intensive remediation is needed. The students receiving remediation change daily as skills change. Further, our teachers contact parents with good news in addition to concerns. The focus is on building relationships that help sustain our learning community’s commitment to excellence. We get to know our students and their families. In addition to being approachable and offering daily remediation, our teachers call parents/guardians prior to sending home any grade of “C” or lower on a report card or progress report. We work in collaboration with our parents to ensure all students are afforded the opportunity to succeed.
Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
The greatest factor contributing to the school’s success with eliminating the achievement gap is the school’s focus on building productive stakeholder relationships. The faculty and staff understand that when we all work together and build productive teams all students will benefit. Although quality, research-based instructional strategies and professional developments are important, the most important piece to sustaining school improvement goals is developing a school culture of stakeholders engaging with one another in a productive manner. When students are first priority, results will follow.
Explain how Title I funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
Title I funds are used to target students in grades K-4 who need more intensive small-group and individual remediation. Our Title I staff are diligent to make certain all our students receive a strong educational foundation.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
The school’s priority related to professional development favors quality over quantity. Aligning with the school’s commitment to stakeholder relationships, key faculty members and administration participate in the National Family Engagement Summit, which covers research-based engagement strategies. Further, the school is committed to the implementation of instructional strategies and engagement practices as observed at the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. Key faculty members have attended and ideas are being implemented into our school culture.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
At J. W. Adams Combined, the faculty and administration are committed to the success of all student populations. Subgroup data is monitored to help ensure that achievement gaps are narrowed and forever eliminated. At special education staff meetings, our students with disabilities are discussed regularly at the individual level. Discussions center on the academic and social needs of the child. If interventions are not working, ideas are brainstormed and new or expanded interventions are put into place. Further, collective data of this subgroup population is charted to make certain the school is making progress. The economically disadvantaged subgroup is handled in a similar manner. J. W. Adams does not believe in working without sound data. Time is too valuable and only interventions that are producing desired results are retained. Data-driven, informed decision making is a central component of an effective school.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
J. W. Adams is located in a small rural area that has great value for its community school. The teachers at J. W. Adams are mostly hometown individuals who have a significant investment in the success of the school. We work together and have created a family atmosphere in which everyone is working toward a common goal. That goal is to ensure that our students succeed and are prepared for the future. Our faculty is completely collaborative, and everyone embraces all students. Discussions of "your group" and "that group" are not tolerated. They are all our kids.
Stats
  • Category 2

    Selected in 2017

  • Grades: pre k - 8
    School Setting: rural
    Town Population: 1,037
    Student Enrollment: 475
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 0.5%
    White/Caucasian: 98.5%
    Hispanic: 0.5%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 0.5%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:17
    % Reduced Lunch: 63%
    % ELL Learners: 0%
    Founded: 1977
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Dr. Rick Bolling
  • CONTACT:
    10824 Orby Cantrell Hwy
    Pound, VA 24279
    276-796-5419
    rbolling@wisek12.org