Welcome to Talawanda High School
Welcome back for a new exciting school year at THS. We have exciting news to share this year! For the seventh year running, the Ohio Department of Education has designated Talawanda High School as Excellent! This is the highest designation that a high school can achieve from the state of Ohio.
Talawanda High School Vision
Achieving
Excellence Together
Mission
Challenging all
students to achieve their fullest
potential
Beliefs
Student success,
expecially emphasizing improving student
performance, represents the unifying theme of our school's
beliefs.
•We believe that nationally proven teaching methods
and materials, combined with local creative and innovative
strategies, will enhance learning and continued excellence.
•We believe that children are our greatest resource,
and that it takes the concern and commitment
of the entire community to provide the
highest quality education for them.
•We believe that recognizing and valuing the diversity
and
equality of all human beings are essential for student
success.
•We believe that the quality of a student's high
school
experience is ultimately measured by her/his successful
school-to-school (secondary to postsecondary) and
school-to-work transitions, and by the creation of a
desire for lifelong learning.
High
School That Work (HSTW)
Talawanda High
School continues to be involved in the High Schools That
Work school improvement model. HSTW centers around raising
the expectations for all students. We use recognized
national and local performance indicators to evaluate
student achievement. A national research report, released
in February, 1999, rated HSTW as one of the only three out
of over twenty commonly used national reform initiatives
which actually have been demonstrated to improve student
achievement. Please review the following website which
explains the program in much greater detail:
http://www.sreb.org/programs/hstw/hstwindex.asp
Gold Award
Two
out of the last five years, Talawanda High School has
received a Gold Award from HSTW. In order to receive the
Gold Award, Talawanda High School met the following
requirments:
• At least 50 % of our students had to earn the HSTW
Award of Educational Achievement based on their performance
on the 2010 HSTW Assessment. To earn this award, students
met all three readiness goals on the assessment, completed
the GSTW-recommended curriculum in at least two subjects
and completed a concentration in the humanities,
mathematics/science or a career technical area.
• We had to meet the Adequate Yearly Progess (AYP)
criteria of the federal No Child Left Behind Act
• Or we had to have a graduation rate of at least 85
%.
Note:
This past year Talawanda High School met AYP and also had a
graduation rate of over 99%.
We have an
outstanding staff at Talawanda High School who is dedicated
to providing our students with the best possible
educational experience. A new school year presents
opportunities for various beginnings - new classes, new
faces, and new courses. As we begin a new year we are
continuing our emphasis on teamwork, collaboration, and
connectedness under the District umbrella of PRIDE. PRIDE
stands for People Respecting Individual Differences
Everyday. We are planning on holding our PRIDE day
for our sophomores in the spring of 2012. These are
life-changing day-long activities that prevent bullying and
build close caring relationships among students.
We encourage you
to become involved in your student's school life in any way
you feel comfortable. Please call or email with
questions, concerns, suggestions, and compliments as well.
We love to hear from you. Our teachers are not only
superb educators, but are also very caring and
conscientious. They would love to discuss your student's
progress with you. Please call them on their individual
lines. Our administrative staff is also happy to help you.
We are always looking for ways to improve as a
community dedicated to learning!
Thanks for
visiting!
Mrs. Vicki L. Brunn
Principal,
Talawanda High School
101 W. Chestnut Street Oxford, OH 45056
513-273-3214 brunnv@talawanda.org