Dalton High School (DHS) has been selected as a national High Schools That Work (HSTW) Pacesetter School. This award is based on the success of local school leaders and teachers in improving school practices and raising student achievement. The award was presented by Dave Spence, president of the Southern Regional Education Board, at the 22nd Annual HSTW Staff Development Conference in Nashville, TN, earlier this month. Dalton High was one of only 25 HSTW schools to receive the 2008 Pacesetter Award.
This is the second national recognition for Dalton High in less than a year. Earlier this year, U.S.News & World Report recognized Dalton High in the top three percent of high schools in the nation, based on the magazine’s annual research and report on secondary schools.
Spence praised the school for its achievement, pointing out that it takes dedication and hard work on the part of state, district and school leaders and teachers to make progress in preparing students for college and careers. He presented the award before an audience of more than 7,000 educators from across the nation attending the HSTW Conference.
To be recognized as a HSTW Pacesetter School, schools must meet a variety of criteria. Pacesetter schools deeply implement the HSTW design, teach students a rigorous academic program of study, have high student achievement, and have a high graduation rate or meet the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) criteria of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
"Our administrators were very pleased to accept this award on behalf of our staff," said Dalton High’s principal Debbie Freeman. "Certainly, it is their hard work, professional commitment and personal desire to meet the needs of every DHS student that secured this recognition for the school. In addition, our district’s commitment and support for our mission of providing essential academic skills and opportunities for every student to build social capacity, civic-mindedness and integrity provides a steady focus for continually improving our school and our district."
Freeman noted several reasons why she felt the school was making progress with students including the school’s approach to meeting the needs of the individual student in all areas of the mission. She added that Dalton High provides a rigorous college preparatory curriculum, a dual approach to graduation that exposes students to both high academics and nationally certified career-technical programs, support for student learning before and after school, student leadership opportunities and a vast array of extra-curricular programs that allow students to explore interests and make a greater connection between their interests and classroom learning.
"One very important reason these external recognitions are possible is the tremendous local support Dalton High has from our community," she said. "We are blessed to have not only the fiscal resources but also the corporate and volunteer support that makes our continuous improvement plan achievable."
Local Mayor David Pennington, a graduate of Dalton High School, agreed with Freeman’s assessment of community support for Dalton High’s efforts to improve student achievement.
"As a community, it is important to us that our local education system prepares our students for the future, " said Pennington. "Our students’ success today equals our community’s success tomorrow. I am glad to see Dalton High receive two very distinguished honors in recent months. This external validation of their results with students speaks well for both the school and the school district and is a plus in marketing our community to new industry and newcomer families."
High Schools That Work is a national, comprehensive school improvement design based on the premise that most students can master rigorous academic and career/technical studies if school leaders and teachers create a school environment that motivates all students to make the effort to succeed. The HSTW initiative is the nation’s first large-scale effort to engage state, district and school leaders in partnership with teachers, students, parents and the community to equip all students with the knowledge and skills needed to graduate from high school and succeed in college and the workplace. More than 1,100 high schools in 31 states participate in the HSTW school improvement initiative.