1. LA High School Redesign Summit April 22, 2009 Presenter: Joseph Nagy Abbeville High School

2. Abbeville High Demographics Total Students 625 Freshman Academy Students 144 2008 S.P.S. 79.0 Graduation Index 86 Attendance Rate 91.1White45%African-American45% Asian7% Hispanic3% Free/Reduced Lunch Students 67.5% Students with Disabilities 10.4% ELL Students 1.9% Regular 7 Period Day Abbeville High School 1305 Wildcat Dr. Abbeville, LA 70510 (337) 893 1874 www.abbevillehigh.com

3. Graph of Freshman Index OVERALL SCORE ’04-’05 643 ’05-’06 640 ’06-’07 682 ’07-’08 713

4. Wednesday August 6, 2008 12:00pm - 7:00pm 27 small groups led by Senior and Junior Team Leaders Building Relationships, Games, Skits, Guest Speakers, Snacks, Dinner, Videos and FUN! Welcome Aboard! Freshman Orientation Day 2008

5. Freshman Orientation 2008 12:00-12:30Registration Schedule of Events: August 6, 200812:30-12:50Welcome 12:55-2:00 Small Group with Senior Leader 3:00-4:30 2:00-3:00 Making High School Count 6:30-7:00 Parent and Student Meeting 6:00-6:30 Parent Meeting 5:45-6:15 Drumline, Dance Team Perform 5:00-5:45Dinner 4:30-5:00 Motivational Speaker

6. Broad cross section of students showing some leadership ability chosen in early Spring Teacher recommendations (9 th, 10 th, 11 th ) Given an acceptance flyer Choose more students than needed The Team Leaders make the day successful Senior & Junior Team Leaders

7. It takes a large number of faculty and staff to make Orientation a success Administrators, teachers, paraprofessionals, secretaries, cafeteria workers, janitors- everyone! Send out a “Wanna Help?” form in late Spring Not just Freshman level teachers involved AHS has a third of the staff help with Orientation Faculty & Staff Help

8. Some food is donated (Thank you Riverfront Restaurant!!) Car wash at O’Reilly’s Auto Parts (or 2) Sales of Freshman Academy T-shirts (sold at 8 th grade parent meeting in Spring- pick up at Orientation) Funds needed for food, T-shirts, and supplies Funding Orientation Day

9. Obtain information on incoming freshman in spring or early summer Need to monitor lists of students and their information as Orientation day approaches Need addresses to send out flyer in late summer Keep track of newly registered students as well as students who have moved (counselor, secretary) Gathering Incoming Freshman Info

10. Create “Welcome Aboard” locker tags Separate Freshman into groups according to Team Leader Secure guest speakers for the day Finalize number of people attending and helping so enough food is prepared Organize competitions and secure supplies Preparing for Orientation Day

11. Finalize master schedule for day Create and print student registration sheets and parent sign-in sheets Pack all Orientation Folders for Team Leaders and Station Leaders Post signs around school showing locations of different stations, competitions, and activities Still Preparing for Orientation Day

12. Create an alphabetical list of Freshman in a spreadsheet Type in group numbers (in numerical order) next to each name Copy and paste numbers until the end of the list of Freshman Sort by “Group Number” Creating the Groups

13. Both Senior Leader and Junior Leaders receive a copy for their group Each group receives an individual schedule for Orientation Day with names of Freshman Includes school maps, “quick tips”, talking points, checklist of duties for the day Junior Folder also includes Competition forms Group number is taped to the back of the folder The Team Leader Folder

14. Create a Master Schedule using a Spreadsheet All groups must attend all stations, competitions, and activities throughout the day Good mix of groups- not staying with 1 or 2 of the same all day Some activities are done as a whole, some on individual group time Each Team Leaders gets individualized schedule Scheduling

15. Students are checked at the gym door for proper dress Students proceed to registration table to be assigned to a group and given a group number Team Leaders hold up group numbers taped to the back of their folder Welcome from administration, teachers, cheerleaders and instructions for the day Orientation Day Begins! (finally)

16. ID’s and Fees in Front Office Open your Locker PBS Video Room School Procedures Video Room Name Art Counselor Corner Stations

17. Obstacle Course (two students in three legged race- use velcro- one is blindfolded) “Don’t be Late” Competition Focus Throw (nerf ball in hula hoop blindfolded) Opening your Locker Scavenger Hunt (in 2009) Competitions

18. Welcome in gym Snack Time- “Making High School Count” speaker Guest Speaker #2 Dinner in Cafeteria Drum Line & Dance Team Performance Alma Mater all day long Other Activities

19. Parent Meeting in early evening while Freshman are in the gym after dinner Students reconnected with their parents and shown video of events from Orientation day Competition winners are announced and given prizes Debriefing meeting with Orientation team after to discuss suggestions for following year Orientation Day Ends! (finally)

20. “MAKE IT HAPPEN!” For More Information: Abbeville High School 1305 Wildcat Dr. Abbeville, LA 70510 (337) 893 1874 www.abbevillehigh.com (Check out the Freshman Academy link!) James Segrest, Principal jsegrest@vrml.k12.la.us Jeff Janette, Assistant Principal jjanette@vrml.k12.la.us Joseph Nagy, Freshman Teacher jnagy@vrml.k12.la.us