Clay County High School Principal Carl Ledbetter told the School Board Thursday he is pushing to improve student outcomes by focusing on increasing ACT scores and student attendance rates.
Ledbetter said he officially began his tenure as principal in May. Ledbetter said achieving this will require a culture of high expectations for every student regardless of their background.
“It’s been a few years since we’ve had a long-term goal we can strive for,” Ledbetter said. “Last year, our senior students who took the ACT retake averaged a 17.6 on their ACT. And I believe, that starting this school year, I want to shoot for a 20. Now that’s a big goal, but I believe in high expectations.”
Ledbetter said his goals for the school are inspired by his seven years of experience as a teacher in the district and his desire to see students reach their full potential.
Ledbetter said as part of this initiative, his administration will focus on higher attendance. Ledbetter said the national trend of poor school attendance has been reflected at Clay County High School and is something he hopes to reverse.
“I’ve been able to see this with my own eyes from the lens of a teacher and there’s only so many things that one teacher can do and a lot of teachers feel this way that this is something that can be improved with the proper support,” Ledbetter said. “And so now that I’m blessed with this position, you know I’m going to use every tool at our disposal.”
Ledbetter said the school plans to implement ACT preparation classes during home study periods and utilize bell ringers across all class periods to integrate testing skills. Ledbetter said the district will also utilize resources from Tennessee Tech through the Gear Up program and the Ayers Foundation to support these academic goals.
“It doesn’t matter if you have a learning disability, doesn’t matter if you’re gifted, if you’re on paper average, everybody’s going to be held to a high standard,” Ledbetter said. “And I think that means a lot to everybody involved, the expectation shouldn’t change based on where you’re from.”
Ledbetter said even if the school falls short of their goal next year, any improvement in ACT scores would be a step in the right direction.
“We have a lot of resources despite the disadvantages we may have, we’re not going to let those disadvantages keep us from achieving our goals,” Ledbetter said.
Ledbetter said there is a direct link between attendance and academic performance, stating that higher absentee rates result in significant losses of instructional time. Ledbetter said the school will work to build stronger relationships with students and use incentives to make the high school more appealing to students.
“As they hopefully go to school more because it’s not just about increasing the attendance rate, it’s about also in a way, how can we make school be a place where they don’t want to skip and lay out?” Ledbetter said.
Ledbetter said that while the county faces challenges as a highly impoverished rural area, he believes the staff and available resources are sufficient to overcome those disadvantages. Ledbetter said maintaining a focus on the ACT is vital even for students considering trades or TCAT programs because it ensures they have maximum flexibility for their future careers.
In other business, the school board approved multiple revised policies to reflect changes made from the state legislature.
The board also voted to approve renewal quotes for a Linewize monitoring software. The program, which has been in use for the past six years, allows teachers to have a live view of what students are doing on their devices in the classroom and flags explicit content, like references to drugs or suicide.
The school district will hold an in-house professional development session on July 27 to further prepare teachers for the upcoming school year.
