Central+High+School+Fall+2015

** Central High School Fall 2015 ** = Lauren Cicero = Lauren Cicero

70 Fricker St, Providence, RI 02903 (401) 456- 9111

Principal: Julia Carlson Asst. Principal: William Niemeyer Asst. Principal: K.C. Perry Asst. Principal: Jonathan Mendelsohn



= Introduction = ==== Central High School located in Providence Rhode Island works with students so help them thrive in the future. According to the school’s website, Central High School educates students in grades 9-12 in order to “instruct students in practical knowledge, foster positive attitudes, encourage commendable behaviors, and promote opportunities in order for students to realize their potential to thrive in a global technological society”. ==== = **Community Background** =

In order to understand Central High School more we will look at the environment around the high school. The chart below shows family characteristics including a display of income, domestic violence, and medical need within the community Central High School is located in. In order to gain perspective on this community, it is important to note that this high school is located in the Providence District of Rhode Island which includes a total of 10 local high schools and 29 other middle schools and elementary schools.



The chart below shows the large percentage of single- parent families. In this community there is a 15% difference, in the single- parent category, between the state of Rhode Island and this community. Due to this increased percentage, there is a large percentage of families living below the federal poverty level. There are many factors that may affect that percentage, but there is about a 50% difference between the income of families in this community compared to the state.



The chart shows that while Providence has a median household income of $37,632 the average American household brings in $53,046. This statistic is interesting because the median household income of people in Rhode Island is $56,361, which is above the national median. Therefore, the poverty issue stems from the community rather than the state as a whole. Also, the poverty in families with children under 18 is about twice as high as the poverty in the nation. It is shown that 15.5% of the community has an income less than $10,000 per year, meanwhile, Rhode Island is 7.7% and the United States trails with 7.2%. Safety: This chart (above) shows the elevated amount of violence in the community. It shows that 25.7 children per 1,000 has a parent that is incarcerated. In the state of Rhode Island the average number is 11.8 out of 1,000 children. Correspondingly, the percent of domestic violence incidents was a high 52% in 2013 while Rhode Island as whole was at 40%. The last community- based table shows the health and care of children in the area. It shows that an average of 31.1 (out of 1,000) teenage girls ages 15-19 becomes pregnant in this community-- meanwhile the women with delated prenatal care is 17.2 per 1,000.

**District Summary** Next, moving on to the District statistics, the Providence District contains 10 high schools, 7 middle schools, and 22 elementary schools. In this section, we will take a look at the student characteristics as well as incidents of suspension. Based on the amount of schools located in this district, the data shows a broad overlook on the characteristics of this community. It is clear, when looking at the chart below, that the Providence District shows substantial differences from other parts of Rhode Island. For Example, the amount of students in this community that are eligible for subsidized lunch is a high 80% while the average of Rhode Island is 47%. Also, moving down the chart, there are high percentages of Hispanics, African Americans, and Multiracial; therefore, it makes sense that the amount of students receiving bilingual services is increased. While the Providence District percentages look high compared to Rhode Island and Barrington, Central Falls has very similar characteristics to this district. We can notice from the table (below) that there is a drastic difference in figures from left to right displaying the incidents of suspension in Rhode Island, the Providence District, Barrington, and Central Falls. The incidents of suspension in elementary schools shows 2,942 in all of Rhode Island and 1097 in the Providence District. This is compared to a low of 0 in Barrington and 8 from Central Falls. It is clear that there is a large gap between behavior in Barrington and Central Falls as compared to this district. Although Barrington and Central Falls number of suspensions increase for middle School and high School, they continue to stay far below the thousands that occur in the Providence District. ** School Analysis **

In the school analysis we will take a look at attendance rates, graduation rates, and test scores for Central High School. We have seen how the district and community compares to Barrington and Central Falls, but now we will see what Central High School is like on its own. ===== First, lets take a look at the attendance rates of the schools: From this chart, notice that Central High School has the lowest attendance rate (82%) and highest chronic absentee rate (55%). Barrington leads with a high attendance rate of 95% and only 7% chronic absentee. Central Falls shows only slightly better statistics than Central High School; it shows an attendance rate of 88% and 40% chronic absentees. Barrington's high numbers are more similarly compared to Rhode Island with an attendance rate of 92% and 24% chronic absentees.

After reviewing the percent of students that attend school, lets take a look at the amount of students that actually graduate. Again, Central High School has the least scholarly statistics. The percent of students that graduated within 4 years is 56.3% while Barrington was 94% and Central Falls 72%. The average for Rhode Island is 80.7% which is just between the percentages of Barrington and Central Falls, but Central High School falls far behind that general average. The percent of students that graduate in 5 years is highest for Central High School, but closer to the percentages of Barrington (2.8%), Central Falls (4.7%), and Rhode Island (3.8%). Unfortunately, it seems that the students who don't attempt to graduate within 5 years are part of the percentage that drop out of school all together. Central High School has the highest percentage of drop outs (19.9%). The general population of Rhode Island trails with an 8% drop out rate (same as Central Falls) and Barrington has the lowest drop out rate (1.1%). A large portion of student's high school career is based around taking standardized tests or preparing for them. Now we will take a look at how students in these schools scored on NECAP tests, SAT exams, and AP exams. NECAP Test Scores: The graph above shows a wide range of data between Central High School, Barrington, Central Falls, and Rhode Island. The subjects compared are math, reading, writing, and science for students in 11th grade. It is clearly displayed that Barrington's scores exceeded the state averages; math (79%), reading (98%), writing (82%), and science (68%). The general averages for the state of Rhode Island were: math (35%), reading (81%), writing (66%), and science (30%). The scores for Central High School are more similarly compared to Central Falls; however, Central High School still scored below Central Falls in every subject except writing. Next, take a look at the table of SAT scores: For this table, it is interesting to notice the pattern between Central High School, Barrington, and the state of Rhode Island. All of the scores are in the 300s for Central High School while the averages in Rhode Island are in the 400s and Barrington's scores are the highest in the 500s. Meanwhile, Central Falls scores in the 300s and 400s, which shows a mix of low and average scores. The performance of each school seems to stay consistent. Here is a look at the AP Exam results: First, focusing on the top portion of the table. We can notice the decrease from row 1 to row 2 as the table shows the number of students able to take the AP exam compared to the number of exams actually taken. This is a particularly interesting statistic for all of the schools, because it one of the first things that is common between all of the schools. However, as we move down the table the display of Exams scored at college- level shows the regular similarities between the low scores of Central High School and Central Falls and the above average scores of Barrington. Only 2 exams from Central High School scored at college- level mastery while Barrington had 492 and Central Falls had 20. This shows us that although all of the schools have less students take the AP exam than those who are eligible, it is less successful for Central High School students to take them.

Conclusion
Consistently, the data has shown us the low success and proficiency of Central High School and its district; however, there is a lot of room for improvement if the school system focuses on getting the students to attend school. Majority of the success in the academic community roots from students physically being in school. If the faculty focuses more on the students then it is more likely that students will display higher academic results. Another problem which may affect the overall issues of the community is the poverty and lack of safety. Unfortunately, school is the least of children's worries if they are in poverty or do not feel safe at home. School needs to be a priority and something that children want to be successful at in order for positive results to occur.

= References =

Central High School retrieved from [|__http://providenceschools.org/high-schools/central__]