Erin Barnett

Under Construction

Some of you may have noticed the portable classrooms in our parking lot and wondered why we need them.  SPLOST II funds have provided for the total renovation the 400 hallway which houses four Chemistry labs and two Physics labs.  When the construction project is completed in October, our students will have science labs like those at Hillgrove and Allatoona High Schools, the two newest high schools.  We are very excited about this project, the state of the art equipment our students will have, and the quality of science instruction our students will experience.  While those classrooms are under construction, six science teachers will be displaced.  Three of them can be moved to other classroom space within the building; however, the other three will be temporarily housed in three of the portable classrooms.  The fourth portable classroom is for a special district program which serves all of the high schools in our area and will remain on campus indefinitely.

In September, Cobb County voters will have the opportunity to vote on SPLOST III, continuing the one cent sales tax that funds projects such as the renovation Sprayberry is currently experiencing.  If SPLOST III passes, the rest of our science labs will be completely renovated, along with most of the building.  I would encourage you to go to the district web site at www.cobbk12.org and look at the many significant improvements Sprayberry will receive if voters approve SPLOST III.

Sprayberry was recently named one of Newsweek Magazine's top schools, placing us in the top 5% of US high schools for the second year in a row.  The results from the Georgia High School Graduation Tests which our juniors took in March were recently reported in the newspapers and were quite good.  We will know within the next few weeks whether or not we met the criteria for Adequate Yearly Progress as defined by No Child Left Behind.  As soon as this validation process is final, I will let you know.  There are many exciting things happening at Sprayberry as we prepare for the coming school year so stay tuned for further updates.

Preparing for the 21st Century

Sprayberry High School has the unique distinction of being the only high school in the Cobb County School District with 21st Century technology in every classroom.  This state-of-the-art technology enables teaching and learning to be more interactive and engaging for students; makes access to invaluable online instructional resources a click away; and gives students experience using technology skills necessary for the 21st century work force.  Combining this initiative with the courses available through Sprayberry's Advanced Placement Certified Schools, Demonstration Level program, ensures that our students are receiving a very high quality academic program.

Why is it so important that Sprayberry have this technology and rigorous academic program?  Here are some illuminating statistics and facts.  Every 8 seconds, 34 babies are born in the U.S., India, and China.  Of those 34 babies, 5 are born in India and  4 in China for every 1 birth in the U.S.  In 2006, 1.3 million students graduated from college in the U.S., 3.1 million graduated in India (all fluent in English), and 3.3 million graduated in China.  Most of the degrees awarded in China and India were in math, science, and engineering.  Most of the degrees awarded in the U.S. were in liberal arts.  Many of the college majors available today did not exist ten years ago.  It is predicted that in ten years, China will have the largest English speaking population.  Half of all workers in the U.S. have been with their current employer less than five years, and most workers in the 21st century will have ten to fourteen jobs during their lifetime.  Therefore, it is crucial that students know how to learn, unlearn, and relearn work-related skills.  In 2007, there were approximately 600 billion internet devices, with the number increasing rapidly.  By 2010, it is predicted that technological information will double every 72 hours, and the World Wide Web (www) will be replaced with the Semantic Web which makes all of the information in the world available in all languages.  In ten years, workers in a prototypical U.S. industry will be doing predominantly creative work, including research, development, design, marketing and sales, and global supply chain management.   We are educating students for jobs that do not currently exist to solve problems we do not know about or foresee.

How do we respond to these startling statistics and demands?  At Sprayberry, we are paying attention to the findings of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce that, last year, released a report entitled Tough Choices or Tough Times.  This report focuses on the education students will need in order to be competitive in a global economy.  Students must be able to solve abstract problems, work in teams, find accurate information and know how to integrate and use it, and speak a language other than English.  Teaching and learning must be interdisciplinary, combining information from technology and design, art and mathematics.  Through technology, students can access new sources of information.  Because we are a screen-based society, as opposed to page-based, the definition of literacy is changing.  Blogging, podcasts, video production and editing, and graphic design are skills that students will need to be successful and competitive in the 21st century economy.  We can teach students how to use online spaces for academic and work-related, functional pursuits.

Sprayberry teachers will be able to adequately prepare students for life and work in the 21st century through performance based instruction, integration of 21st century technology skills, interdisciplinary teaching and learning, and performance tasks that require abstract thinking to produce creative, innovative solutions to real-world problems.  I hope you will be able to join us at 5:30 on January 31st for a demonstration of the 21st century technology.