Lee High School has high expectations for its staff and students. It is our goal to not only become fully accredited, but to also become one of the leading schools in the state of Virginia by 2016. We operate our school on not only the district mission and motto of “Committed to Excellence”, but to our own motto “Aspire, Expect and Achieve". Our mission statement, along with our goals is the foundation to our school’s purpose.
The Faculty and staff of Lee High School will provide the highest standard of education to students of all ability levels to enable them to meet the standards of an ever-changing world. We will consistently provide updated technology and innovative educational techniques and strategies to meet the educational, vocational, social, psychological needs and interests of our students. We will strive to prepare students to be responsible citizens who have an appreciation for our democratic way of life.
Lee High School’s beliefs are:
- We believe in the worth of all students and believe that their worth will be increased by providing tools to be life-long learners.
- We believe that students must understand that they are the ones ultimately responsible for their learning.
- We believe that diversity is a strength and should be celebrated, both in the content of our curriculum and the make-up of our student body.
- We believe that a safe, positive, and supportive atmosphere is invaluable.
- We believe that instruction should meet the needs of all students, regardless of the level of learning or the way in which they learn.
- We believe that technology positively impacts student achievement as it changes the teaching and learning environment.
- We believe that Respect, Attitude, Cooperation, Effort, and Responsibility (R.A.C.E.R) are integral to success, and we strive to model and teach these values as a part of our curriculum.
Lee High School maintains a curriculum that is aligned to the Virginia Standards of Learning, is diverse and frequently monitored. Our curriculum is a rigorous course of studies, leading towards the end of year SOL tests, Advanced Placement, Dual Enrollment, MOS (Microsoft User Specialist) Work Place Readiness, Customer Service, OSHA, and State Nursing Boards examinations, to name a few, that meet the needs of highly motivated secondary school students at every level and interest. Lee High is also an IT (Information Technology) Academy, active for three years. Our curriculum is ever-changing and challenging based on the needs of the 21st century student.
The diversity of curriculum options is one of the highlights of Lee High School. Students may choose to study a combination of subjects in greater or lesser depth according to their own requirements. Outside of the compulsory courses of study, student may choose many options from the Art discipline (for example, Band, Chorus, Foreign Languages such as Spanish and French) or from the Vocational and Technical disciplines such as CIS (Computer Information Systems), ITF (Information Technology Fundamentals), Computer Networking, and Culinary Arts to name a few. Lee High offers many levels of core course work to help meet the needs of each student. Our main focus is our students. Our classrooms accommodate various learning styles, multiple intelligences and require each student to use higher-order thinking and problem solving skills. We will leave no child behind as we are continually striving toward differentiated instruction and collaboration. Our vision for each student, no matter the learning level, is to help each student reach his/her maximum potential through our vision towards differentiated instruction:
No two students enter a classroom with identical abilities, experiences, and needs. Learning style, language proficiency, background knowledge, readiness to learn, and other factors can vary widely within a single class group. Regardless of their individual differences, however, students are expected to master the same concepts, principles, and skills. Writing assignments may be adjusted to allow more time to complete; questions may be added to allow comprehension; tests may be extended to allow the students ample time to give the best possible results and chance for success. Most students with special needs or at risk of failure generally find the tasks of reading out loud or responding to questions the most difficult both academically and emotionally; therefore, the classroom environment must be made to feel that all students regardless of abilities or skills, will be treated the same and have the best possible chance at success. Giving the student the understanding that the classroom environment and teacher are working for the best possible outcome for student success allows the student to learn and move forward in their skills rather than be boxed into the traditional label attached to them that inhibits or prevents their success.
Ways in which differentiated instruction may be done are:
- Identify the level at which individual students are working
- Determine student interests. On a regular basis, ask students to identify topics that interest them and activities that occupy their non-school time
- Based on Content Utilize pre-tests to assess where individual students need to begin study of a given topic or unit
- Encourage thinking at various levels of Bloom's taxonomy
- Use a variety of instructional delivery methods to address different learning styles
- Break assignments into smaller, more manageable parts that include structured directions for each part
- Choose broad instructional concepts and skills that lend themselves to understanding at various levels of complexity.
- Based on Process Provide access to a variety of materials which target different learning preferences and reading abilities.
- Develop activities that target auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners.
- Establish stations for inquiry-based, independent learning activities
- Create activities that vary in level of complexity and degree of abstract thinking required.
- Use flexible grouping to group and regroup students based on factors including content, ability, and assessment results.
- Based on Product Use a variety of assessment strategies, including performance-based and open-ended assessment.
- Balance teacher-assigned and student-selected projects.
- Offer students a choice of projects that reflect a variety of learning
The faculty and staff encourage and promote a culture of high expectations in academics and behavior for all.
Lee High offers our faculty and non-teaching staff professional development that will meet and resolve challenges in their area of responsibility. Professional development is a priority of not only our school, but our school district as we strive towards full accreditation, as well as our goal to be a top school in the state of Virginia.
Lee High prides itself on its determination to include our community in all of our activities, as well as actively work with our community to collaborate with the school to prepare our students to become life-long learners and productive members of our community and worldwide society. Our community is what makes Lee High strong. Through various organizations and our community leadership, we will provide the best support network to our students and families.
Lee High School continually seeks to improve itself in order to provide our students the best possible education we can give them. Despite the hardships our community has faced in the past years and the growing economic difficulties our stakeholders and our school system face, Lee High will stand by its belief in doing “whatever you need me to do” in order to ensure the success of our students.
