WESTERN HEIGHTS TRANSFORMATION PLAN
EDUCATION ENSURE CHILDREN HAVE ACCESS TO EARLY LEARNING PROGRAMS, ARE PROFICIENT IN CORE ACADEMIC SUBJECTS, AND GRADUATE COLLEGE/CAREER READY Knox County Schools and the Knox Education Foundation are partners in developing a pathway to improve the education outcomes of local students. While residents are highly pleased with the education received at Beaumont Magnet Academy, target residents cited an overall dissatisfaction with area schools and a need for early childhood education opportunities.
130
|
Over 43% of residents in Western Heights target households are children. There are 150 children age 17 and under in the target households. The standardized scores for neighborhood schools fall below the average scores for the district, including at Beaumont Magnet Academy, when the data focuses exclusively on local neighborhood students. STRATEGY 1 Provide Western Heights children ages 0 to 5 access to quality early-learning opportunities » Build CAC Head Start location in Western Heights to open Fall 2022, serving 134 children, infant to preschool. Currently, the nearest Head Start to Western Heights only offers half-day programming to accommodate two classes of children per day. » Provide a preference for target families at the Western Heights CAC Head Start location » Provide in-home family assessments to determine needs and establish family goals » Host monthly parent meetings and engage parents to serve in leadership positions at the Head Start center
The People Plan / Education
» Provide special services for children with suspected/identified disabilities » Provide home-based parent education and support services for families experiencing life stressors » Improve access to age-appropriate books and improve early reading outcomes STRATEGY 2 Help school-aged children gain proficiency in core academic subjects, graduate high school, and pursue career or college pathway plans » Institute programming to increase the reading proficiency rate » Institute programming to increase the math proficiency rate » Establish programming to increase the overall 9th-grade algebra I proficiency rate » Launch programming to increase college admissions for neighborhood youth » Connect students in grades 6 to 12 with opportunities for tiered systems of career exploration » Provide access to high-quality tutors to assist in remediating learning loss » Increase participation in STEM-based certification and training programs » Increase access to educational support
