The 2022-2023 school year has seen a return to a more normal and traditional setting. We no longer offered a virtual model for instruction and students were all back in the classroom receiving face-to-face instruction five days per week. Due to all students being issued Chromebooks to support a one-to-one initiative at Latta High School, we were able to continue instruction when student absences were necessary.
Our staff development revolved around our Cognia evaluation. Teachers were divided into teams and given a specific set of standards to address for the evaluation review. While this review process started in the 2021-2022 school year, it continued until our official review date in March 2023. Teachers also continued to have opportunities to develop their technology skills through staff development conducted by our Teacher Leaders. This enabled our faculty to continue to improve their technology skills to be better prepared to serve our students.
During the 2022-2023 school year, Latta High School promoted World Class Knowledge by offering rigorous courses in the International Baccalaureate Programme. We have forty juniors and seniors taking courses in this program and five are working for the International Baccalaureate Diploma. Our goal is to increase the number participating in this program in the next few years. Our Project Lead the Way Engineering program has continued to grow, and we have six students completing all four courses in this pathway this year. Our agriculture program is also gaining numbers, and we anticipate this to continue.
We no longer had to limit the number of spectators attending extracurricular events during the 2022-2023 school year. Our Agriculture Farm Business Management Team finished first in the state with one of our students receiving the highest score in the state. This group went to Indianapolis, Indiana to compete at the national level. Our Robotics Team also participated at the state level and ended up victorious. This allowed them to compete in the international competition in Houston, Texas. They were strong competitors at this competition. Our Academic Challenge Team won the Region, which earned them a position at the state competition.
Our continued implementation of Inquiry-Based instruction also led to the development of World Class Skills, to include critical thinking, problem solving, and innovation. Students were once again able to work in groups to collaborate on activities and projects in the classroom. Teachers continued to utilize Google Classroom for assignments, which supports our technology initiative.
We continued to stress the development of Life and Career Characteristics through students participating in Individual Graduation Plan Conferences in order to plan for their chosen careers. We once again had a Career Fair allowing all of our students to speak to business representatives from the various career clusters. We were excited to be able to sponsor this event and had great support from our local business community. All seniors were able to participate in our College Application Day, which provided assistance with the college application process. All participating seniors completed at least one college application and many completed several applications during the event. We anticipate a large percentage of the senior class will enroll in postsecondary education in order to achieve their goals.
We continued to focus on our arts programs. We were excited that we did not have to limit our capacity during performances for the 2022-2023 school year. We had two drama performances this year and two dance performances. Band and chorus also had performances this year. We had students continue to make Region Band, and one student made All-State Band. Our art students continued to display art work at various functions at school and in the community.
We are proud of our students’ achievements and the efforts of our staff to exceed the challenges of a rigorous and relevant education to meet the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. We believe with students, teachers, staff, School Improvement Council members, community members, and parents working collaboratively, we will continue to strive for excellence.
Nanette W. Carmichael, Principal
