Check out this great opportunity with Columbus South High School.

A message from William K. Ragland II:

Good Morning Business and Community Leaders,

I hope this email finds you well. My name is William K. Ragland II and I am the School Transformation Facilitator at Columbus South High School working with the Diplomas Now program. Diplomas Now is a proven approach that helps the toughest middle and high schools in America’s largest cities ensure that every student graduates ready for college or career. It is the first fully integrated approach that improves a school’s curriculum and instruction, while it provides the right students with the right support at the right time. The Diplomas Now partnership is comprised of Talent Development Secondary (a program of Johns Hopkins University), City Year, and Communities in Schools. Our goal at South is to increase attendance rates, decrease behavior infractions, and increase course passage rates beginning with students in the seventh grade.

South is in the fifth and final year of implementation of the Diplomas Now program. At the end of the 2012-2013 school year, South High School promoted 98% of its freshmen class to the 10th grade on track. This is a 93% increase from the previous year. Of 44 schools in 12 cities nationwide implementing the Diplomas Now school turn around model, South quietly earned Diplomas Now High School of the Year honors last year because of its efforts. During the 2013-2014 South High School 10^th grade students scored remarkably well on the Ohio Graduation Test. We saw double digit gains in every subject tested, including thirty-percent gains in reading and writing respectively. We also promoted 90% of our freshman to 10^th grade on time. South High School was awarded the prestigious Straight “A” Fund Grant from the Ohio Department of Education. Our first cohort (2016) of Diplomas Now students graduated last school year. Eighty-eight percent of the graduating class had experienced the Diplomas Now program for three or more years. Our graduation class ranked among the top 10 high schools in the district. Our Freshman Matriculation last school year rate ranked among the top 5 high schools in the district.

As a part of the Diplomas Now program we will be conducting quarterly report card conferences with our seventh through twelfth grade students. We are looking for business and community leaders that are willing to come speak with individual students about their second quarter report card. Our second quarter report card conference will take place on January 26^th , 2017 from 8:00- 10:30am in the school cafeteria. You do not have to stay the entire time if you have other conflicts; any time you can give is greatly appreciated. I will provide a brief training on how the conferences are to be conducted beginning at 8:00am on January 26^th.

If you can attend please confirm your attendance by emailing me at wragland@jhu.edu or calling me at 614-365-5541 ext. 223. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Please share this invite with any of your friends or colleagues that may be interested in attending.

At the end of 2016-2017 school year, the Diplomas Now program as currently constituted will be leaving South High School. I would like to “Thank you” all for your support of the program and most importantly your support of the students at South High School.

I know this invite is later than I usually send it. I just returned from paternity leave. I hope you can still make it.

Thank you for reading this email. Together we will make a difference at South High School and in Columbus!

Sincerely,

William K. Ragland II

School Transformation Facilitator, Columbus OH

Talent Development Secondary

2701 N. Charles Street

Baltimore, MD 21218

Phone:  (614)-365-5541

Cell:  (614) 348-6664

Email:  wragland@jhu.edu

Web: www.tdschools.org