Vernon High School draws on a long history of pride and excellence. Ask anyone who has been around Vernon for a few years and they will tell you of a state champion football, tennis and academic UIL team. They will also tell you of academic excellence. The bottom line is that Vernon has a foundation of excellence. Excellence is expected, even demanded...Mediocrity is not tolerated.
Change
As Heraclitus says, "The only constant in the universe is change." Vernon is no exception to this rule. As many rural Texas towns, Vernon has experienced a rise in poverty and a decrease in population as the economy suffers and good jobs move to the cities and overseas. Consequently, beginning in the '90s achievement in academics and athletics in Vernon began to decline.
Lion Pride
While some would accept defeat at this point, Vernon did not. Many of the vernon administrators and teachers, new and old, had either participated in or knew of Vernon's past excellence. The administrators put together a plan and began to communicate the vision: Lion Pride!
The plan our administrators have put into place is built on current research and past experience. Together we are building professional learning communities, implementing good curriculum and encouraging pride in our schools.
PLC's
Many of us have never heard of professional learning communities. The idea is that teachers and administrators work together, rather than in isolation. We work together with each other, with parents and with community members. When we all work together there is no end to what we can accomplish. At Vernon High School, we are working together to reach our students.
Curriculum and Technology
At Vernon, we are implementing the C-Scope curriculum. The beauty of C-Scope is that it allows continuity between schools and districts. If a student is to move into our district from another, that students will not have any gaps. C-Scope insures vertical alignment. Each student will have the background they need when they move from one grade to the next.
C-Scope is no silver bullet, however. In some districts C-Scope is used for an easy "canned curriculum." Not so at Vernon. Teachers are allowed the fredom to plan and create lessons of their own within the scope and sequence. The result is a unique education that fits our students and helps them to achieve.
Vernon backs up their teachers with the technology they need to implement their lessons effectively and to gather data on student achievement. A walk through Vernon High School will reveal projectors in every room, interactive white boards, CPS "clickers," laptops in the science labs, wifi, and a host of other technological devices. Vernon High School also has a Facebook and Twitter account to keep parents informed. Finally, teachers maintain class web pages to keep their students up to date!
Curiculum and technology would be no good without excellent teaching and a bit of creative scheduling. At Vernon, our teachers have time scheduled for one on one work with struggling students. Some students are scheduled into two hour intensive classes to help them catch up if they have fallen behind.
Pride
Proud to be a Lion! This is a phrase that you will hear frequently at Vernon High School. It follows every announcement as a reminder of of excellence. When a student, Teacher or administrator hears this phrase they are reminded that excellence is what is expected, even demanded from them. In addition to our slogan, you will also hear our fight song and anthems from big universities played over the intercom during passing period. The fight song serves as a reminder to support our students who represent us at events. The anthems remind students that they are preparing for a bigger, brighter future of excellence.
In addition to reminders such as these, our students are encouraged to be fanatical for their school and for their team. Where some schools discourage noise and craziness at pep rallies, our school endorses it. Student make a lot of noise while encouraging their team!
Improvement
I could brag about all of the improvement that has taken place at Vernon High School over the past two years, but the results speak for themselves. A quick look at the TAKs results shows vast improvements across the board. A walk down the hallways of our school reveals excitement and enregy. Studnets are engaged in learning and excited about being part of their school. The community buzzes with good conversation about the school. The local paper is full of articles documenting events.
I challenge you to do just this, visit our school, get involved. If you do, you may also find that you are Proud to be a Lion!
