Kendrick is a Reading School.
Kendrick is the only high school in Columbus with a reading program designed to improve reading abilities and scores on standardized tests such as the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) and the End-of-Course Tests.
We have Scholastic Reading Inventory© (SRI) and Scholastic Reading Counts© (SRC) both of which have contributed significantly to our high scores on the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT).
SRI is a research-proven computerized test used for measuring a student's reading abilities or lexile level. Once students are tested, teachers use this information to better serve their students
SRC is a computerized testing program designed to test student comprehension of the books they have read. With this program, teachers have more flexibility to individualize a reading program for each student.
At Kendrick, our reading program definitely supports the concept of reading across the curriculum. We are on the cutting edge because the new Georgia Standards are now emphasizing this.
History of the Kendrick SRC Reading Program
What They Did
During the school years between 1991-92 and 1994-95, full bus loads of volunteers left Buena Vista Rd. at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday mornings and arrived at Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta approximately two hours later. They then worked for four to six hours in the food and souvenir concessions before being released to ride all of the rides they wanted. Some of them served food, bussed tables, emptied trash, waited on customers in the souvenir stands, and swept the park grounds.
Who Were They?
The buses were filled with English department teachers, their husbands, other staff members, and dozens of Kendrick students. They worked at Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta many Saturdays during the spring and fall months over the three+ year span in order to earn money to implement the SRC program. On many trips, even the bus driver worked to help the cause. The bus transported between 40-50 individuals to the Six Flags park on these trips. Several of the other teachers involved have since either retired or moved to other locations.
The student volunteers did whatever they were asked to do during their work time at the park. The students were well-behaved and respectful to the chaparones and the Six Flags personnel.
All of the volunteers were allowed to eat at the employee canteen as well as travel through some of the back routes through the park used by the regular paid employees of the park. Once they were finished with their work shifts, they were allowed to enjoy the remainder of the day in the amusement park. The bus did not usually leave until the park closed at 10:00 p.m. so that the students had as much time as possible to play.
What They Did It For
The Six Flags Company paid approximately $5.00 per hour for every hour worked by the volunteers. The English department was able to raise approximately $1500-2000 for each Saturday workday at Six Flags. These funds were used to purchase the software and even the network server used in the reading lab. They also purchased as many tests for the books in the library as they could.
Who Benefitted?
Because of the hundreds of hours that these volunteers traveled to Six Flags and worked, several thousand Kendrick students have been encouraged to read books that they otherwise would not have read and greatly broadened their horizons. By doing so, they have improved their reading ability to the point that standardized test scores in all areas have benefited. Not only have test scores improved, but the students have improved their life potentials.
Who Thought of It?
The SRC project was the brainchild of Mrs. Laura Ward, the former English Department chairperson. She taught at Kendrick from the time that the school was only two or three years old until she retired in 2008 with 40 years of service. Mrs. Ward cared very much for the students that pass through Kendrick on their way to their continued education and adult lives.
History of the Kendrick SRI Testing Program
Approximately five years of the introduction of the SRC Program at Kendrick, Mrs. Willard wrote several grants over the next few years to obtain funds from the Muscogee Educational Excellence Foundation (MEEF) in order to purchase new tests. This increased the variety of books that the students could read and be tested on.
The SRC Program is now being used by teachers in other departments as well. Many Science and Social Studies teachers now require SRC book test grades during each nine-week grading period.
For more information, please see Mrs. Owens or any of the other English teachers.