Paul Duke STEM High School strives for high levels of student well-being, belonging, and engagement through positive relationships and a supportive learning environment. Therefore, based on 2024-2025 data on attendance and student behavior, we aspire to reduce chronic absenteeism and discipline referrals in support of students' well-being, belonging, and engagement.

1. 1. Improve and optimize our Advisement Experience
      • We have aligned our Advisement, SEL, and PBIS programs to maximize the effectiveness of the program for the next couple of years.
      • Our Advisement classes meet twice a week. Advisement teachers are assigned the same 25 students for all four years of their high school experience, which allows teachers and students to develop a sense of community.
      • Advisement teachers are conferencing individually with students and communicating with parents. We will develop a schedule and script to help teachers to confer with their advisement students during Advisement and Intervention Blocks.
      • We will continue to provide ongoing training to Faculty and Staff to support our Advisement program through professional learning sessions and training for advisement leaders. 
   2. Implement our Local School Attendance Plan to support school attendance. This plan serves as a reference to ensure interventions are implemented promptly, as early interventions have been correlated with more positive outcomes. Similar to other intervention frameworks, attendance is addressed based on a three-tiered approach:  
      • Tier I supports are preventative supports for all students, which include monthly attendance team meetings, interventions, incentives, and supports.
      • Tier II interventions are centered around personalized outreach as students exceed 3 unexcused absences or 10 excused absences. 
      • Tier III are intensive interventions, that usually involve external organizations. Please note that the interventions listed below represent only the foundational or broad strategies for addressing chronic absenteeism. Each local school is encouraged to develop and implement specific, tailored interventions that address the unique needs of individual students and the school community.
   3. Implement our Positive Behavior Intervention System (PBIS) to improve behavior outcomes 
      • This year will be our fourth year of our PBIS, and we have experienced significant success with PBIS
      • As a part of our PBIS program, we will have quarterly training sessions for staff to support our students, who are grouped into "HOUSES" for belonging and positive competitions
      • We will continue to invest in the development of our PBIS Coordinator
      • We are implementing our PBIS system using an easy-to-use software, which the teachers and PBIS leadership team helped identify. 
      • We will continue to provide ongoing training to Faculty and Staff to support our PBIS implementation through professional learning sessions and training for PBIS leaders. 
   4. Engage students with co-curricular and extracurricular clubs and activities 
      • Host a club and Activity Fair in August to expose students to multiple opportunities to engage in our school community (August)
      • We will host after-school and summer learning experiences around Computer Science, Robotics, Drones, and Design to promote engagement, belonging, and student learning
   5. Actively support Student and Staff Student Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
      • Warm Welcome and Optimistic Closing will be modeled in every meeting starting in pre-planning. These lessons and practices are incorporated into meetings and professional learning. 
      • Teachers received a digital copy of “SEL 3 Signature Practices Playbook” during Pre-planning
      • Teachers will incorporate SEL practices within daily classroom lessons such as warm welcomes, optimistic closures, and engaging strategies.
      • Teachers will receive professional learning and resources to support SEL implementation.
      • Meetings and professional learning opportunities will model SEL practices for teachers. 
      • We are making a focused effort to assess and support our teachers' growth and confidence with SEL. 
   6. Demonstrate relevance of the AKS through Project-Based Learning (PBL) 
      • All teachers incorporate at least two project-based or problem-based learning experiences
      • Teachers will be provided additional planning time to develop PBL learning experiences that connect learning of the AKS with future opportunities.
      • Professional learning and collaborative planning around productive group work and relevancy to support and increase student engagement

The table below shows the percentage of students with regular attendance (students attending 95% or greater days), students with chronic absenteeism, and students with disciplinary referrals. Our goal is to significantly improve attendance and behavioral outcomes during the 2025-2026 school year.

Paul Duke STEM will implement an effective Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), to increase the fidelity of High-Quality Tier 1 instruction as well as Tier 2 & Tier 3 supports for students, including targeted small-group instruction, ongoing formative assessments, and effective use of our Instructional Framework.

Our goal is to increase the percentage of students scoring at the Proficient or Distinguished level on the Georgia Milestones Assessment System (GMAS), particularly our Multi-Lingual Learners (MLLs).

During the 2025-2026 school year, Paul Duke STEM High School will focus on the following action steps:

1. Prioritize the Effectiveness of our Collaborative Learning Teams (CLTs)
   • Focus on the implementation of our school's Instructional Framework
   • Utilize peer observations, classroom walkthroughs, and GTES feedback (informal and formal) to enhance and monitor Tier 1 instruction 
   • With our English/Language Arts Teams, we will focus on the New LA Standards Professional Learning and Implementation plan
2. Year-long professional development to support effective instruction and student supports
   • This year, we have a year-long professional learning plan called PDS University
   • We will focus on building the capacity of faculty and staff to design and implement effective student interventions
   • MTSS Leadership Team meets weekly to lead and support students' interventions
   • Instructional Leadership Team works together to support effective practices to support and lead exceptional Collaborative Learning Teams (CLT) and effective Tier 1 instruction
   • Continue to encourage participation in the Coaching, ESOL, and Gifted Endorsement Program
3. Continue to develop our Supportive Community Processes and Structures
   • We are focused on implementing our supports and interventions with fidelity this year. 
   • Our MTSS leadership team meets every other week to develop, implement, monitor, and improve our Multi-Tiered System of Supports with a focus on the new GaMTSS Rubric Alignment (Team Fidelity Tool) with PBIS and MTSS Teams
   • We will continue to leverage digital Kid Talks via Teams to help collect information on students while minimizing in-person meetings. Digital Kid Talks have been a game-changer with accurate and efficient data collection as well as with the speed of MTSS and RTI processes
   • Attendance interventions will be leveraged to support students’ attendance.
   • We will offer After School Tutoring & Peer Tutoring to support students
   • We continue to use our Flexible Intervention on Wednesdays and Fridays to maximize student supports and interventions during the day.
4. Improving MTSS Processes, Supports, and Procedures
   • We will focus on building the capacity of our teachers and teams to increase collaborative conversations about interventions and differentiation strategies.
   • We are working to provide a supportive community through a focused approach to student discipline, particularly tardies, AWOLs, and absences. 
   • We are implementing PBIS school-wide, and our initial team has been trained and is working to train the entire faculty and staff. 
   • Grade level teams will meet regularly to have “Kid Talks” to discuss student supports, interventions, and remediation
   • Credit Recovery will be offered to support learning of AKS not mastered in Semester 1 or Prerequisite classes. We will offer multiple credit recovery sessions throughout the year.
5. Leveraging Academic Press
   • We will be working to improve the function and operation of our PLCs and course teams so that teachers can:

      

     • Differentiate and adapt to each and every students’ needs (MLL, SpEd, Gifted, On-Level, Below-Level) (Tier 1)

     • Connect the learning to real-world applications (STEMMY Tier 1)

     • Facilitate student-centered learning and pull small groups (STEMMY Tier 1)

     • Provide appropriate interventions in math and science (Tier 1+)

   • Our school will continue to optimize Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions.
   • Course teams in EOC courses and prerequisite courses will develop and administer AKS aligned assessments and lessons to support engagement, learning, and success.
   • Course Teams and teachers will leverage digital resources such as DeltaMath, IXL Math, and other digital resources
   • Teachers will leverage small group instructional focus on core skills and concepts

Our first goal is to significantly increase the number of students scoring at the Proficient or Above level on four high school Georgia Milestones Assessments by the end of the 2025-2026 school year.

• Milestones Proficiency Rate (%P/D)    Lit. & Comp. II EOC    60%
• Milestones Proficiency Rate (%P/D)    Algebra EOC               63%
• Milestones Proficiency Rate (%P/D)    Biology EOC               65%
• Milestones Proficiency Rate (%P/D)    U.S. History EOC         65%

Our second goal to significantly increase the number of students scoring at the Developing or Above level on four high school Georgia Milestones Assessments by the end of the 2025-2026 school year.

• Milestones Performance Index  (% Developing and above)  Lit. & Comp. II EOC 80%
• Milestones Performance Index  (% Developing and above)  Algebra EOC 85%
• Milestones Performance Index  (% Developing and above)  Biology EOC 85%
• Milestones Performance Index  (% Developing and above)  U.S. History EOC 90%

Paul Duke STEM aspires to prepare all students for opportunities in both college and careers. In order to expand student opportunities to complete advanced coursework and earn postsecondary credit, we will intentionally expand opportunities for Black and Latino students to complete Advanced Coursework through AP and Dual Enrollment.

1. Expand Advanced Coursework Options and Opportunities
   • Expand AP Access through the use of Equal Opportunity Schools (EOS) survey, data, and resources
   • Expand AP Lang participation (Leverage assessment data to support enrollment and recruitment)
   • Expand Dual Enrollment Partnerships and course offerings
   • Support teachers with Professional Learning
   • Offer students the opportunity to attend Maxwell
   • Offer a Fall and Spring Parent Expo
2. We will expand student supports and the effectiveness of our MTSS for each and every student in advanced courses by offering the following:
   
   • We will offer specific AP Advisement Lessons
   • We will offer Peer Mentoring & Tutoring during our Flex and Intervention 
   • College Fair and Visits
   • Improving Tier 1 Student Academic Supports in AP
   • Progressing students from below grade level to at grade to beyond grade level between grades 9-11
3. Expand parent supports for each and every student group
   
   • Parent Meetings and Mentoring
   • Improved Counseling Support
   • Parent Instructional Coordinator (PISC)

In SY2025-2026, 51% of our AP test takers were classified as Latino/Hispanic or Black, while 75% of our overall student population is Latino/Hispanic or Black. Therefore, we aspire to increase the percentage of students classified as Latino/Hispanic or Black taking AP exams to 55%.

In addition, we aspire to have 88% of our AP test takers earn a 3 or higher on their AP exams. Our rate of students earning a 3 or higher was 87.8% in SY2024-2025.

Paul Duke STEM values all employees at all levels, and we seek to elevate our faculty and staff voices in decision-making, recognize and celebrate their success, and prioritize their professional growth. Based on multiple faculty and staff surveys, we have an excellent staff culture and climate rating among the top 10% in Gwinnett County Public Schools, and we aspire to continuously improve our school's culture and climate. 

1. Improve and increase our Professional Development for staff and teachers around cultural proficiency, supports, interventions, and well-being.
2. Incorporate basic key learning practices in all meetings
3. Encourage peer coaching and completion of the coach endorsement
4. Continuing our PBIS program in SY2025-2026 to improve behavior outcomes
5. Launch "PDS University" Professional Development 
6. Engage all teachers in Peer Observation and Feedback as a tool to improve instruction
7. Continue to support the PBIS House System for students and staff

73% of the faculty and staff of Paul Duke STEM High School participated in the annual Education Effectiveness Survey (EES), and the faculty and staff rated their perceptions and satisfaction with the school. The table below shows the percentage of staff who responded positively to questions around cultural proficiency and their perception of support. 

Paul Duke STEM High School supports each and every student through a well-rounded educational experience that promotes both college and career readiness, and includes a wide variety of academic, arts and athletic programs, including co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.

Our goal is to consistently graduate 90%-95% of our students within 4 years and have all graduates complete an advanced academic, CTAE, Fine Arts, or World Language Pathway. 

Our Action Plan to improve 4-year graduation rate is as follows:

1. Improve on-track cohort rates for 9th, 10th, and 11th grade students
   • This will be supported and focused on by our counseling and administrative team
2. Improve our Student Supports through MTSS (See Goal 2A)
   • Deliver instruction through effective Tier I Strategies for students within the classroom every day
   • Our instructional coach will complete walk-throughs in classrooms and provide professional learning to staff regarding Tier I instructional strategies.
   • Our RTI coordinator is working with a team of teachers to provide interventions based on data collected through Kid Talks.
3. Improve professional learning and support for teachers around the shifts outlined in the Blueprint for the Future (See Goal 3B)
4. Provide Extended Learning Time (ELT) and Credit Recovery opportunities for students to enhance, expand, and recover mastery of the AKS
5. Improve communication and collaboration between counselors and administrators to better monitor and support students who are off-track
6. Support students' preparation for college and career readiness through assessment, instruction, counseling, and experience

We will monitor the following:

• The rate at which students successfully complete their courses.
• Advanced Academic, CTAE, Fine Arts, or World Language Pathway Completion rates
• Most importantly, we will monitor each cohort's on-track and completion rates
  • Cohort On-Track Rate    9th Grade On-Track %      86%
  • Cohort On-Track Rate    10th Grade On-Track %    84%
  • Cohort On-Track Rate    11th Grade On-Track %    84%
  • Completion & Graduation Rates    4-Year Completion Rate    93%

We will build our parents' capacity to support their children's academic achievement by implementing the activities identified in The Plan/The Promise.

1. We will work to communicate better with families regularly.
2. We will host multiple Parent Expos, which are events intended to engage our parents and equip them to support their students. 
   • The Fall Parent Expo will focus on helping parents understand what their students are learning in each class and what supports our school provides
   • The Spring Parent Expo will focus on helping students and parents prepare for graduation and register for courses in the 2026-2027 school year. The 
3. We will host grade-level-specific seminars to help parents understand how to support their students and prepare for the future.
4. We will work to leverage our school website, social media, and Parent Square to communicate information effectively to parents. 
5. We will use our Parent Instructional Coordinator (PISC) and instructional support staff to intentionally engage our families. We aspire to provide exceptional customer service and support for parents.
6. We will work to add additional staff in our counseling office to support parent engagement and support for both students and families. 
7. We are working with our PTSA and local CARE team to provide basic resources for families

Our goal is to have 20% of parents complete the Family EES Survey and for 90% parents/families to respond positively.