In recent years the MHS enrollment has topped 1900; current enrollment stands at about 1835. Our student body is becoming more diverse with a current ethnic breakdown of 80% white, 10% Hispanic, 4% black, 4% multiracial, 1% Asian, and 0.1% American Indian. In addition, 3% are ELL students, and 30% receive free or reduced lunches.

The MHS staff has grown to 102 full-time teachers, 6 counselors, 5 administrators, and numerous aides and clerical staff.

The Freshman Center (FC) opened in August 2010 with the purpose of preparing approximately 100 students from our middle schools to succeed in high school. These students are identified by middle school counselors and teachers as needing extra attention to strengthen their academic skills. FC students have shorter class periods but take math and English twice a day. The six FC teachers share a common preparation period to facilitate extensive collaboration.

The Center for Academic Studies (CAS) opened in January 2011. This area houses most of our AP, honors, pre-engineering, and journalism and digital photography classes. The rooms for world language, pre-engineering, physics/chemistry, and photography were specially designed for those courses.

First, MHS is committed to instilling in students a respect for themselves and others. In practice this means that our students strive to know their place in the school community, minimize rumors, and take pride in their school; that our parents lead by example, demonstrate respect for teachers during conversations and conferences, and model positive conflict resolution with McCutcheon personnel; and teachers support established rules, respect students and expect positive behavior, and reward or acknowledge random acts of kindness.

Second, MHS is committed to helping students contribute positively to a diverse society. In practice, this means encouraging students to get out of their comfortable cliques and participate in clubs, other new activities, or the Lafayette community; to avoid stereotyping and labeling of people and accept others regardless of their differences; and to actively work to make the school environment safer by reducing bullying and harassment. Moreover, it means that teachers intentionally design lessons that involve cultural awareness, encourage and model community service, and embrace diversity and learn about the diverse populations at McCutcheon.

Third, MHS is committed to helping students become lifelong learners. In practice, this means cultivating a school environment that makes learning desirable, interesting, fun, relevant, and meaningful, and encourages a learn-from-mistakes approach; providing opportunities for learning outside of school and sharing out-of-school life experiences that are pertinent to in-class learning; stressing motivation and responsibility; encouraging higher learning; and modeling an attitude that learning never ends.

McCutcheon High School (MHS) provides information about its goals and notable achievements to the school community through its "Data Wall," which is communicated through posters throughout the building and in all classrooms. With input from members of MHS, we identify areas of which we are proud and areas in which we would like to improve.

• English ECA passing rates have risen from 58.1% to 76%, and math ECA passing rates have risen from 66.4% to 75%

• Biology remediation homeroom that meets weekly for extra instruction and practice
• Our attendance rate has seen a 1.5% increase to 96.5%, and our graduation rate improved from 80.8% to 82.9%, which is above the state average. Of the students who were unable to graduate in four years, 62% of them graduated within the following year.
• Three years ago, 250 students took either the SAT or the ACT, and last year there were 304 students taking these higher level entrance exams.
• McCutcheon has added five AP courses: Biology II AP, World History AP, Microeconomics AP, Macroeconomics AP, and Spanish Language IV AP.
• Department heads meet monthly; and senior and junior student leadership teams meet monthly and bimonthly, respectively.
• The School Improvement Team meets four times a year discussing ways to enhance and perfect the school environment, academically and environmentally.

Purpose and Direction

The school maintains and communicates a purpose and direction that commit to high expectations for learning as well as shared values and beliefs about teaching and learning.

Governance and Leadership

The school operates under governance and leadership that promote and support student performance and school effectiveness.

Teaching and Assessing for Learning

The school's curriculum, instructional design, and assessment practices guide and ensure teacher effectiveness and student learning.

Resources and Support Systems

The school has resources and provides services that support its purpose and direction to ensure success for all students.

Using Results for Continuous Improvement

The school implements a comprehensive assessment system that generates a range of data about student learning and school effectiveness and uses the results to guide continuous improvement.