| Greetings! It is my honor to serve as principal of Van Buren High School! It is my honor to serve parents, students, and the community members of Van Buren! As a large high school, we are so proud to offer a large variety of courses, programs of study, and extracurricular activities that meet the needs of a large, diverse student population. At the same time, we are also proud to offer a “small school atmosphere” in which every student is cared for, attended to, and made to feel like the special individual human being he or she is. VBHS offered 14 AP courses and many Pre-AP courses to prepare students for AP work. In Arkansas, 11% of seniors who take AP courses pass the AP exam. Nationally, 15.9% of seniors who take AP courses pass the AP exam. However, at VBHS, 27% of students who take AP courses pass the AP exam and earn college credit for those courses!In 2009, VBHS received the Arkansas ACT award for significantly raising ACT scores over a 5 year period while increasing the number of students who take the ACT exam! In 2010, VBHS, again, increased the average ACT score to an average score of 21.9.
In an effort to prepare students for post-secondary studies, VBHS collaborates with several post-secondary institutions to allow students to earn concurrent credit while in high school or to allow students to work towards certification in various vocational fields. During the 2009-2010 school year, VBHS saved Van Buren parents $435,454 in tuition by offering concurrent courses at NO charge to students. VBHS students collectively earned 2,115 college credits within one school year! Our students are Van Buren’s most precious assets! For this reason, VBHS has implemented a thriving STAR (Students, Teachers, And Relationships) program! Each staff member mentors the same 15 students throughout each student’s high school career. STAR meets several times per month and engages students in activities that build a sense of belonging and team. In addition STAR meetings work on community service projects…teaching students that they are a contributing member of society. STAR groups also help students set career goals and plan their high school experience around these goals. Finally, STAR teams tackle tough issues that face teen-agers and provide a safe environment to discuss these issues. VBHS contributes much of its success not only to the quality educators who work within the school but to the active, contributing parents of the Van Buren community. During CAP parent-teacher conferences, 92% of parents attended these conferences in the spring of 2010! More than 1000 parents, students, and family members attended Fall Open House! Van Buren High School is also an active member of High Schools That Work. For more information, click on the HSTW link: www.sreb.org/page/1078/high_schools_that_work.html Van Buren High School strives to provide students a rigorous, quality education while working with parents to meet the social, emotional, and physical needs of every precious student who graces our doors. Becky Guthrie, Principal |
|||
Van Buren High School
A Place For You!
