A five-year strategic plan has this school system performing among the best in the state. Dr. Faron Hollinger talks to Liz French.

Four years ago, the Baldwin County school system had one Internet-connected computer for every 40 students, ranking it among the bottom 25% of school systems in Alabama in terms of technology. But thanks to the 2006 Comprehensive Improvement Plan, Baldwin County schools now exceed the state average with one Internet-connected computer for every three and a half students.

According to superintendent Dr. Faron Hollinger, the Baldwin County school system collected data from town meetings, focus groups, advisory councils, principals, and teachers to form the Comprehensive Improvement Plan, a strategic planning initiative that sets major goals and objectives to be achieved over a five-year period (but is reviewed and adjusted yearly). One of the major initiatives of the plan was to establish a strong technology foundation. Baldwin County initially invested nearly $4 million to erect a technology network within and between its 47 elementary, middle, and high school campuses. “We basically had to start from scratch,” Hollinger said. To ensure its technology stays up to date, Baldwin County annually replaces computers over five years old. The superintendent also recruited a director of IT from the corporate world, making Baldwin County the only school system in the state to have such a position at the cabinet level.

Dr. Faron Hollinger

In addition to classroom computers, computer labs, and teacher work stations, the Baldwin County school system has invested in management and administration technology. It currently has plans to roll out an electronic board agenda that will enable board members to communicate and vote online with the help of a system- supplied laptop. The system will automatically organize documentation and compile information for better reporting capabilities.

A geographic information system (GIS), what Hollinger laughingly refers to as the organization’s crystal ball, incorporates demographic information on students to optimize attendance zones and bus routes. “We can tell how many students live in a designated area, their ages and grade levels, and their achievements levels. If we need adjust a zone, this technology can tell us what differences it would make in the demographic make up of that area,” he said.

Building momentum
Baldwin County, Alabama is the 38th fastest growing county in the nation, which has created quite a challenge for the school system. As part of the 2006 Comprehensive Improvement Plan, the school system has invested $110 million in new-school construction to date, a number that is expected to double in the next few months with the passing of another $150 million bond issue to build several new elementary and middle schools.

In addition, the board is currently investigating the possibility of building a vocational/technical high school. Hollinger and his team have visited such schools in Texas and Florida and are now using the GIS program and working collaboratively with developers to determine where the $30 million to $40 million school will be located. “This high school will be for students who have an interest beyond the college prep curriculum in our other high schools. This school would prepare them for any number of opportunities.”

As construction plans evolve, the Baldwin County school system is taking its middle school initiative into consideration. Traditionally, middle schools encompass sixth through eighth grade, but the school system is transitioning to a kindergarten through sixth grade elementary program, reducing the middle schools to seventh and eighth grade.

“We looked at the development of middle-school aged children and found that they exhibit more academic success and more appropriate socialization when the student count is reduced.” Hollinger said. For some, the transition from middle to high school is difficult, and Baldwin County schools are looking to make it easier with ninth grade academies that will provide certain students with additional study skills and academic and social support. The pilot program, which was launched in two high schools, has proven successful, and Hollinger expects to establish academies in Baldwin County’s five other high schools in the near future. “This will help us reduce the drop-out rate,” said the superintendent.

Baldwin County school children receive some of the highest test scores in the state, and Hollinger is always careful to give the 2,000 teachers in the system full credit. “We can have outstanding infrastructure, programs, and administration, but ultimately, our success occurs in the classroom. We use test scores to gauge our progress over time, but we believe when you have quality teachers and a solid curriculum working together, you are going to have above-average results.”

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Baldwin County expends more funds per pupil than many other county school systems in the state, and teachers are given the environment, supplies, and training to do their jobs well. Hollinger explained that of the school system’s 2,000 teachers, 300 were not state appropriated. Instead, the school system hired them at the local level to keep student/teacher ratios low, an average of 13:1 system-wide. “A teacher can be more successful with a manageable class size. It’s that simple.”