Email: sandersj@purcellps.org
Website: https://www.purcellps.org/o/phs
Location: 2020 North Green Avenue, Purcell, OK, USA
Phone: 405-442-0099
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/purcellhs
Twitter: @purcellhsdrgns

Good Afternoon Dragon Family:

As we approach the end of a school year I always find it useful to reflect upon the purpose of school, and for us, the purpose of a high school. For the last 25 years of working in secondary schools (my career began in 1997) the primary purpose of a high school has been to prepare students for the next stage of life, and high schools have largely geared their curriculum, instruction, and assessments towards preparing all students for college. The idea has largely been promoted that all kids should go to college. I believe this has been a noble but misguided idea. Please allow me to explain.

This idea has led high schools and colleges to define success for students as graduating high school, enrolling in college, graduating college, start a career that requires a college degree, and achieve economic and social success. It sounds great and it's for the most part the path most people took who now make decisions about how high schools and colleges work. The only problem is that it doesn't work for many of our kids. Please don't get me wrong, many students should go to college and the college experience is a rewarding and meaningful one for many students. But the problem is that for many of our kids this path no longer makes economic or social sense. Here is why:

Over the last decade, on average, roughly 50% of Purcell High School graduates enroll in either a four-year college or a two-year community college. Roughly half of those college attending students dropped-out of college. Many accumulated significant student debt without achieving a degree. Statistically over the last decade, 25% of PHS graduates achieved a 4 year college degree within 6 years of graduating high school. PHS is actually performing better than most high schools relative in size. Nevertheless these numbers are alarming and are consistent throughout most high schools in Oklahoma.

So for the last 20 years, reform movements have largely focused on making high school students more college ready. A good goal we all can agree. On paper it seems like the right approach: Make courses more rigorous, test students often, and hold schools accountable that don't make the grade. The problem is that the focus on college readiness eliminates many programs that enrich the high school experience, benefits a select few students at the expense of the majority, and makes the purpose of high school preparing students for college. The purpose of high school should be preparing students for LIFE.

Please don't get me wrong. We should work hard to prepare our students who are attending college to be as successful as possible. That should not change. But we should work less to encourage more people to attend college and rather work more on increasing opportunities for students who don't attend college. I'm excited that we are working in that direction.

Our current internship program, headed by Amber Findley, is making great strides to provide kids access to workplace experiences before they graduate. Melissa Feroli, our counselor, is strengthening our partnership with Mid America Technology Center and making it accessible for more kids. We are returning and strengthening programs that focus less on getting a student to pass a test and more on enhancing their high school experience and connecting them to school. But most importantly we are starting to think more seriously about what the purpose of a high school should be: Preparing students for life.

Something to think about.

Jason

Go Dragons!

Always feel free to call or email me if you have questions,

sandersj@purcellps.org

405-442-0099 ext 505

I'm very proud of this group of students. They are not only amazing academic students but they are well-rounded and just a ton of fun. I'm grateful they allowed me to be a small part of their success. By small I mean I drove the bus! Great job Dragons!

Congratulations Lela Christian and Hailey Day for being selected PHS Students of the Month. Lela is the daughter of Ashlie and Brandon Christian. She is involved in NHS and FCCLA. She is a Principal Honor Roll honoree and has received numerous best in class awards. She is also a Letter P recipient. Her favorite class is Forensics and she intends to attend OCCC for psychology after getting her LPN from MATC.

Hailey Day is the daughter of Wendy and Sean Day. She is a member of our state championship Marching Band. Her favorite class is Honors English and her post high school plans include studying business at OCCC and becoming a financial manager.

We are extremely proud of both students who are very deserving of this recognition.

Last week unfortunately we had to enact a lock-in (soft lock down) due to an incident that occurred on school grounds. There was never a threat to the school or to staff and students as a whole and the decision to move to lock-in was completely a proactive decision based on the limited information we had at the time. I was extremely proud of our staff and their quick and calm transition to a lock-in. Practice makes perfect. Three individuals deserve special recognition: Carolyn Anyong, our assistant principal was prompt and proactive in her response to the situation. Her calm leadership helped us handle the situation quickly with minimal disruption to the school. Candy Tuck, our front-desk secretary, helped keep the office running smoothly and helped us transition quickly to a lock-in status. Finally, David Sikes, our Assistant AD helped quickly secure the building and move students in unsupervised areas to secured areas.

Great job by all.

• A huge thanks to the Purcell Police Department who responded to our call in less than one minute. We cannot say enough about their efforts to help us keep our school and students safe. They have been great partners in the two years I've been Principal.

• We will continuously review our safety procedures and we will be working on a review of this particular incident with our Safety Team this week.

• Parents were contacted by email within 5 minutes of the incident and a follow up email was provided as soon as the lock-in was ended.

• Please keep in mind that a lock-in is different from a lock-down. A lock-in is a preventative safety measure that is enacted when a general threat exists to the area. A lock-down is a measure that occurs when an immediate threat exists to the school. Let me emphasize that there was never an immediate safety threat to the school.

We will conduct an unannounced lockdown drill this week.

All junior parents please note that all Juniors will be taking College and Career Readiness exams over the next two weeks. The ACT is this Wednesday. All juniors will take the ACT on campus. The following week all Juniors will take their Science and History exams. We are grateful we are testing less and the general trend is to deemphasize the importance of high-stakes standardized testing. This is a good trend. However testing is important and although students should be tested rarely, the data is critical to assess student learning and the effectiveness of our instruction. Please encourage your students to take these tests seriously and to do their best!

4/6: All Juniors take the ACT on campus

4/12: All Juniors take the CCRA Science exam

4/13: All Juniors take the CCRA U.S. History exam

All parents should note that the ACT, Science, and U.S. History exams are part of the College and Career Readiness requirements. I've linked guides for parents below in both Spanish and English regarding the science and U.S. History exams. Please see information below from the Oklahoma State Department of Education:

Students enrolled in 11th grade will be given the College- and Career-Readiness Assessment (CCRA), which consists of two parts. For part 1, each district will choose to administer either the ACT or SAT, including the writing section. Part 2 consists of a Science Assessment which is aligned to the Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science and a U.S. History Assessment which is aligned to the Oklahoma Academic Standards for U.S. History.

Students are required to take the CCRA during the state testing window. This assessment will be used for state accountability purposes.

VERY IMPORTANT: All seniors and parents should review letter that was emailed last week regarding upcoming senior activities. I've copied and linked letter below. Please reach out to Michael O'Neal, senior sponsor, @ onealm@purcellps.org if you have questions.

Senior Panel Pictures: click on link: https://docs.google.com/.../1nx3iBg.../edit

Senior Remind:

All Senior students and parents are encouraged to join the Senior Remind Group. It will only be used to disperse Senior Class Info.

Remind Code: @phssr22

Spring is such an exciting part of the year. It's easy and tempting for us adults to count days until the end of the year. But it can also lead us to forget our true purpose: supporting kids and remembering that spring is a time when they will make memories, hopefully positive ones, that last a lifetime.

Last week I asked a student what her favorite class was. She didn't hesitate and said Ms. Renfro's cooking class (officially it's called Lifetime Nutrition). I asked her why and she said that Ms. Renfro (Stefanie Renfro - FACS teacher and electives chairperson) truly cares about her kids and it's fun to learn to cook. What a fitting tribute to a great teacher but also a reminder of what really matters in a high school. This particular student struggles academically in school. But she looks forward everyday to Stefanie's class!

Go Dragons!

We are now taking orders for the 2021-2022 PHS Yearbook. Students may pickup an order form from Mrs. Trumbo in the library or may be purchased online at https://www.balfour.com/oklahoma/purcell/purcell-high-school

Please note that the price is $45 through January 31st and will increase on February 1st to $55. Personalization is an additional $5. Payment is required at the time of the order. Quantities are limited so order yours today!! If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Trumbo.

What a busy but exciting week for Dragon Athletes. Here are some highlights:

• Dragon Baseball is on a roll: They are 10-3 overall and 6-0 in District. They have a challenging week ahead with Heritage Hall and some tough match-ups at Newcastle Festival. Freshman Boston Knowles has been on a season long tear and was named The Oklahoman's Baseball Athlete of the Week. Great stuff.
• Dragon Track athletes competed Friday at the Marietta Meet. I'm still waiting on the boys results and will post to social media as soon as available. Senior Ronan Little has placed 1st in Pole Vault in his first two meets. Ronan is the returning State Runner-up in the event. The girls team has battled injury early on but Freshman Hannah Whitaker and Tinley Winters both placed in their respective events.
• Our Golf teams return to action this week with the girls @ Lone Grove on Monday and the boys competing @ Conference Tourney Tuesday @ Purcell Golf Course
• Slowpitch Softball: Will be competing tomorrow (hopefully weather permitting) at the Norman Festival: Games @ 11:30/2:30/4:00 @ Norman High

Please mark your date for this opportunity to honor Dragon athletes and coaches. Thanks to our sponsors: McClain Bank, First United Bank, OEC, Mama Dragons, and Dragon Fire All-Sports Booster Club

Monday, 4/4

• PHS Girls Golf @ Lone Grove
• PHS Slowpitch @ Norman Festival (11:30/2:30/4:00)
• PHS Baseball vs. Heritage Hall @ PHS; V/JV; 5:00 PM

Tuesday 4/5

• PHS Boys Golf Conference Tourney @ Purcell
• PHS Baseball @ Heritage Hall; V/JV; 5:00 PM
• PHS Slowpitch vs. Latta @ PHS; JH/HS; 4:30/5:45

Wednesday 4/6

• no activities scheduled

Thursday 4/7 -- Saturday 4/9

• PHS Baseball @ Newcastle Wood Bat Tourney (see attached schedule)

Thursday 4/7

• PHS Track @ Bridge Creek Meet
• USAO Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest

1. Go to: https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/

2. Search for Purcell High School at the top of the page

3. Scroll down and click on game you wish to view

4. Click subscribe to watch

5. Choose your subscription option

Please contact the high school if you are unable to access Parent Portal. This allows students and parents to access real-time grades 24/7, attendance information and update personal information. I include a parent/portal link for all parents/guardians on every Parent Newsletter. This link is located immediately below this message. It's very important all parents have access to parent portal.

Please complete this form linked here if you are need of a Parent Portal Account:

https://forms.gle/kcw4yFh9UghpFKW76

If you have any problems accessing Parent Portal please contact the school directly: (405) 442-0099

We are excited to announce we have partnered with Parchment to provide students past and present the ability to send e-transcripts to the schools and organizations of their choice. This is a free service to all users. This service is currently live and students can order transcripts online or make a request for our school registrar to send transcripts electronically to colleges of their choice.

How does it work?

• Click on the https://www.parchment.com/u/registration/20225/account to either create an account or order a transcript from PHS.
• This order link is posted to our website.
• You will have to create a free account to order a transcript. There are 3 easy ways to create an account and I'm linking an easy to follow help document here: https://parchmentsupport.force.com/s/article/Sign-up-to-order-transcripts?language=en_US
• We will email our current students a registration code this week for an easy account set-up for them.

This is for Native American AND non-Native American students. As long as a student is on Free or Reduced Lunches, they qualify. This program can really assist families with food insecurity. If you would like more information, please let me know.

Free meals will be provided to any student/family who wishes to receive one. Students can pick up meals as they leave campus on Friday. Please contact our office if you have any questions. Please remember food is always available in our food pantry. Please notify our counselor, Melissa Feroli @ ferolim@purcellps.org if you are in need of food assistance.