To determine that all students are learning and being served, school personnel need to describe characteristics of their student population which may affect student learning. These demographic characteristics should be used to determine the appropriate subgroups for disaggregating data.

Information about student characteristics which relate to student learning are periodically collected. 100% of the students at Peacock are accounted for.

Description of the student population in terms of characteristics which may affect student learning.

F. E. Peacock Jr. High School has a student enrollment of 271 as of 6-1-99: 91 6^th graders, 98 7^th graders, and 82 8^th graders. Of those students currently enrolled, 43% are female, and 57% are male. Of the 271 students: 0.8% are Black or African American, 5.1% are Hispanic or Latino, 5.3% are Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and 88.8% are White. During the 1998-99 school year, Peacock had 62 students speak 11 languages in addition to English. Of these 67 students, 14 receive services from a certified ESL teacher.

According to most recent data, 5 students or 1.8% of the school’s population at Peacock receive free or reduced lunch. The mobility rate at our school is 11.4% with 31 students having either entered or left during the school year.

Disaggregated data gathered on subgroups, which our staff determined to be important, are listed below.

1. Gender: Comparison of performance between boys and girls.
2. Talented and Gifted Students: Students who were designated for either Tier I or Tier II of our district’s Talented and Gifted program.
3. LD Resource Students: Students with IEP’s that are fully mainstreamed into our regular education program.
4. ESL Students: Students who receive services by a certified ESL teacher.
5. Academically At-Risk Students: Students who have been placed on our Academic Probation list for tutorial and other support services.
6. Students new to District 10/Peacock: Students that entered District 10/Peacock for the first time during the 1998-99 school year.

Information on student attendance, retention, expulsion, graduation, truancy, dropout and/or other factors which may affect student learning.

Student attendance rates at Peacock have been very consistent over the past five years. State Report Card data reveals that attendance rates for the past five school years have been above 96%. During the same period, there were no retentions, and 3 expulsions during the 1994-95 school year. Chronic truancy data reveals that in 1998-99 there were 2 truant students, in 1997-98 there were 2 students, in 1996-97 there were 3 students with the designation, in 1995-96 there were 5, and in 1994-95 there were again 2 students designated as chronically truant. 100% of our students graduate to Lake Park High School though in each year since 1994-95 several students have been prevented from participating in the graduation ceremony either for disciplinary or academic (less than a 1.70 out of 4.00 GPA) reasons.

 Recognition of specific community characteristics which may affect student learning

The Itasca community takes great pride in its schools. At Peacock families place a premium on their child’s education and enjoy being involved. There is at least one personal contact between 100% of students’ parents/guardians and the school staff during any given school year. As a part of our commitment to quality education, our parent population is surveyed on an annual basis. 1998-99 survey results reveal a high satisfaction rating of their child’s educational experience with our school that is reflected in a "grade" of B+ assigned by respondents.

Connections to the community are significant. In addition to Peacock’s PTO with representatives from our parents, specific community members routinely and regularly contribute their expertise and resources to benefit our students. Members of the Itasca Bank & Trust teach economics’ classes to our 7^th graders. Senior citizens provide a living history to our 6^th graders within a unit of study entitled, The History of Itasca. The curator of the Itasca Historical Society provides our 8^th graders with a unique perspective of local laws and legislation as a part of the students’ study of local, state, and national government.