English Learners (EL) are provided with high-quality and appropriate teaching and learning experiences to ensure they have adequate opportunities to meet the same challenging state content and student performance standards that are expected of all children.  Pike County Schools uses a sheltered instructional model where English is used as the medium to provide instruction in the content area.  The instruction is adapted to the proficiency level of the student.

You may view Pike County's EL Plan at the left side of screen under "Instructional Programs" then "Documents and Forms."

The McKinney-Vento program is designed to address the problems that homeless children and youth have faced in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school. Under this program, Pike County Schools ensures that each homeless child and youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as other children and youth. Homeless children and youth should have access to the educational and other services that they need to enable them to meet the same challenging State student academic achievement standards to which all students are held. In addition, homeless students are not separated from the mainstream school environment.

The Pike County Instructional Improvement Committee is a group composed of teachers, school administrators, and system administrators whose purpose is to raise student achievement through improved communication and instruction.  The committee meets once a month except in July and December when the committee does not meet.

"Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction"

-Jon Crosby

The Pike County Schools mentoring program is a formal, systematic approach designed to transition teachers new to Pike County Schools and teachers new to the teaching profession by providing continuous individual and group support, targeted professional learning opportunities, and a mentor teacher.

The office of Instructional Programs is responsible for developing, monitoring, providing, and improving instructional resources which provide cohesive and comprehensive support of the Pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade academic curriculum.

Parent Expo

The goal of the Pike County School System is to develop strong partnerships with the home in an effort to recognize that parents are an essential resource in the learning process of their children.  As such, we will actively engage, encourage, and support the participation of parents as advocates, policy makers, advisors and active participants in the education of their children.  Pike County Schools believes that schools and parents working together as partners will increase student achievement and develop positive attitudes about self and school.

View Pike County Schools' Parent and Family Engagement Plan on the left of your screen under "Documents and Forms"

Pike County Schools strives to insure compliance with ESSA requirements for properly certified teachers.  This designation is required for K-12 teachers who teach core academic subjects in public schools. Pike County Schools is committed to actively recruiting properly certified teachers to fill positions and insuring the teacher receives support and assistance related to content knowledge and teaching skills needed to be successful in the teaching assignment.

For Pike County Schools, being standards based means that every teacher, in every classroom, every day, through a continuous cycle of teaching and learning, ensures students learn state and district standards, concepts, and skills to mastery. Standards Based Grading (SBG), however, is a system of assessing and reporting that describes student progress, based on evidence, in relation to standards. 

In Fall 2016, Pike County Schools implemented a more clearly defined standards based approach in both instruction and grading for sixth grade math.  It required the development of sequenced priority standards, specific learning targets, proficiency scales to measure learning goals, assessments to determine student status, and progress reports/report cards that show exactly what students know.  As a result, improved student achievement in mathematics has been consistent. 

Implementation plan:

According to The New York Times, 65 percent of elementary school students’ future jobs are not a reality yet and many of them will be STEM careers.  Pike County Schools endeavors to make STEM education a daily part of instruction for its students to prepare them for the future. 

STEM  education promotes Science skills which break down a complex scientific system into smaller parts, recognize cause and effect relationships, and defend opinions using facts; Technology skills which are critical for career success in any field; Engineering skills for application of scientific and mathematical knowledge as they explore real-world technologies and problems and design solutions to solve those needs; and Mathematic skills for calculations and measurements as encountered in everyday situations.

Pike County offers an AMSTI curriculum supplemented Picture Perfect STEM to K-7.  Select students in 5th - 8th grades are able to participate in the Middle Grades STEM Academy while select 9th grader may enroll in STEM Bridge Courses.  Tenth grade students may apply for the high school STEM Dual Enrollment Academy.  A STEM education expansion, including additional personnel and STEM spaces in each building, is planned to provide students will more access. 

STEM Education Guiding Principles: