• Rob Speas

    A Message From Rob Speas,

    Executive Principal at FHS


    I am very excited and humbled by the opportunity to serve the students of Fulton High School as Executive Principal. The students of Fulton deserve a high quality education, and I know the faculty is ready to provide it. I am proud to be part of the Fulton Family where our Small Learning Community (SLC) structure is built around meeting students’ needs in a relationship based approach that engages students in their own learning.
     
    Fulton High School has worked hard to recreate itself into a solid school structure to meet the needs of all students, both supporting students while also pushing to them to achieve at the highest levels. Fulton's student population is divided into five SLCs which function almost as independent small schools.  Each SLC has its own administrator, school counselor, academic advocate, and teacher dean as well as a team of teachers who all share the same small group of students.  This teaming approach allows the staff and students to build strong relationships with one another over the course of multiple years which in turn leads to more efficient and effective educational outcomes.  This approach has caused graduation rates to climb from 46% to nearly 85% in just four short years.  This phenomenal achievement was accomplished not only through the shift to the SLC structure, but also the hard work of both students and staff.  

    Two SLCs, Merlin and Peregrine, are focused on helping 9th and 10th grade students bridge the gap between middle school and high school.  Merlin is our 9th Grade SLC and Peregrine is our 10th Grade SLC.  During the Freshman year, staff and students will focus on solidifying skills in Math and English.  During the Sophomore year, student will begin to explore the different career and college options through our Career Technical Education courses.

    After exiting the lower house SLCs, students are able to choose from one of three upper house SLCs.  Each of the upper houses is thematically based around a Career and Technical Education course of study.  They are the School of Health Science, School of Skilled Professions, and School of Communications.  The School of Health Science offers courses focused on Nursing, Sports Medicine, and EMS.  The School of Skilled Professions offers classes in Cosmetology, Plumbing, and HVAC.  The School of Communications offers courses in Television, Radio, Web Design, Theater, and Graphic Design.  Each of the upper SLCs provide the core content (Math, Social Studies, English, & Science) in a way that clear connections are made between the traditional core classes and the CTE subjects to provide relevance to the student's learning.  

     
    The School of Communications (Fulcom) is recognized as a Magnet School for Knox County Schools.  Students from across Knox County are able to apply to be a part of the unique experience that Fulton has to offer.  Stay tuned to see how the School of Communications begins to attract new recruits.

    It's a great time to be a Fulton Falcon!

    Go Falcons!!!

    Rob Speas

    Executive Principal, Fulton High School
    Follow me on Twitter @FultonPrincipal