Munford High School
Our mission at Munford High School is to create a positive and exciting environment that celebrates all student achievements, promotes high academic standards as set forth by the state, and provides the necessary tools for future opportunities. We are implementing strategic teaching, formative assessment, and project-based learning (PBL). Additionally, there is a strong focus on college and career readiness standards with intentional teaching of higher order thinking skills. We believe students learn through reflection, and each department has adopted guidelines for providing time for student reflection of data within the classroom. Students are required to present a digital portfolio of learning, which is a reflection of what has been learned throughout the year. We want all students to exhibit character, class, and pride at all times. Our vision at Munford High is to provide an engaging, rigorous curriculum, empowering all students to be college and career ready.
Munford High School is located at the northern end of Talladega County, Alabama, between Talladega and Oxford. It is situated at the base of Cheaha Mountain, and for this reason it is an environmentally themed school. Cheaha provides the perfect environment for our partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and the many outdoor classrooms provided through our partnership. The community of Munford is rural, and the school is located at the one intersection of town. Our student population is approximately 518 students. Seventy-two percent of the student population is white, twenty-three percent is black, three percent is hispanic, and two percent is classified as other. Fifty-one percent of the school population is male, while forty-nine percent of the population is female.
Our facility was constructed in 2004, and in just the past few years, we have quickly outgrown the building. Currently, all classrooms, offices, and closet spaces are occupied. Munford schools take pride in numerous shared outdoor classrooms located on the three campuses. Students currently use these classrooms in conjunction with project-based learning and content related projects. Additionally, plans are in place to add an ECO-Farm. The completed ECO-Farm will include one chicken coop; sixty orchard trees covering at least an acre of land; forty-eight blueberry bushes; three ponds for housing trout, tilapia, crayfish and catfish; three bottle calves; an animal shelter; a community garden; a pavilion; an outdoor lab building; six beehives with bee suits, gloves, and smokers.
The faculty and staff at Munford High include forty-nine individuals: two administrators, two guidance counselors, one digital learning specialist, twenty-one classroom teachers, three special education teachers, two P.E. teachers, three support personnel, two custodians, one nurse, two office staff, one resource officer, and ten CNP workers. Ninety-six percent of our teachers are highly qualified.
Munford Schools No Child Stays Inside - A Collaborative Movement.mp4Munford has experienced significant changes over the last three years. The partnership with the U.S. Forest Service has enabled the development of eleven outdoor classrooms to enhance instruction. In addition, our community partnerships give students the opportunity to research in college science labs, to gain experience with field research, to learn a trade, and to earn college course credit that will prepare students to be college and career ready. Munford High offers eleven sections of AP classes among seven disciplines: AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Government, AP Language, AP Literature, AP Psychology and AP Computer Science. Five sections of PreAP Chemistry and PreAP Biology are offered. Also, our students have the opportunity to earn college credit with Jacksonville State University by completing History 201/202 ,which is taught on our campus, and Coding 230, offered on JSU's campus.
Our teachers have received extensive professional development in strategic teaching, formative assessment, quality questioning, project-based learning and instructional scaffolding. These instructional practices have been successfully implemented into the classrooms on a regular basis. Our professional development focus includes using data analysis to promote growth and ownership through reflection and higher order thinking. Due to the shift in instruction and the use of our outdoor classrooms, Munford has been visited by surrounding schools, schools in other states, and numerous administrators and superintendents who want to learn about and share in our success. Students are enrolled in daily academic enrichment classes such as robotics, remediation, ACT prep, and mentoring. Students collect their own data (academic, discipline, attendance) using Google Drive which allows them to create their digital portfolio housed in Google Sites. Students present their completed digital portfolio to family and community members as a way of communicating their learning over the course of the school year. Increasing student achievement for college and career readiness/real-world application and promoting self-efficacy are the primary goals at MHS.
