| This page is list
of ideas that Crater staff members find
interesting and worthy of some consideration
as we develop our own small school model.
|
| Intersession (Glen Este) |
| |
Two week session between terms for remediation,
credit retrieval, a specialty course or
travel. No absences for any reason are allowed
during the intersession. |
| Reducing the number of different
faces you see in a day |
| |
Many schools have found creative ways
to reduce the number of different student
faces (not smaller class sizes necessarily)
teachers see in a day by teaming for blocks
of time, individual teachers offering two
period classes, advisory periods attached
to courses, etc. We are trying to collect
as many examples of this as possible. |
| Pre-testing |
| |
All students taking tests to see what
their strengths and weaknesses are, before
they begin school. All sophomores take the
PSAT? |
| Student school selection |
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Some schools have students rank their
school selection choice and then try to
give students one of their top three choices.
This allows schedulers to develop and maintain
an equitable mix of students in every school.
Some schools assign students to school by
lottery. |
| Granting credit |
| |
Giving kids credit for different types
of learning opportunities, i.e., after school
stuff, plays, newspaper, yearbook, work
study, etc. |
| Team time |
| |
Several mentions of scheduling innovations
that allow/require teams to meet on a regular
basis. |
| Increase AP courses |
| |
Use the existing AP structure as a way
of building rigor by involving more students
in AP coursework. Some small schools increase
the number of teachers providing AP coursework
and have them available in each small school.
Other schools treat AP courses as "all
access" courses. |
| Teachers provide support/remediation
sessions as part of their schedule. |
| |
Some schools have designed student support
time, skills remediation, study hall like
courses as part of each teacher's day. |
| Mount Lake Terrace process
description |
| |
Their homepage describes the process they
followed in forming their five small schools
-- at least one of our staff communication
groups found it to be thorough, fair, comprehensive
and worth a close look. |
| Freshman
Academies |
| |
All freshmen spend a year in their own
"small school" and choose their
small school path from there. |
| Sports for credit |
| |
Some schools schedule sports as part of
the regular day and/or include the granting
of credits for participation in the sport.
The sport "class" is taught by
the coach of that sport. |
| Loss of Privilege |
| |
Stevenson High School uses a "Loss
of Privilege" system. They believe
in molding students' behavior through a
system of privileges that are earned through
appropriate behavior. |
| Limit scheduling autonomy |
| |
Mount Lake Terrace, rather than having
every school have a different schedule,
has just 2 to choose from, otherwise, it’s
too crazy for everyone, especially to accommodate
those students who need to cross over at
some point during the day. |
| Freshman study halls |
| |
Extra study halls for Freshmen after school
for failures -- instant accountability. |
| Corporate sponsorships |
| |
Many small schools have formed partnerships
with businesses that allow them community
experience positions and to meet some of
their technology and staffing needs. |
| Limited autonomy |
| |
Freshman and Sophomores more autonomous.
AP and electives 11/12. |
| Reward system |
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Tie a reward system to attendance
and grades (MLT allows kids to go off campus
only if both those things are good) |
| Parent Workshops: South Grand
Praire High School |
| |
Monthly
Parent Workshops |
| Character Education for Educators:
Central High School |
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