LIHU’E — To address a rash of absenteeism and disciplinary referrals among members of freshman classes at Kaua’i High School, leaders have implemented a team approach to teaching. In its first year this school year, two teams of ninth graders,
LIHU’E — To address a rash of absenteeism and disciplinary referrals among members of freshman classes at Kaua’i High School, leaders have implemented a team approach to teaching.
In its first year this school year, two teams of ninth graders, 90 students each, have been placed on teams and given common teachers in English, social studies and science.
The result has been lowering of failure rates, absenteeism and disciplinary referrals, said Linda Smith, principal.
Teachers on the pilot teams have said the smaller learning groups have also made it easier to identify students in need of specialized and individualized instruction more quickly than may happen in traditional classrooms, she added.
For the 2004-05 school year, all 400-plus ninth graders will be placed on teams, a concept known as the Smaller Learning Communities program for which school officials have received a federal grant of over $400,000 for three years, Smith told members and guests of the Kauai Rotary Club Friday at the Kauai Lagoons Terrace Restaurant.
The team concept is a change, and “change is difficult, and so is getting teachers to think outside the box,” Smith said.
Much of the federal money is being spent, or will be spent, on staff development, she said.
Smith and others at the school feel the team concept will lead to higher standards, and higher student achievement.
Kaua’i High School, the island’s largest school with 1,265 students, celebrates its 90th year this year, and Smith explained some of the other initiatives school officials are either planning to implement or are in the process of implementing.
Reflecting what school officials hear from representatives of businesses and colleges, Kaua’i High School leaders are planning on implementing an “academy” system which will require all juniors and seniors to chose an academy to enter by the 2005-06 school year.
The initial three academies will be health, natural resources and business, with the intent being to help students prepare for the future, she explained.
Three teachers have been identified to be academy directors, Smith said.
Within five years, two additional academies will be added, liberal arts and arts and communications.
Now, sophomores go on career-shadowing outings with business people across the island, and juniors participate in mock interviews with business people who hire people in real life.
The “positive interactions” of these programs have even led to some interviewers hiring students as part-time workers as a result of the mock interviews, Smith said.
Seniors must prepare fifth-year plans, on what they will do during their first year after graduation, and prepare and present Powerpoint oral presentations in front of public panels.
To foster additional business-school partnerships, Kaua’i High School has been adopted by Trex Enterprises, a Lihu’e high-technology firm; by Kaua’i Island Utility Cooperative (which has adopted all Lihu’e schools); and the National Tropical Botanical Garden (which has adopted all the island’s schools).
Kaua’i High School students as a whole have met or surpassed all state benchmarks for student achievement in math and reading, Smith concluded.
