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Smaller Learning Communities Project
Friday, May 4, 2001.
Verdugo Hills High is one of 65 schools nationwide to receive
a $500,000 federal Department of Education Smaller Learning
Communities implementation grant. Verdugo will be creating
a special program for all ninth graders next year to fulfill
its grant proposal. Ninth graders will be organized into
Houses as part of a new Success Transition Academy. The
goal of the program is to improve success in school and
personally for all of our ninth graders.
There are three parts to the program:
- Students will be enrolled into Houses, with English
and Life Skills/Health teachers teaming to provide students
with a specially designed curriculum.
- Teachers will work as teams in the Houses to teach the
curriculum and to personally support students; teachers
will receive training in working with students personally
and will be supported by counselors and the SLC coordinator
to establish closer communication with the home.
- Students will be together throughout the year in their
Houses, receiving support and encouragement from one another
and from teachers and participating in special activities
and celebrations over the course of the year.
Based on research, this program will result in higher pass
rates in all ninth grade courses, improved attendance, and
increased graduation rates.
As the program develops over the coming years, tenth grade
will be incorporated into the House program, and eleventh
and twelfth grades will be organized into academies geared
to post-secondary careers or educational pathways.
Any questions about this program can be directed to David
Riemer, Smaller Learning Communities Academic Coordinator.
What is C.A.S.A.S.?
C.A.S.A.S. is a new program for all VHHS freshmen. Based
on the latest research and an extensive training program
for teachers at the school, all 9th graders will be together
with a team of teachers throughout their 9th grade year.
Teachers and students will be organized into small groups
of about forty students called "Casas" (from "houses"
in Spanish); these "Casas" will belong to a larger
group called "Haciendas" (from the Spanish word
for "Estate"). Each Casa will offer special support
for students with teacher teams working together to help
each student succeed. The Casas will be part of a larger
community, or Hacienda, that will bring more 9th grade students
together for larger community activities.
By paying closer attention to key student outcomes such
as 1) attendance, 2) grades, and 3) social and personal
growth, the C.A.S.A.S. program will help to make sure that
all of our 9th graders successfully transition to high school
and become sophomores on time-thereby staying on track to
graduating.
What will Casas be like?
Casas will connect student's studies in English and Life
Skills/Health; Casas will keep students in smaller groups
or clusters of students who have English and Life Skills/Health
during the same period. Each Casa will consist of around
forty students. This small group of students will get extra
help from their teachers in three key areas:
- Attendance: research and experience shows that attendance
is the key to success for freshmen. Teaching teams will
be relentless in making sure students are in class.
- Grades/Academic Achievement: it is not enough to just
have kids sitting in classes. They have to be learning.
Teaching teams will be closely monitoring students' grades
and academic achievement in all of their classes. In addition,
counselors will work with each Hacienda to maximize student
success.
- Social/Personal Growth: 9th grade is a time of tremendous
change for kids. Teaching teams will receive special training
in and pay special attention to students' personal side
to help them achieve to their maximum potential. In addition,
each ninth grade student will be assigned a Faculty Mentor-a
teacher other than their Casas team teachers-who will
meet with students eight times a year to keep track of
the student's progress and provide special assistance
in academic skills and personal growth.
Casas will have special learning features in addition to
the items highlighted above. All Casa curriculum will be:
- Interdisciplinary: this means that what is taught in
English will be reinforced in and connected to what is
taught in Life Skills/Health and vice versa.
- Project Based: this means that students will not only
read, write, and take tests, but will complete specially
designed projects that engage them in different ways from
the standard school approach. For example, students may
conduct research surveys on topics in the curriculum that
they will publish or create videotape presentations explaining
particular concepts.
This new experience is part of Verdugo Hills High School's
continuing efforts to maximize achievements for all of its
students. As time goes on the C.A.S.A.S. program will affect
the entire school, moving into tenth grade and into eleventh
and twelfth grade academies.
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