Next year, thanks to countless hours of research and time put in by faculty, Small Learning Communities will be coming to Har-Ber.
2 years ago a grant was written by the Literacy IF to explore SLC’s. Last year a grant was written by the current Literacy IF, Chris Venters, to prepare for the SLC’s.
The idea for Small Learning Communities came with the federal Race to the Top Grant, which supports a focus on personalized learning. This federal grant is the reason for the recent influx of Chromebooks. A separate state grant is where the funding for the communities’ grant comes from. One of the grant writers, Chris Venters, travelled with several others to Little Rock to argue the merits of the grant.
After this meeting, both Springdale and Har-Ber High Schools were awarded $40,000. Some of this money went toward sending leaders to a conference in Virginia where they observed SLC’s that were implemented and successful in schools.The meeting in Virginia was a part of NCAC, the National Coalition of Academies Conference.
“You want to make sure that what you’re doing is good for the students,” said Venters.
Venters attended a NCAC meeting last year in Arizona.
Teachers and administrators travelled to Virginia to see how academies were working in current schools, as well as attend conferences with national leaders.
“It helped give perspective on what works and what doesn’t,” said Instructional Facilitator Kathy Bowlin.
The rest of this grant money is going toward the training and preparation of teachers for the communities next year. These communities will be divided into academies and students will be grouped into these communities based on their interests.
“Everything we’re doing is based on personalization for students,” said Bowlin.
There will be several Small Learning Communities, their names have not yet been decided. These academies will be based off of six career clusters; Business, Marketing, and Management, Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources, Communication and Information Systems, Skilled and Technical Sciences, Health Sciences, and Human Sciences and Education. There will be two types of classes; those dedicated to career interests, and then fine arts and AP classes that are not influenced by changes. However, every student will be affected.
“It is an interesting paradox of simplicity and complexity all smashed together,” said Venters.
Where academies are targeted, communities are broad. Every possible job available right now can be grouped into a career cluster, and these clusters are then grouped into the SLC’s, making up academies. Administration brought in outside businesses to predict what the job market will be in the future to determine what careers to prepare students for. There will be two kinds of classes; those catered toward SLC’s and academies, and others known as “global” classes.
Students will be placed into their respective communities based on their first or second preference. Since not all students will know exactly what career path they will choose, they will be allowed to change, but there will be parameters that govern these changes.
With these changes, students can expect a combination of traditional and targeted classes, with more of an emphasis on personalization for students.
“Key word is personalization,” said Venters. “Without personalization, nothing is going to exist. Personalization is the magic word, it is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
The introduction of Small Learning Communities is expected to bring an abundance of benefits. With the addition of an Advisory Period, students will get to know teachers better. The ideal scenario is to have one staff member to advise each individual student, to hold them accountable and keep them on track.
“The goal is that students will hopefully feel more connected and see a greater purpose in their education at Har-Ber and help give them a stronger sense of direction, whether that be going off to college or into the workforce,” said Dr. Mark Oesterle.
The process that led to all of these changes was not easy, there was a lot of planning, preparation, and learning involved in order to get the ball rolling on such a drastic and elaborate transformation.
“If everything goes as planned, next year will be the manifestation of all the exploration, planning, and preparation,” said Venters.
Staff and administration will continue to meet with students and other influences to determine what changes will be best for the school. These changes are predicted to be very beneficial, and could change the culture that has previously existed.
“I guarantee we are going to see, not only an improvement in test scores, but students who are better prepared when they leave Har-Ber High School,” said Oesterle.