Defining Smaller Learning Communities

Of the six participating schools, SVHS has demonstrated the greatest student performance gains using the state department of education's academic performance index, which is based on standardized achievement tests. Underlying the school's success with its SLC strategies is a pervasive sense of caring, coupled with the belief that every student can find a personally satisfying career. Rosa, a Latino student in her senior year, is a member of many SLCs. Her experience illustrates how SLC strategies address students' interests and needs.

A student adds finishing touches to his entry in an annual chalk art competition.

Each day, Rosa participates in AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), a program that helps students in the middle academic grade range develop the confidence and skills needed for college. Classes are team-taught using multiple strategies such as peer tutoring, cooperative investigation, and the Cornell Notetaking System. As a freshman, Rosa met with the career counselor to review the results from the career inventory assessment freshmen take to help plan a career path based on their interests. Rosa also took a required freshman course called Computer and Career Education Explorations, which helped her learn about the options available at SVHS, the TMS, and in the community.

In the beginning of her 11th-grade year, Rosa embarked on the Health Services Pathway. She was bused to the TMS campus for a two-hour block of time where she began taking courses that allowed her to explore her interests. Rosa had the chance to visit healthcare facilities such as a local hospital and medical laboratory. By her senior year, she was interning at a local hospital emergency room where she was mentored, supervised, and evaluated by hospital staff members. When she began her study in health careers, she'd expected to graduate from high school with sufficient training to find a non-professional job in a health-related field. Since completing her internship, however, she now plans to become a registered nurse.

Fortunately for Rosa, the TMS has agreements with numerous colleges in the area so that most of her course credits can be transferred to a local college. Rosa attributes her achievements and newfound confidence to the close relationships she's established with her teachers, community mentors, and the career path counselor.