NOT FOUND: 1009-NSN-Sept-final_Page_01_Image_0002.jpgTwin Rivers Unified School District is delighted to announce that Highlands High School has been awarded a $5,584,828 School Improvement Grant (SIG) by the California Department of Education.
“I want to commend the Highlands High staff and administration for their work and commitment to developing and successfully implementing a truly transformational plan for the students and community of Highlands High,” said Twin Rivers Superintendent Frank Porter.
Plans for the funds include increasing learning time and raising academic standards by adding both zero and 7th periods. Semester courses such as Freshman Skills Seminar will be created along with seminars for California High School Exit Exam Math and English Language Arts. Efforts will be made to increase the number of Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors courses open to all students and the number of students who take the AP exams. AP exams fees will be paid for students who meet eligibility requirements. Staff will also create Service Learning courses and opportunities utilizing Royalty Club, and students will be able to earn credit for community service combined with learning experiences. There will also be an increased focus on AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) as a result of the positive effects these study habit courses have on student achievement.
Other changes included in the transformation involve creating high standards for teaching and ensuring that the school is not required to accept a teacher onto the staff without the mutual consent of the teacher and principal, regardless of the teacher's seniority.
In addition, there are plans to increase family and community engagement by implementing parent “Walks with the Principal” to build knowledge of what goes on in classrooms, familiarity with the campus and atmosphere, and confidence in the Highlands academic program. Parents will be offered a series of workshops on the 12 modules of parent engagement through the Twin Rivers PIRC (Parent Involvement Resource Center), and staff will concentrate on improving campus communication and outreach to families.
It is a great start to the new year and promises to bring positive and lasting changes to the campus, staff, and students. In fact, Highlands staff came back early from vacation just to work on the plan and be sure the school was ready to implement the changes in the hopes they would receive the grant funding. Porter visited the teachers during their planning session and thanked them for their dedication to Highlands students, saying he “looks forward to seeing and witnessing the results of Highlands High School’s dedicated teaching and leadership.”
Periodic updates on the progress related to Highlands transformational plan will be published here in the North Sacramento News.