It is clear to everyone that this school year there have been some changes in the way the school is operated. These changes are a result of the start of the Continuous Improvement Plan, a program where upper staff from all the schools in our district come together and plot the improvements that can be applied to our schools. The biggest change came with the curriculum, new ways of teaching in English, Math, and Science being introduced with the goal of heightening student’s attainment of knowledge in order to raise the ACT scores. When asking Anita James the assistant principal of Alliance High School if she expects to see higher ACT scores she said “Yes, I believe it will help. I think at first we might see a little dip as teachers and students are figuring things out with curriculum changes and how it best benefits everyone, but I do see it helping tremendously once we get past the adjustment and learning curve.” This new way of learning is applied to our school with a positive outlook and most importantly the intention to further our education.
Another change that came from a CIP meeting was the cancellation of English pathways. I spoke with the head of the English department in the High School, Kathy Fingar, about the benefits of eliminating these pathways and she said, “I’m not speaking negatively about the pathways, there is something to be said about reading books that are filled with the content you like, so if you like dystopian novels that is great. But narrowing that down in a high school that is required to have standardized tests and scores hinders the student’s learning because then you take away that time that should be well-rounded in the English class vs. just focusing on a piece of literature.” Taking the time to work through the information we need to know can be easier and more manageable given a longer period of time.
Attendance is a huge difference between now and last year as well. When I stood in on the CIP meeting it was said the attendance in our district last year was absolutely terrible. This year new rules such as losing credits due to an abundance of absence have been instilled in order to correct this problem. “Yes, our attendance is at a much better place now than it was at this time last year. However, we are still not satisfied with the numbers we are seeing. Last year combined the students at Alliance High missed 59,820 class periods, that is a lot of instruction time!! What students and parents need to remember is that any time a student misses a class for whatever reason, they are not only missing valuable instruction and time in the classroom, but it also counts toward our chronic absenteeism,” said Ms. James when asked if the new attendance policy and enforcement of it is making a noticeable difference. Attending your classes makes learning more understandable, and being present for lessons is important for the ability to get through school.
Noticeable development of the school is something that students and staff can look forward to this year as well as the upcoming school years with the introduction of the Continuous Improvement Plan.
