SAHS > 3/4/2008: Project 720 Update

With the support of a Project 720 grant, At Souderton Area High School has moved forward with our program to reinvent the experience for our students by increasing the rigor and relevance of our program and by building the structure for supportive relationships for our students. In addition to drafting the scopes and sequences of courses and experiences for our four Career Pathways, in the next few weeks, we will have drafted the plans for a revised graduation project. This year, we are giving specific focus to the portfolio component of the graduation project to require students to demonstrate their development of 21st century skills. In conjunction with our Guidance and Business Departments, we will not only be using the Web-based Bridges program to collect portfolio entries, but after piloting this year, our 7th and 8th grade students will begin career exploration using Bridges in preparation for their experience with Career Pathways. In April, our Pathway Design Teams, including business and post-secondary partners, will be evaluating the drafts of the plans.

As a direct result of ideas from the Governor's Institute at Penn State, we not only surveyed all of our 10th grade students about their school experience, but we also interviewed an alumni panel consisting of 19 recent graduates who are still in college. Additionally, our Guidance Department has made their services more accessible by utilizing a wiki; our literacy coach has also established a wiki as a means of fostering collaborative professional development. Finally, to better transition our entering high school students and better engage our entire student population, we are in the process of selecting students and training our faculty facilitators for the peer mentoring program that will be implemented next year, Link Crew.

Clearly, without the support of Project 720, we would not have been able to make these very positive strides towards improving the school experience for all Souderton students.

More Specifically Regarding Career Pathways and the 5th Period

Scopes and sequences of course offerings have been drafted for each of the four Career Pathways:

• Arts & Humanities
• Business & Communication Technology
• Health & Human Services
• Industrial & Engineering Technology

We used the input from Souderton faculty and from our business and college partners to identify courses which would help students develop the knowledge and skills they need to seek further training (i.e., college) or enter the workforce in each of our Career Pathways. Additionally, under the leadership of Mr. Shawn Messmer, Assistant Principal, a group of Souderton faculty members is moving along in its investigation of possibilities for a 5th Period in our block schedule when we move to the new high school. Recently, Souderton faculty and staff members have traveled to Hatboro-Horsham and Strath Haven High Schools, both of which have a block schedule with an abbreviated 5th Period for use by faculty and students. While Career Pathways are a few years away from implementation, we anticipate that students and faculty will realize the benefits of a 5th Period when the new high school opens in September 2009.

Upcoming Project 720 feedback opportunities:

• Parent focus groups to give feedback on the Career Pathways.
• Student focus groups to give feedback on Career Pathways.
• On the April 16th in-service, SAHS's college and business partners will give feedback and advice relative to the scopes and sequences in the Career Pathways.