SRHS 2012-2013 Year In Review

Sanborn Regional High School had a very successful 2012-2013 school year in which it continued to be recognized at local, state, and national levels for its work in high school redesign for the twenty-first century. As an expansion to the district’s “top ten percent” goal, the school strives to become one of the premiere high schools in the State of New Hampshire and beyond. To achieve this, the school has developed a master plan for redesign that is based on three pillars for success.

 

Pillar #1 - Learning Communities: Our learning communities work interdependently to achieve successful student performance for which we are collectively responsible and mutually accountable.

The term “learning community” describes a collegial group of administrators and/or school staff who are united in their commitment to student learning. They share a vision, work and learn collaboratively, visit and review other classrooms, and participate in decision-making. At our school, all staff belong to one or more learning communities that are based on a shared content and/or grade-level.

During the 2011-2012 school year, the Freshman Learning Community (FLC) was the first to be implemented in our school. That April the FLC one a prestigious First Place Magna Award from the National School Board Association for its innovative approach to personalized learning. Students spend the majority of their day working with a team of students and teachers on the subjects of Language Arts, World History, Math, Physical Science, Wellness, and one elective.

During the 2012-2013 school year, the Sophomore Experience (SE) was the second learning community to be added to our school structure. The SE is a project-based learning experience that connects the subjects of Biology, Civics, and Language Arts with local community organizations, businesses, and colleges/universities. One of the most visible sophomore projects connected our students with the Kingston Conservation Commission and the University of New Hampshire for outreach work. The project focused on answering the following three questions:

·        Why is the South edge of Pow Wow Pond filling with vegetation?

·        Why do we care?

·       What can we do about it?

Students travelled to sites around Pow Wow Pond to collect data that was later analyzed in the classroom to help determine the problem leading to excess vegetation and possible solutions to prevent it. They returned to several properties around Pow Wow Pond in order to work with landowners to implement solutions, including rain gardens and vegetation buffers that will reduce non-point source pollution in the form of nutrients from fertilizers and runoff of litter, sediments, salts, and oils from roadways.

During the 2013-2014 school year, the last of the learning communities will be implemented. Grade 11 and 12 students will identify with one of the following four career pathway learning communities:

·        Arts, Communication, and the Humanities

·        Business and Manufacturing

·        Human Services

·        Science & Health, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

All students will be assigned to an advisory based on their pathway interest. Advisories (which will meet daily) will engage in enrichment activities throughout the year that connect to the pathway. Students who have a strong interest in a pathway will have the option to pursue an internship, work study, or research senior capstone project that would allow them to receive an endorsement on their diploma for their pathway. The junior and senior career pathway learning community model will aim to increase college and career readiness for all Sanborn students.

Pillar #2 - Student Engagement: Our students are engaged in learning tasks and performance assessments that measure mastery of competency.

Sanborn Regional High School is both a statewide and a national leader in a movement from traditional to competency-based grading for all courses. A “competency” is the ability of a student to apply content knowledge and skills in and/or across the content area(s). At SRHS, all courses use a competency-based grading system. By this, it is meant that assignments are linked back to the competencies that they are designed to assess and student performance is reported in a way that tracks student mastery of the competencies that have been identified for each course. This shift in focus allows the school to use report cards and transcripts to more accurately report what it is a student knows and is able to do.

Throughout the 2012-2013 school year teams of administrators, teachers, and students shared the school’s vision for competency work in presentations and workshops all over New Hampshire as well as nationally at a conference in Portland Oregon, a nationally televised webinar with the Alliance for Excellent Education in Washington DC, and in several nationally published articles and research papers. The school was asked to participate in the “Showcase of Model School Programs” sponsored by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) in October of 2012.

Pillar #3 - Climate & Culture: We foster a school culture for all stakeholders that promotes respect, responsibility, ambition, and pride.

In the 2012-2013 school year, our school community implemented several recommendations that came about from a culture and climate survey that was administered to all staff and students during the 2011-2012 school year.

We increased the types and frequency of communication with students, parents, and community members about various school issues. A new online weekly newsletter was established which includes information about school programs and initiatives, senior “spotlight” articles, and other news of interest. The school also expanded its use of Social Media resources such as Facebook and Twitter. The Modern Media class developed a series of videos about school issues which are viewable on the school’s YouTube channel.

A committee of adults and students was formed to study how our school addresses student misbehavior. The committee reviewed current School Board policies related to student discipline, reviewed and revised the language in the student handbook regarding discipline so that it is clear and easy-to-follow for all stakeholders, developed school-wide strategies to promote awareness of and celebrate examples of positive student behavior, and recommended a new restorative justice model that will be implemented for the 2013-2014 school year.

Finally, we increased our efforts to give students opportunities to learn and connect with the community. Our school joined the Plaistow Area Commerce Exchange (PACE). Our new sophomore experience model allowed for several partnerships with local organizations and business leaders. Several of our upperclassmen completed job shadows and internships with local businesses. Some of our clubs and student organizations partnered with the local community for a variety of community service initiatives throughout the year.

Guidance and Graduation News:

For the 2012-2013 year, the Guidance Department expanded its post-secondary planning tools and resources for students and families by through college and financial aid information nights and the use of the online resource Naviance by students and their families in college planning labs that were held during the school day.

In May of 2013, 80 Sanborn seniors (50% of the class) were recognized as New Hampshire Scholars by Governor Maggie Hassan at a ceremony in Concord. Sanborn was applauded for having one of the highest participation rates of high schools in our State in this program.

For the 2013-2014 year, the following post-secondary planning activities are planned for students and their families:

September 9, 2013: Senior College Night, 7pm in the library

September 10, 2013: College Fair (during the school day)

March 10, 2014: Junior College Night, 7pm in the library

April 14, 2014: Freshman & Sophomore College Night, 7pm in the library

On June 14, 2013, with the assistance of Governor Maggie Hassan, Sanborn Regional High School graduated 157 seniors. Of those graduates, 49% plan to attend a 4-year school, 34% plan to attend a 2-year school, and 5% plan to enter the military or armed forces.

Sanborn Regional High School salutes the following seniors for their commitment to serve our country:  Brandon Andrukaitis, US Marine Corps; Jonathan Clarkson, US Navy; Kimberly Goucher, US Marine Corps; Stephanie Sammon, US Navy; and Nikolas Stafford, US Marine Corps.

The school also salutes the following seniors who held special titles at graduation: Daniel Okuniewicz, Valedictorian; Lauren Barker, Salutatorian; Grant Wagner, Class Essayist; and Emily Mailloux, Class President.

Sanborn Regional High School’s Class of 2013 seniors were accepted at the following academic institutions:

Albright College

Arizona State

Arizona State University

Art Institute of Boston

Art Institute of Charlotte

Assumption College

Baldwin Wallace University

Ball State University

Bay State College

Beal Community College

Berklee College of Music

Boston University

Bridgewater State University

Bryant University

Coastal Carolina College

Colby-Sawyer College

College of Charleston

Continental Academie of Hair

Corcoran College of Art & Design

Curry College

Daniel Webster College

Doane College

Emmanuel College

Empire Beauty School

Endicott College

Florida Atlantic University

Franciscan University

Franklin Pierce University

Full Sail University

Great Bay Community College

Hesser College

High Point University

Husson University

Ithaca College

James Madison University

John Abbot College

Johnson & Wales College

Keene State College

LeCordon Bleu College

Lynn University

Maine College of Art

Maine Maritime Academy

Manchester Community College

Marietta College

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Services

Merrimack College

Miami University at Oxford

Montserrat College of Art

Mount Ida

New England College

New England Institute of Technology

New Hampshire Institute of Art

New Hampshire Technical Institute

Newbury College

North Shore Community College

Northern Essex Community College

Northern New Mexico College

Ohio University

Old Dominion University

Plymouth State University

Post University

Providence College

Queens University of Charlotte

Quinnipiac University

Rivier University

Roanoke College

Roger Williams College

Sacred Heart University

Saint Joseph College

Saint Leo University

Salem State University

Simmons College

Southern Connecticut State College

Southern New Hampshire University

Southern University of New York

St. Anselm College

St. Michael's College

Stonehill College

Texas A&M University

The City University of New York, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

The College of St. Rose

Thomas College

United States Air Force

United States Marine Corp

United States Navy

University of  New England

University of Bridgeport

University of Hartford

University of Maine/Farmington

University of Maine/Orono

University of Massachusetts Boston

University of Massachusetts/Amherst

University of Massachusetts/Lowell

University of New Brunswick

University of New England

University of New Hampshire

University of New Haven

University of North Carolina

University of Northwest Ohio

University of Rhode Island

University of South Carolina

University of Southern Maine

University of Tampa

University of Vermont

University of Washington

University Technical Institute

Wells College

Wentworth Institute of Technology

Western Kentucky University

Western New England University

Westfield State University

Winthrop University

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Sanborn Regional High School is committed to learning for all, whatever it takes.

Respectfully Submitted By: Brian M. Stack, Principal; Michael Turmelle, Assistant Principal / Curriculum; Ann Hadwen, Assistant Principal / Freshman Learning Community; Michelle Catena, Guidance Director; and Vicki Parady-Guay, Athletic Director