The Next Generation:

Why Not 9/10-11/12?

How was it decided that two comprehensive reformed high schools would be best meet the needs of the students and community in Juneau.

The Advisory Committee created five models for the community to consider for implementation.  From the community forums and open houses, there was interest in the model of the 9/10-11/12 split, the two reformed comprehensive high schools, and the academic and career academies.  There was little support for the five smaller personalized schools or a comprehensive high school at JDHS and smaller high schools at TMHS, although there was interest in some of the components within these models.  The Advisory Committee further investigated the 9/10-11/12 split, reformed comprehensive high school, and the academic and career academies.  The model of the reformed comprehensive high school and the use of theme based academies were chosen because it best supported the program developed by the Advisory Committee.  When applying the research and models of best practices to all models, especially around the area of personalization and reducing the achievement gaps, it became obvious that the two comprehensive schools would best meet the academic needs of all high students in Juneau.

A number of community members indicated that they preferred a school configuration of a 9/10-11/12 split, essentially one school:  two campuses.  Why wasn’t that configuration selected?

It is true that numerous Juneau community members expressed both interest in and preference for this model.  In fact, it was the community interest in this model that led the Advisory Committee to bring forth the proposal for it.  After they created and shared the proposal and interest from the public continued to run high, they analyzed it more thoroughly to see if it would be the best “fit” for Juneau.  Individual conversations were held with school district personnel where schools had this configuration in place as well as with districts where similar studies to ours were completed and then other structures were decided upon.  An audio conference was also held for Advisory Committee members to allow them to hear first hand from administrators in these buildings and to ask their “burning” questions.

Advisory Committee members came away from this conference with deep concerns for the model.  The model appears to exacerbate several concerns that exist in Juneau. 

• First, in 9/10-11/12 splits, the added transition between 10 and 11 is an issue.  Some students simply don’t show up at the new school.  In a district attempting to explicitly address the drop out issue and raise graduation rates, this creates a major red flag. 
• One of the major goals of the Juneau Public Schools is to create strong relationships for students.  This desire was voiced strongly during the community forums. The best practice research is also very clear about the effect of continuous relationships between teachers and students throughout their high school careers.  In the 9/10-11/12 schools, not only were the relationships of shorter duration (two vs. four years), but the administrators stated that there seemed to be some question about who “owned” the kids—Whose responsibility was it to search out students who didn’t show up for eleventh grade?  Since the “new” school didn’t already have relationships with these students, there was less active one-on-one recruiting and problem solving to make sure all kids made it into the system.  The committee felt that a four-year advisory program would help create strong relationships and address the desire that they heard from the community for “personalization,” and these would not be possible in a split.
• School staff reported that the 9/10 schools had a “glorified middle school” feel to them.  Without the maturity and mentoring available from older students, they felt there was a void of leadership that resulted in an increase in behavioral issues.
• When students fail to earn required credits during their freshman and sophomore years, there is a greater issue of what to do about these credits and their placement.  Do they stay at the 9/10-11/12 school?  What about electives?  If they go on to the 11/12, how do they earn the missed credits?  These were all issues in the split schools.
• Advanced students spent time traveling between schools as there were not enough students in the 9/10 to offer sections of advanced mathematics, foreign language, etc.
• The state of Alaska has some pretty clear directives in terms of funding.  In order for the school district to receive $1.4 million in operating costs for the new school, it MUST be designated as a separate school.  It can have different grades, but it must be a distinct entity.
• On the other hand, in order for students at a 9/10 school to be able to participate in athletics/activities at an 11/12 school, they CANNOT be designated as separate schools; in fact, the only students allowed to participate in athletics and activities in another school must come from an “alternative” school.

How will the school district address the community’s desire to remained unified?

It was clear from the community forums and open houses that the community wanted to remain unified through their high school program.  There was a concern that two high schools would create a divisiveness and unhealthy rivalry between the two schools.  The Advisory Committee was also concerned about this and recommends the following strategies to maintain a sense of unity within the community:

• The Secondary Planning Team and entire school district must be deliberate in creating structures and activities that promote unity.  It will be up to the adults and especially the leaders to promote this sense of unity through their own actions and role modeling.  As one member of our advisory group said, “We need to build a new culture of unity that is based on shared interests and activities that can be scheduled on a regular basis.”
• The priority of choice is a major component of this plan being recommended by the Advisory Committee and specifically addresses the issue of unity.  Since it is not being recommended that there be geographic boundaries, students will have a choice on which school to attend and promote the concept of having students from all over Juneau attending both high schools.  This will help avoid creating a spit based on where students live.
• Themed academies from both schools will work in partnership with community organizations and agencies throughout Juneau to provide authentic learning environments.
• Both schools will work in partnership with the University of Alaska and Juneau workforce.
• Broad representation of students will work together from both schools through academic programs and extra-curricular activities.