Variety in course offerings
Granite
High School
advocacy
Each school in the district has the responsibility to
promote itself to the public. Granite High is a school, not a program.
Consequently, as with all schools, Granite High has the duty to advertise
its unique educational elements. Many high schools receive assistance from
their communities in promoting their strengths. As students and teachers
learn of distinct opportunities found at Granite High School that meet their
needs, they should be drawn to this small learning environment.
Asked at Granite High School community meeting, October 24,
2007
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Fee waivers
Utah law allows fees to be charged in the secondary schools. The law also
allows for the waiver of fees for families that meet certain financial
eligibility requirements. Eligibility is governed by these laws and schools
have little discretion to either exempt or include a family. The law was
recently amended requiring additional documentation to prove eligibility.
Asked at Granite High School community meeting, October 24,
2007
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Curriculum
Some Newcomer students arrive with little or no formal education in any
language, let alone English. Some are highly educated in their native
language. With barely a year of experience with the program, we are
evaluating how it can more effectively help students gain the skills they
need to participate in academic coursework in English.
Asked at Granite High School community meeting, October 24,
2007
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Expansion
There is currently no waiting list for entry into the Newcomer program.
With barely a year of experience with the program, we are evaluating how it
can more effectively help students gain the skills they need to participate
in academic coursework in English.Asked at Granite High School
community meeting, October 24,
2007
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Transition
The Newcomer program is an intensive English transition
program. When students achieve a level of English with which they can
be successful in academic coursework they are transitioned to their
neighborhood schools. As most records are kept electronically in a
district database, the records are available to the neighborhood school
before the student even arrives.
Asked at Granite High School community meeting, October 24,
2007
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Transportation
Students in the Newcomer Program are provided transportation based on the
same state funding formula as all students. All those who live further than
the statutory 2 mile limit are provided transportation.
Asked at Granite High School community meeting, October 24,
2007
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Request for a new Hartvigsen
School
Hartvigsen has provided a wonderful
setting for our special needs students for many years.
There is an increasing concern that the current
facility is inadequate and may not be able to meet future expectations.
In discussions about a possible new location to
serve our special needs populations, it seems appropriate to explore the
placement of a facility on the west side of the valley.
Asked at Granite High School community meeting, October 24,
2007
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School funding
In Utah, basic school operations are primarily funded
through the state WPU, Weighted Pupil Unit, which is a legislated dollar
amount provided per student throughout the state. Schools in Granite
District then hire teachers according to a staffing ratio based on salary
costs in relationship to that WPU: one teacher for every 27 students in an
elementary school, one teacher per 27 students in a junior high, one teacher
per 28 students registered in a high school.
Though schools are initially funded equally, some appear
to have more programs and/or teachers than other schools for several
reasons. Other funds allocated by the state (Trustlands, Quality
Teaching/Student Achievement monies) are spent according to plans generated
by the school Community Council and can dramatically affect both people and
programs. Schools identified as high risk according to certain
demographic data qualify for federal Title I funds intended to provide extra
support for economically disadvantaged students. Title III monies
provide targeted resources to English language learners, and federal dollars
are also allocated to some schools for safety and drug and alcohol programs
on the basis of such identified needs. Additionally, many schools
apply for grants and are awarded funds for programs they desire to create or
to hire additional staff or specialized personnel. Schools need not have
prescribed boundaries to be eligible for grant applications; demographic
information required in them can be generated about the school’s enrolled
population rather than by neighborhood.
Again, although all school funding begins at the same
level, it is because of these different funding sources intended to equalize
the playing field for students that some schools appear to have more and
varied programs and personnel than others.
Asked at Granite High School community meeting, October 24,
2007
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Bus drivers and safety issues
Bus drivers are instructed to not
use cell phones while their bus is in motion.
Each year all district employees that have a
CDL license (needed to drive school buses and/or larger trucks and
equipment) are subject to random drug and alcohol testing.
If any suspected violators are detected either
through this testing or observation, they are immediately suspended pending
an investigation to determine continued employment status with the district.
If anyone witnesses a driver conducting themselves in a manner that would
jeopardize student safety, they are encouraged to report that concern
immediately to the transportation department at 801-646-4280.
Asked at Granite High School community meeting, October 24,
2007
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Measures taken to
protect students and staff
Funding was approved in this budget
year to buy equipment to control access in all elementary schools.
This means that all public access to the school
will be through the main doors and thereafter directly to the principal’s
office.
Other exterior doors will be accessible by electronic
keys issued to district employees.
This will generate a log of who is accessing
the building.
Securing the doors in this fashion will greatly
enhance the safety of students, employees, and patrons.
It is the intent of the board to expand this
school security program to all secondary schools once all elementary schools
are completed.
Asked at Granite High School community meeting, October 24,
2007
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All junior highs not the same
The education of young adolescents is both challenging
and rewarding. At the root of quality middle level education is the
belief that students in our junior highs require developmentally appropriate
experiences provided by caring adults. They learn best when involved with
integrated, engaging curricula provided in a team structure. In enriched
learning environments, these students thrive on instruction based on
exploration, discovery, and application of learned concepts to the real
world. What these characteristics look like may be very different from
community to community; essential to quality middle level education is the
concept of responsiveness to individual student needs and choices. Granite
District’s Board of Education has mandated that all its junior high schools
organize students into teams, provide common planning time for teachers
through which they can integrate curriculum, and provide professional
learning for teachers that meets the needs of young adolescents. The
board also allowed flexibility of student scheduling to accomplish these
goals. It is both this flexibility and responsiveness to student needs
that determine course offerings, extracurricular activities, collaborative
experiences, etc. that vary from school to school.
Asked at Granite High School community meeting, October 24,
2007
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Division of
programs
The new statute regarding the division of districts does not clarify the
employment of personnel who are not assigned to schools. A reduction in the
number of students would necessitate a commensurate reduction in support
staff.Asked at Granite High School community meeting, October 24,
2007
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Professional
development opportunities at Hartvigsen
Hartvigsen School is a unique facility that provides specialized education
for students with severe disabilities. As such, the staff is also unique
and includes not only teachers but many instructional assistants. ALL
Granite District schools provide site-based professional development
opportunities; administrators have responsibility for planning three days’
worth of professional learning experiences designed to build the specific
skills needed in all staff members in their respective schools.
Instructional assistants may certainly be included in these and any other
professional development sessions scheduled by Hartvigsen School, and they
may also participate in other relevant professional workshops or trainings
provided by the district office departments - some of which provide
licensure points to participants.Asked at Granite High School
community meeting, October 24,
2007
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Reducing class
size
Each year the legislature establishes a dollar amount for
the Weighted Pupil Unit, that is, a dollar amount per student. The
WPUs represent the money that pays for operations and maintenance
(everything from utility costs at the schools to fuel for school buses).
Funds for teachers also come from the WPU. In many years, the WPU
increase has not covered the increases in costs of doing business – the same
inflation costs that impact families also impact school districts – and
student opportunities have been reduced and class sizes have sometimes
needed to be increased.
Last year’s legislative increase to the WPU gave Granite’s board the
opportunity to reduce class sizes. We are dependent upon the legislature
for future increases.Asked at Granite High School
community meeting, October 24,
2007
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Granite High School opportunities
Every student in the Granite School District has a “home” high school with
comprehensive academic and athletic opportunities.
Granite
High School is a small
learning environment that students affirmatively elect to attend. The
school is consciously not intended to look like a large comprehensive high
school.Asked at Granite High School community meeting, October 24,
2007
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Granite Peaks High School
offerings
Granite Peaks High School
(formerly known as “Central”) is not intended to be a comprehensive high
school but rather a program with a unique learning environment to help
students with high school graduation. Arts, PE, and other
opportunities are available at
Granite
Peaks
High School
to meet graduation requirements.
Asked at Granite High School community meeting, October 24,
2007
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Hartvigsen
students
With advancements in science and medicine, more and more medically fragile
students are able to come to school. This medical fragility increases the
amount of time staff spend on medical support and impacts educational time.
We are evaluating how to mitigate this situation.
Asked at Granite High School community meeting, October 24,
2007
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High school
experience different for everybody
The high school experience can be exciting, frightening,
stimulating and exhausting all at the same time. Some students
complain that they are stressed and overloaded and long for a break in the
day or a way to unwind. For many, classes in areas of personal
interest or those tied to hobbies or talents can be relaxing and energizing
(painting, jazz band, auto body). For some, a physical outlet provides
stress relief, and PE or participation on a sports team can be beneficial.
For still others, extracurricular clubs, service projects or social
activities create that welcome relief.
Conversely, some students over schedule and find themselves buckling under
pressures of competing school activities, extracurricular commitments, job
responsibilities and homework. Helping a student organize, prioritize and
simplify can be a parent’s greatest contribution to that student’s high
school education.
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Placement of special
education students
We are making a concerted effort to educate special
education students as close to their homes and home schools as possible.
Asked at Granite High School community meeting, October 24,
2007
Top
Options other than
traditional class settings
“One size fits all” is no longer the educational approach
that best prepares all students for success in the twenty-first century.
Not only do teachers differentiate for various needs in individual
classrooms, but Granite District has strategically implemented many programs
that allow students to address a variety of educational and career goals, to
personalize their educational experiences. The Granite Technical
Institute (GTI) provides any high school student in the district the chance
to take advanced CTE courses in such things as biotechnology, 3-D animation,
dental assisting, pre-engineering or pharmacy tech with a career focus in
mind. Centralized programs such as these at the GTI provide
state-of-the-art lab experiences, internships and real-world connections
that go beyond what even an individual comprehensive high school can offer.
While some students are drawn to career exploration, other students are
interested in accelerating their academic experiences and take advantage of
district programs that provide “two for one”. Students enroll in courses
offering concurrent enrollment - high school credit as well as university or
community college credit - to get a head start on an associate’s degree or
early college entrance. Competency tests afford the opportunity to earn
credits by demonstrating mastery of a curriculum and make it possible for
some students to fit more courses of choice into their school schedules.
Asked at Granite High School community meeting, October 24,
2007
Top
Variety in course offerings
Courses taught in secondary schools vary for a number of
reasons. All schools must offer courses mandated by the State Office
of Education to meet graduation requirements. Beyond that, course
offerings are the result of student interest and need - classes that the
greatest number of students request and register for are those that are
carried by the school.
Teacher certifications and
endorsements play a part in course offerings, too. Courses must be
taught by teachers with appropriate content expertise, and the smaller the
school faculty, the less variety and diversity of subject areas available
for master course scheduling.
In keeping with middle level philosophy, many of our
junior high schools are creating courses intended to meet the need for
students to create strong relationships with adults in the schools.
Such classes as Relax and Relate, student advisories or team times are often
unique to specific schools and designed to meet specific needs of that
student body.
Asked at Granite High School community meeting, October 24,
2007
Top