December 12, 2007

Parents, Students and Supports of Granger High School,

Many may be aware or have heard about stories in the Deseret News, the Tribune and over KSL radio that the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools placed Granger High School on “advised status.” This does not mean that Granger will lose its status for accreditation. This does not mean that Granger will loose the ability to give credit for its classes and issue diplomas of high school graduation. This does not mean that Granger High School is a sub par school. “Granger was placed on advised status because it had 30 teachers with excessive class loads, double the numbers from 2006.” This statement by Northwest Association of Accredited Schools paints an incorrect picture of Granger.

The teaching class loads for Granger teachers actually went down from the 2006 school year. The increase in teacher loads, as reported by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools, was the result of a new non-academic program named the Lancer Education Achievement Period (LEAP) instituted this year. LEAP is an advisory period during which each teacher meets with 20-25 students once a week for 30 minutes. During the LEAP period, teachers review attendance, grades, coming events for the school, student opportunities, and make parent contacts if necessary. The purpose of LEAP is to help develop positive relationships between the teaching staff and students. National studies have shown that the development of positive relationships between teachers and students provide students a way to feel more involved with their school programs. Programs such as LEAP have been shown to develop these positive relationships. In fact, a number of schools in the state of Utah have started similar advisory periods at the high school level with very successful results for students.

If granger did not have an advisory period, the class loads, on paper, would be dramatically lower than 2006. We believe that the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools unfairly focused on granger class numbers without fully understanding what the non-academic purpose of the advisory period was and what it could do to help students.

Rest assured that the accredited status of Granger High School will remain safe and the administration of Granger will do everything in its power to promote an academically strong and successful Granger.

Sincerely,

Arthur T. Cox
Principal
Granger High School