Small Learning Communities

at South Miami Senior High

SMALLER LEARNING COMMUNITIES GRANT 2005/2006/2008
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

SLC Coordinator - Lourdes Garcia

 

 


The following is some basic information about Small Learning Communities and how they work at South Miami Senior High.

What is SLC? 

SLC means Small Learning Communities.  Ultimately, the idea is to have a set number of academies with majors, or areas of interest (broadcasting, for example) with a set number of teachers from every department attached to that academy. 

When students join that academy they would see those teachers for their remaining high school years. Realistically, for South Miami, SLC is 4 teams made up of core teachers who will be working to help the 9th graders get accustomed to high school, work with and support each other, and help the 9th graders decide their area of interest for next year’s academies. This summer there was a 3 day SLC workshop. 
As a group, we came up with a series of goals for our 9th graders.  We will be meeting as teams to see if students are meeting those goals.

As they do, we will reassess and work on new goals. Our first goals include

  • a.       enforcing the use of the planners
  • b.      passing out and living out the Cobra Contract
  • c.      encouraging literacy and expose students to a variety of texts
  • d.      gaining a sense of self-respect as well as respect for the environment
  • e.      identifying kids who are failing more than 1 class faster through team collaboration

COBRA ACADEMY

 

There are 6 Core Principles that are a part of the SLC philosophy:

           

1.      Accountable Leaders:  Decisions should be based on data.  Things to consider include:  are the kids leaders, are they accountable, and is this something we as teachers can control?

2.      Personalize the learning environment:  Developing relationships with the students through mutual trust and respect. 

3.      Engaged community and youth:  Internship programs, career academies, and community service are the focus of this principle.

4.      Academic engagement:  Interdisciplinary units

5.      Empowered Educators:  Empowering educators through EESAC, Union steward support, and administrative support.

6.      Integrated systems of standards: Having rigor and relevance in our curriculum as well as flexibility (how much of this we can control is questionable).