School’s learning focus is on present-day theme
by Walter Yost, Staff Writer
Sacramento Bee, November 4, 2004
Chandra Sousa, a junior at Shenandoah High School, took her final exam Wednesday without filling in a box, circling an answer or opening a blue book.
She did, however, talk about her experience tutoring elementary school special-education students, finding positive activities for kids to do during lunch and recess, and learning to play guitar from her father.
Instead of a traditional final, students at Sousa’s charter school in El Dorado make a presentation – called an exhibition – to an audience of their peers, their teacher/ adviser, their principal, one or both of their parents, a mentor and even a neighbor. During the presentation, they describe and document their work in the previous school quarter.
When Sousa finished, her audience gave her an ovation.
“Your passion and love for kids comes out,” her teacher, Mike Arburn, said.
At Shenandoah High, it’s not just the final exams that are different. Three years ago, the El Dorado Union High School District contracted with The Big Picture Company, an educational reform group, to help design a public charter high school.
Shenandoah High opened its doors in August 2002 with 30 ninth-graders. Its stated principle is “blending school-based learning with real-world experiences based on a central career theme.”
Today, the campus has 109 students. Next year it will have its first senior class and an expected enrollment of 144.
With only one permanent building, the school has added new portables as its population has grown.
“Our original freshmen have seen phenomenal changes,” Principal Michelle Spencer said. “We call them ‘our pioneers.’ ”
Shenandoah is a dependent charter school, meaning it is part of the El Dorado Union High School District and is funded by the district. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has helped fund similar schools across the country, provides Shenandoah with extensive staff training and classroom materials, Spencer said.
Arburn, who used to teach at Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills, said he switched for numerous reasons.
Ultimately, he repeats a comment he has overheard from his students: “At Shenandoah, you get to do what you’re good at, work at what you’re not good at, and there’s no place to hide.”
Arburn and Spencer said Shenandoah, with a ratio of one teacher – called an adviser – for every 18 students, offers a more personalized education than most high schools do.
At the start of each school year, Spencer said, students prepare their own learning plans with the help of their adviser, their parents and a mentor.
The learning plan emphasizes workplace and community experience. The high school maintains a database of 650 local businesses that provide real-world opportunities.
For example, during the past two years, 13 Shenandoah students worked at Marshall Hospital in Placerville.
“It’s been very much a success,” said Barbara Smiley, the hospital’s community volunteer manager. “We’re looking for more students.”
As one of the largest employers in the area, Marshall can offer students a variety of job experiences, from nursing assistant to business office work, Smiley said.
Sousa, 16, said she is interested in becoming a teacher, but she’s not sure at which grade level. She’ll explore that as part of her senior thesis next year.
This past school quarter, Sousa coaxed her father into teaching her to play the guitar.
“It’s a great tool if you want to be an elementary school teacher,” Arburn told her.
As part of her Learning Through Internship, Sousa spends two days a week tutoring special-education children at Charles F. Brown Elementary School in El Dorado.
She also helps organize recess and lunch activities for students at the school, after noticing that many children had nothing constructive to do during breaks.
Sousa’s immediate goal is to perform community service for Big Brothers Big Sisters in Placerville.
Following her presentation last week, Sousa’s audience evaluated her work.
“Good perseverance,” one student said.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” said another.
Several students also took time to comment on their experience at Shenandoah High.
“You know so much more about what you want to do in life,” said sophomore Brittany Rowland.
“This school gives us more of a chance to find out who we are,” said Sheena Voyles, a junior.