What If......

What if... the students were able to help select the teaching staff at our Super School?

What if...we joined forces with our community and business partners and delivered instruction in a hands-on, relevant, practical approach?

What if... we created Individual Educational Support Plans with student input for those students that are struggling and not meeting their learning goals/targets?

What if... our final submission is chosen as one of the five schools to make their Super School a reality? 

What if... we make this vision a reality? 

All students at the Fairfield High School Discovery Academy pursue a rigorous curriculum that provides the foundation for entry and success at the University of California and elsewhere, as well as success in the world of work.  A partnership with our feeder Middle Schools will allow us to begin a conversation with students about their interests long before they arrive at FHS. The Fairfield High School Discovery Academy will continue to provide awareness of college and career options during a student's freshman and sophomore years. The excitement builds as students join career-focused Pathway Academies for their final two years. Each mini-campus will house an integrated teaching cadre who mentor students through their Medical, Service & Industry, Performing Arts and Media & Technology Pathways. Subjects and projects are integrated and a focus on learning by creating is pervasive. Combinations of short and long term projects are collected in each students digital portfolio. A constant stream of visiting experts and practitioners in each field are a daily sight on campus and on the devices and flat-screen of all Pathway Academies.

Our ONE goal: To graduate every Fairfield High Student and to ensure that they leave FHS college and career ready!!! 

Inspire, Engage, Excite, Lead, Foster, Create, Empower!!

Many more great things are in store for Fairfield High!

Continue to be innovative, creative, and a model of excellence!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!

We Can #Rethink High School

We are getting closer to our final submission for the XQ Super School Redesign Project. Last week we held two community roundtable forums. Partnering with community and businesses to provide real world, hands on experience continued to be woven through each statement. Each adult in the room shared his/her experience with high school. Despite none of us attending the same school or even knowing one another in high school, our experiences were very similar. Almost everyone commented on the social pulls and demands on "fitting" in.  It was clear that if we could have had a more engaging high school it would have benefited all of us.

Our students deserve better. Our students are asking for more. Even without the $10 million from the XQ Super School project we can still #rethink our approaches and provide a much more engaging and meaningful high school experience for our students.

Listen to OUR students in this video and think about how YOU can help us #rethink high school.

https://www.wevideo.com/view/664201183

In order to complete our final phase submission I welcome any comments, ideas, suggestions at the end of this post. 

Our ONE goal: To graduate every Fairfield High Student and to ensure that they leave FHS college and career ready!!! 

Inspire, Engage, Excite, Lead, Foster, Create, Empower!!

Many more great things are in store for Fairfield High!

Continue to be innovative, creative, and a model of excellence!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!

Have You Heard????

We all get very busy in our day to day and sometimes miss the amazing things going on around us. Today's post is a tribute to our students and staff and the amazing things that have occurred over the last few weeks.  Have You Heard.....?

Have you heard that PROM 2016 was an UNBELIEVABLE EVENING? Students arrived at His Lordships in Berkeley to a red carpet and paparazzi. The girls were as glamorous as ever. The most popular style of the evening were the floor length gowns. I heard from multiple people at the venue that our students were, "The most well dressed prom students they had ever seen." The guys were equally stunning and dressed to impress. I have to say that the the sparkly red shoes that one male prom goer wore were definitely my favorite.

Have you heard that we raised $300 for Together We Rise, the NEU Charity of the Year? ASB students, Val Quijas and Regina Williams promoted the fundraiser for a two week period. Loose change is all that was asked of students and staff. They were able to raise $300 that will help to support foster youth through the non profit, Together We Rise. https://www.togetherwerise.org/

Have you heard that Chef Tom Dickinson has been working all year with our FA and Vocational Ed students? He has been leading the students through a culinary experience that they will never forget. A culminating activity last week was a cooking challenge that resembled the ever popular Food Network show Chopped. 

Have you heard that our TPP students wrote and published an original book? The senior students in Lynn Bocca's TPP class wanted to create a book as their senior project. Each student wrote a memoir from their life that could be shared with elementary students to motivate and inspire them. The students researched how to publish a book, created a GoFundMe account, raised the $500 needed, and edited and published their original work. They will be providing copies to our feeder elementary schools. You too can be the proud owner of Finding Ourselves. Just go to Lulu.com and enter the ISBN #978-1-365-06410-4. 

Our ONE goal: To graduate every Fairfield High Student and to ensure that they leave FHS college and career ready!!! 

Inspire, Engage, Excite, Lead, Foster, Create, Empower!!

Many more great things are in store for Fairfield High!

Continue to be innovative, creative, and a model of excellence!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!

The Importance of Student Voices

I think we all know that listening to student voices is important to do, but sometimes we forget to take the time to stop and listen. Last week during our Site Council meeting it was our students that contributed the most information and it was truly remarkable. Let's #Rethink High School through the eyes of our students!!

One of our student Site Council members proposed an idea for a before the school day intervention. She suggested not just a tutoring session but a time where students could get help on resume writing, college applications, financial aid applications, listen to industry speakers, etc. It was a great idea and one that we wrote into our Single Plan for Student Achievement for next school year. Additionally, another student member who will be attending UC Davis next year stated that she liked the idea so much she could see how it could really impact students.  She said would come back and help with it. The brainstorming continued and the students expressed how important it is that more students go on college field trips and visit trade schools. After that discussion, another action item was drafted and written into our site plan. We will now be coordinating field trips for next year that will allow 500 students to visit college campuses.  The timing of field trips was also key according to the students so that the trips coincide with juniors thinking about college options and seniors actually applying to their colleges of choice.

Our students have great ideas and want to make their high school years the best they can be. Take some time to ask your students what they would like to see in your class and in school. What career field do they want to go into? What colleges are they considering? Look at your standards and see how you could deliver your instruction so that your students see the relevance to their lives and are able ultimately to use what they learn to impact the world around them.

Here is what a few of our students have to say about high school.

Our ONE goal: To graduate every Fairfield High Student and to ensure that they leave FHS college and career ready!!! 

Inspire, Engage, Excite, Lead, Foster, Create, Empower!!

Many more great things are in store for Fairfield High!

Continue to be innovative, creative, and a model of excellence!

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!