|
Media Player | Quick Time
Click on one of the links above
toview a short video on what a
smaller learning communitiy means
to our students, parents, and staff.
|
A Smaller Learning Community (SLC) is also referred to as a School-Within-A-School. It is a form of school structure to subdivide large school populations into smaller groups of students and teachers.
The primary purpose of restructuring secondary schools into SLC's is to create a more personalized learning environment to better meet the needs of students. Each SLC will often share the same teachers and student members from grade to grade.
Advantages of SLC's include:
- Lower student sense of anonymity
- Individual needs are more easily addressed
- Higher standardized test scores
- Stronger sense of community
- Increased participation in extracurricular activities
What is the Smaller Learning Communities Grant?
Traverse City Area Public Schools is participating in a newly formed Michigan Smaller Learning Communities Consortium, which was awarded a federal Smaller Learning Communities grant from the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) in October 2007. The Consortium is comprised of six large Michigan high schools and includes TC Central High School and TC West Senior High School.
The purpose of the grant is to provide resources to large high schools (that serve over 1,000 students) to:
- Improve student achievement
- Increase graduation rates
- Promote successful transitions for all students in high school and beyond graduation.
TCAPS is part of the Michigan Smaller Learning Communities Consortium, which has been awarded a federal Smaller Learning Communities grant from the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE). The Consortium, comprised of six large Michigan high schools includes TC Central High School and TC West Senior High School. As part of the grant consortium TCAPS will receive $2.3 million dollars to support the five-year initiative. The Consortium schools represent diverse geographic areas within Michigan, and have agreed to work in collaboration, share resources, and exchange best practices to dramatically enhance the likelihood of success across the state as opposed to individual efforts to improve and reform Michigan’s economy and competitive advantage is critically connected to the education level of its students and workforce. Educators from each Consortium school are committed to establishing Smaller Learning Communities that will personalize the high school experience and create an environment, in which teachers and other adults within the school know the needs, interests, and aspirations of each student, closely monitor each student’s progress, and provide the academic and other support each student needs to succeed. The six high schools serving those communities are rising to the challenges to address the unique needs of each student within large high schools.
To meet these challenges, each school is receiving extensive support throughout the five-year project from the Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools and Michigan State University. The Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools (MCES) is part of a national network of schools and centers that is engaged in restructuring and redesigning school organization and curriculum to promote better student learning and achievement. The MCES mission is focused on classroom practice, the simple authenticity of its Principles, and its determination to measure the long-term impact of school reform on the lives of students. Rigorous academic standards and high expectations for all students are at the core of this effort.
For additional information, go to:
Read TCAPS' Press Release Annoucing the Smaller Learning Communities Grant...
|