Renaissance High School

Renaissance High School Alternative Learning Experience Contract
School Overview. Renaissance Alternative High School is a school of choice. As such, the student is entering into a contractual Alternative Learning Experience as established and governed by the Washington Administrative Codes WAC 392-121-182. All classes, instructional materials, and graduation requirements comply with the directives of the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and provisions established by the Bremerton School Board. Our curriculum is designed to fulfill the Washington Essential Academic Learning Requirements, Grade Level Expectations, and/or national standards as applicable for each discipline and grade level. Specifics for each class are outlined in the course organizer and the term syllabi as discussed below.

Learning Experience Specifics. Unlike a more traditional school environment, RHS is based on a college style class schedule, a point accumulation system for earning credits, and the school year divided into eight terms of approximately one month in length. In general, students attend a scheduled class twice a week for one hour. Students are expected to engage in 25 hours of learning activities per week including homework time. Homework is a necessary component and considered a form of summative assessment. Failure to attend classes or make academic progress can result in a loss of regularly scheduled classes and assignment to an Advisors Contract. RHS does not offer a home-based instructional program. Such programs do not fall under the obligations or guidelines of Washington State public schools

Student will earn points toward mastery of the learning goals by completing a variety of activities for each class. Those activities may include oral presentations, written work, participation in discussions, and other methods deemed appropriate to the objective. A detailed breakdown of goals and possible points will be made available to each student in the form of a syllabus at the beginning of each term. All assignments and activities must be 100% complete with 80% accuracy for points to be awarded. Partial credit is not given for partial work; however, work is not penalized for being late.

Solid academic progress is approximately 125 points per class per each of 8 terms. It is understood however, that for some students, academic progress may be judged on other criteria including regular attendance and a good faith effort at making steady progress both socially and academically. At the end of each term, students are responsible for collecting their points for each class on a credit log. This in turn is given to the advisor who then records earned points on the student’s Perm Card. Although, each term has a deadline date for turning in work so that points may be tallied, work is expected to continue with earned points applied to the following term. One credit is equal to 1000 points and is awarded in 250 point/quarter credit increments with a letter grade of “P”. Classes with earned points of less than 250 are recorded as “NC”. Points not used for credits are carried over from one academic year to the next.

All students are required to attend Advisory Class each week. Advisory Class is a means for the Advisor to maintain weekly contact with each student, provide academic support, and to make available routine and special information. At the beginning of each and every term, the student must make and keep an appointment with their advisor. A parent or primary caregiver is strongly encouraged to attend. The advisor appointment time is used to evaluate the student’s academic progress, determine and schedule classes, and to ensure administrative requirements are met. Failure to make and keep a term appointment will result in a loss of the student’s class schedule and the student will not be able to attend school for that term.

Important Information and Parent Involvement:

Student Learning Plan (SLP) and High School and Beyond Plan (HS&B) During the first appointment of the student’s school year at RHS, the Advisor will go over the student’s transcript, attendance history, State testing requirements, applicable graduation requirements and any special needs of the student. Together, they will create a SLP and a HS&B to document an appropriate academic course towards graduation and post high school. The HS&B can take various forms depending on the advisory records. A parent or primary caregiver is strongly encouraged to attend this critical first appointment.

SLP and HS&B Progress Midway through the year and during the student’s final appointment, the Advisor will go over the student’s credit log and other applicable paperwork to evaluate their SLP and progress on the HS&B. Adjustments will be made to the plans and further guidance provided as needed. A parent or primary caregiver is strongly encouraged to attend these critical appointments.

Graduation Requirements The graduation requirements for RHS meet the state mandated requirements and those specified by Bremerton School Board policy. BSD policy has evolved in recent years to meet a variety of requirements and expectation placed upon the educational system. The policy for your student is based upon when they first entered High School (entered the 9th grade).

HSPE/WASL Beginning with the graduating class of 2008, students must earn a “Certificate of Academic Achievement” to earn their diploma. This certificate indicates a student has mastered a minimum set of skills by graduation. All students must pass the Reading, Writing and Math portions of the HSPE/WASL to earn this certificate. However, until the class of 2013, in lieu of passing the Math WASL, various options such as College Placement Testing, Collection Of Evidence or earning additional math credits are available. Reading and Writing mastery are still required with few options available.

Portfolios All students are required to have a Portfolio/Culmination Project in order to graduate. Students are given a copy of the portfolio requirements during their intake process or advisory class. While the student should be aware of the portfolio requirements throughout their academic career, due to the fluctuating population of RHS, the portfolio is made a focus only during their graduation year. The portfolio is presented in a public forum during the graduation ceremony.

External Options Running Start, a college route to earning HS credits, and Vocational Tech course work such as those available at West Sound Technical School are available to students beginning their 11th grade year (by credits). While these programs are highly recommended, placement is based upon ability and needs. You are strongly encouraged to discuss these options with your student’s advisor.

Bremerton School District policies provide guidance for a wide spectrum of issues such as curriculum, student behavior, special programs, and community relations. These policies are available on the web at www.bremertonschools.org/ourdistrict/policies.

Parent Engagement and Suggestions for Our Program’s Improvement RHS strongly encourages parents and primary caregivers to be active in their student’s education. Attendance at monthly appointments is the most important method of communication, but we recognize that not everyone can attend. To help this process we have instituted the following: a) Periodic Student Newspapers are sent home and contain important reminders, b) the Principal’s Notification Emails have reminders about important due dates, schedule modifications, parent input surveys etc. and c) you are always welcome to stop by or call the office to discuss any concerns or check up on your student.