|
Lancaster County Academy
(Lancaster, Pennsylvania)
Summary: Overview of the Strategy
The Lancaster County Academy, a non-traditional public high school, is
dedicated to the recovery of student dropouts. The school follows an open-entry,
open-exit design, allowing students to create a flexible education and employment
plan. Each learner receives an Individual Education Plan, which accounts
for credits earned at the home school and details the additional credits
needed. Students then complete each required subject using a self-paced,
competency-based curriculum model. All students complete school-to-work
and service learning components for academic credit.
School-based Activities
Our students become self-confident learners as they work at their own
pace, mastering each concept and building on academic success. Students
are empowered to be in charge of their learning, choosing the order of subjects
to work on, and the time devoted to each course. Staff members function
as coaches, facilitators, and tutors. A variety of instructional and assessment
options are used, according to the learning styles of the student. Portfolio
assessment, oral examinations, performance evaluations, and team projects
have all been successfully used. Students must achieve a competency level
of at least 80% on all work. Remediation is seen as a positive process,
not punishment. Periodic progress conferences help students focus on the
process of time management and resource utilization, important employability
skills, as well as the result of academic credit earned. The curriculum
is updated and refined in response to student and employer feedback. Recent
changes made to enhance student employability skills include modifying the
English curriculum to include more listening skills, teamwork exercises,
speeches, and computer-assisted presentations.
Work-based Activities
Students complete three career assessments and the Work Keys skills assessment.
Business partners provide classroom and worksite training in job search
and interview skills, anger management, and other employability issues.
Students complete internships to apply classroom lessons to real-world problems
and are assessed by worksite mentors. Students also complete 60 hours of
Service Learning, often working with community agencies, schools, hospitals,
and other non-profit organizations. All students develop five-year career
plans. Forty percent of students advance to some type of post-secondary
education. LCA graduates often return for additional support in finding
employment or refining career direction. LCA maintains a Job Postings Board
and works one-on-one with graduates seeking jobs or considering further
education.
Connecting Activities
Partnerships have been developed with a variety of businesses and community
groups. The Academy serves as a learning laboratory for our consortium.
Staff and students are involved in the county School-To-Work partnership;
the Academy Director is co-chair of the county Coordinating Council and
an LCA student is youth representative to the council. The School-To-Work/Service
Learning Coordinator is an active member of county-wide committees and special
project teams. LCA students have assisted in planning the fairs and community
showcase events. Students see the connection between their academic work
and the activities they perform in service learning and school-to-work.
Recent projects have included surveying employers on attributes sought in
employees and establishing a business resource center at the county library.
The Need
The Lancaster County Academy (LCA) is an alternative high school dedicated
to helping students who were not successful in a traditional school environment.
LCA provides an opportunity for learners who have dropped out to complete
a high school diploma (not a GED) and develop employability skills and social
responsibility. The program is academically rigorous, but flexible to suit
each student's learning style. Students drop out for a variety of reasons,
including the following issues: pregnant/parenting teens, mental health
(depression, eating disorders, bipolar); harassment because of race, ethnicity,
or sexual orientation, substance abuse, and financial burdens. Many students
struggle with learning disabilities, particularly ADD and ADHD. In Lancaster
County, 12% of students have identified disabilities, and the LCA student
population reflects this proportion. Students represent a wide range of
ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic diversity.
Meeting the Need
LCA was developed in 1993 by a partnership of business and education,
including five school districts, the owners of the shopping mall where the
school is located, community-based organizations, and national business
associations. LCA has been recognized as an outstanding example of collaboration.
The STW strategy was a natural outgrowth of the philosophy of placing education
in the community, not apart from it. LCA's curriculum was developed through
collaboration with business partners, working to ensure our students gained
useful employability skills and engaged in meaningful career exploration.
The school is funded by an annual assessment on each participating district;
there is no cost to the student. The number of districts participating in
the consortium has grown from five to ten, evidence of the need for and
success of the program. The program is cost-effective in comparison to each
district operating a separate program. The school has received grant funding
from the local STW partnerships, as well as U S. Dept. of Labor, PA Dept.
of Environmental Protection, PA Learn and Serve, and a local business foundation.
The Results
The Lancaster County Academy has 126 graduates, and it is expected that
another 25-30 students will graduate in 1999. These learners, who had given
up on education, have found academic success and are now high school graduates.
In addition, the students have explored career opportunities and demonstrated
their new skills through internships and service learning, completing more
than 7,500 hours of service in their communities approximately 40% of graduates
pursue higher education or additional training. Other students have found
success in the armed services or have entered the job market. Business contacts
have helped refine internship requirements and outcomes. The school has
been recognized for excellence in connecting service learning; and school-to-work
by the Council of Chief State School Officers. LCA's focus on dropout recovery
makes it a critical component in the county s effort to include all learners,
including adults, in school-to-work opportunities.
Reflections on Our Strategy
LCA's location and hours of operation have played a large role in its
success. Students who were unsuccessful in a traditional school don't encounter
reminders of that physical environment. The school's location in a business
setting gives students daily interaction with successful business people.
The shopping center is a community hub, with excellent transportation access.
Students, parents, and business partners are comfortable in this setting.
Graduates find it easy to drop back in to touch base with the staff or request
additional assistance. The school is open extended hours, from 9:00 a.m.
- 8:00 p.m. Monday - Thursday, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. on Fridays. This schedule
allows students to arrange schooling around jobs, childcare arrangements,
and other responsibilities.
The Academy continues to foster partnerships with business and community
organizations. The Academy has exceeded the community's expectations, and
blasted the dropout stereotype of an unmotivated troublemaker of low intelligence.
LCA students and graduates are excellent goodwill ambassadors for the school.
Service Learning has been a particularly useful school to work strategy
in helping all students determine career goals, establish positive work
references, raise self-esteem, and recognize their ability to have a positive
impact on the community. Service learning empowers students to make a difference
for themselves and others.
Additional classroom space and a van or other mode of transportation
would be useful additions to our program.
Examples of Learners
(names changed to protect anonymity)
Example 1
Alyssa dropped out of school in the midst of her parent's turbulent divorce.
Although she had above-average intelligence, an undiagnosed learning disability
led to frustration and increased her sense of isolation. Alyssa has found
success at LCA. After her learning disability was discovered, she had the
confidence to request adaptations in assessment. She participated in the
school's Stream Team, a water quality monitoring project, as part of her
school-to-work and service learning requirements. This experience has helped
her focus on a career in environmental science. Working at her own pace
and having the freedom to pursue her interests in learning has made the
difference for this student.
Example 2
Jennifer was an honor roll student, and had been accepted to the college
of her choice to study special education. Then, an unintended pregnancy
interrupted her education. Her child was born with a birth defect, although
the prognosis is good he has been frequently hospitalized. The Academy's
self-paced program fits Jennifer's needs. She has developed excellent time-management
skills, often putting in several 9-hour days at school, then spending several
days with her child in the hospital or in therapy. Jennifer remains committed
to her career goal and recently completed a major research paper on autism.
Example 3
John had endured a rocky educational journey before entering the Academy.
He was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome and a learning disability; although
medication helped control his symptoms, academic frustration led him to
escape through substance abuse (mainly alcohol). He dropped out of a private
school and was placed in rehabilitation. After completing rehabilitation,
he did not want to return to his former school, and felt unable to compete
with the pressures of the traditional school in his residential area. The
Academy program of self-paced learning worked for John. He was able to concentrate
on one subject, or work on several each day, according to his needs. John
also found great success in the Stream Team, the hands-on learning approach
was very appropriate for him. John completed his internship with a national
package distribution company. He received excellent rating from his supervisor
and was offered permanent employment.
Recruiting
We work closely with administrations of participating schools - superintendents,
principals, and guidance counselors. Several schools will recommend LCA
to students who have already decided to drop out (in other words, we don't
expect schools to actively recruit their current students for us, but if
a child has rejected traditional school, we want them to consider this option).
We also attend events ("expos") sponsored by various community
agencies and we network with these agencies who then may refer students
to us. We have never had to "advertise" for students and in fact,
we have a waiting list from most school districts. Word of mouth from graduates
and current LCA students has kept a steady pipeline of applicants! We have
also had several "legacies" where younger siblings of graduates
are applying to LCA.
We also enjoy great publicity and every time the local newspaper runs
a story about our students, program, graduation, etc., we get calls from
prospective students and/or parents. It appears to be true that "success
breeds success."
For more information on the Lancaster County Academy, contact:
Rhonda Rumbaugh
Lancaster County Academy
1202 Park City Center
Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17601
(Phone) 717/295-2499
(Fax) 717/392-8603
(E-mail) lca1@redrose.net
Back to The Award page
|
