Project Overview

Schools Identified

High School of Telecommunications

Fred J. Page HS

William H. Turner HS

Sinagua HS

Research Findings

Beacons and SSESS Home

Institute on Community Integration

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Sinagua High School
Flagstaff, Arizona

Sinagua High school is located in Flagstaff, Arizona. We are a relatively new secondary school, completing our first decade of service delivery to the citizens of Flagstaff. Flagstaff itself is a community of 50,000 + population and is a service hub of the Northern Arizona/Colorado plateau region.

The community of Flagstaff maintains three secondary mainframe schools with other educational alternatives are also available. Flagstaff is a community of diverse cultures and economic constituents.

Within the districting mandates of the Flagstaff Unified School District, Sinagua High School includes both families that have incomes over $100,000 annually and families that have incomes below the poverty level. Our school serves families that live in exclusive gated communities and those that live within the borders of the Navajo and Hopi reservations. Diversity is not an abstract concept at Sinagua High School - it is a reality. Within the Opportunities Program at Sinagua High School, the ethnic background is 67% Anglo, 17%Native American, 13% Hispanic, 1% Asian/Pacific Islander, 1% African-American, and 1% Arabic.

Flagstaff is located in the state of Arizona. Arizona is a region undergoing rapid growth and is quite diverse in terms of geography and population. The state hosts a large number of retirees who are quite outspoken about their distrust and lack of support of public education. This lack of support is further manifested in our State Legislature who echo the voices of the politically involved retirees and show little real support of public education. These political and economic facts present several challenges to all those involved in educational delivery within the state of Arizona.

The mission statement of Sinagua High School is as follows: Sinagua High School provides a safe and positive environment where young men and women of culturally diverse backgrounds develop the intellectual, emotional, creative, and physical capabilities needed to achieve success as life-long learners and to become responsible citizens with personal integrity and initiative. Concurrent with the aforementioned mission statement are the following belief statements:

1. Each student is a valued individual with unique physical, social, emotional, and intellectual needs.
2. Every student can learn, achieve, and succeed.
3. A student's motivation to succeed is increased when challenging expectations are provided.
4. A student's self-esteem is fostered by hard work, accomplishments, positive relationships, and mutual respect throughout the school community.
5. Students' understanding of peoples and cultures is enhanced by an appreciation of cultural diversity.
6. Students are entitled to a safe and positive learning environment.
7. Teachers, parents, students, and the community share responsibility for the achievement of the school's mission.

Within Sinagua High School, students with special education needs are served in one of two programs. First, the Liberal Studies Program services students with severe-profound multiple disabilities. These students participate in mainstream activities including lunch and all extra events such as plays, assemblies, etc. Students from “regular” classes participate in peer activities with Liberal Studies students - helping with physical therapy and occupational therapy activities.

Secondly, the Opportunities Program services students with Learning Disabilities, Emotional Disabilities, Mild Mental Retardation, Hearing Impairments, Orthopedic Impairments, and Traumatic Brain Injuries. The Program was allowed the unique opportunity to establish itself with progressive inclusion philosophies when Sinagua first opened in 1989. Teachers and staff, supported by administration, set high goals for all students to be contained within a traditional resource setting less than 50% of the school day. In Arizona, in 1989, this was groundbreaking and seen as quite controversial. Fortunately, the research and the Federal Department of Special Education supported this initial philosophy.

Team teaching was begun in areas of English and Health that first year and has grown to be in every academic and vocational area over the ten years Sinagua has been open. Students are mainstreamed, primarily, and offered inclusion support through the FOCUS program designed and piloted first in the 1995-1996 school year. FOCUS stands for Fundamentals of Organization, Concentration, and Understanding lead to Success. FOCUS is a student learning resource center designed to provide tutoring, one-to-one instruction, and a quiet work environment to enhance instruction in the regular classroom. It is also a place for students with behavioral challenges to “regroup” and get back on track academically and behaviorally, in order to return to their regular classes. It is staffed by Special Education teachers and instructional aides each hour of the school day and an additional hour after regular hours. Sinagua leads the district in participation from regular educators in Individualized Education Plan development and implementation in comparison to the other secondary schools in the Flagstaff Unified School District. The faculty, staff, and administration hold high expectations for learning and achievement for all students.

Description by Singua High School, Fall, 1998