PAUL WELLMAN
COVER STORY PUBLIC SCHOOLS: SECONDARY
Carpinteria Area Carpinteria High School (-) Foothill Rd., Carpinteria, CA warriorcountry.com
Principal: Gerardo Cornejo The Culinary Arts Institute (CAI) works with SBCC’s School of Culinary Arts and Hotel Management to offer three dual-enrollment courses and a career path for students.
Rincon/Foothill High School (-) Foothill Rd., Carpinteria, CA rincon.cusd.net
Principal: Kristin Mayville Rincon conducts instruction every school day and each student takes six classes per semester while taking on credit recovery through independent study. Foothill independent study meeting on Wednesdays at : p.m., and students complete all their assignments at home or at the local library.
Santa Barbara Area Alta Vista Alternate High School (-, independent study only, alternative school)
E. Ortega St., Santa Barbara, CA sbunified.org/schools/high-schools/alta-vista-alternative-high-school
NEW ERA, NEW EDUCATION: Schools increasingly “provide the consumer with what they want,” said Frann Wageneck, La Cuesta Continuation High School principal, explaining that the traditional school model was developed in the 1940s and ’50s. Now there are options for those who seek alternatives, in both the public and private realm. Pictured above, Laguna Blanca students take advantage of their school’s study room.
SCHOOL DAZE
Principal: Frann Wageneck An alternative school of choice, serves traditional independent-study students (working, professional athletes or musicians, or unique circumstances necessitating independent study).
La Cuesta Continuation High School (-)
Santa Barbara St., Santa Barbara, CA sbunified.org/schools/high-schools/la-cuesta-continuation-high-school Principal: Frann Wageneck La Cuesta Continuation High School is a comprehensive alternativeeducation program offering a variety of instructional options to meet the educational needs of students, with classes kept small.
Middle College
Santa Barbara City College, Cliff Dr., Santa Barbara, CA sbcc.edu/middlecollege A limited number of local high school students who want to earn a high school diploma in the SBCC environment may complete their high school requirements through an Independent Study Program while also taking classes at SBCC.
Santa Barbara High School (-)
E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara, CA sbhs.sbunified.org Principal: John Becchio There are three Academies or pathways: MAD Academy (Multimedia Arts & Design Academy), VADA (Visual Arts & Design Academy), and The Green Academy (a succession of courses and projects participate: FoodLab, AP Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, our Independent Studies Projects, and Internships).
Goleta Area Dos Pueblos High School (-) Alameda Ave., Goleta, CA dphs.org
Principal: Shawn Carey The Academy at Dos Pueblos High School (The Academy) was established in to provide students who have been unsuccessful in the school system the personalized attention and support they need to be successful in both school and life. This is a three-year program. The Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy (DPEA) provides st-century skills via a project-based education in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics.
KIDS NOW CAN CHOOSE WHICH HIGH SCHOOL THEY WANT TO ATTEND
I
by Kelsey Brugger
n the past, which color of Converse to buy might
have been the biggest decision that high school kids faced; now teenagers (and their parents) must make choices that can carry some serious weight. At the nexus of childhood and pre-adulthood, 8th graders approaching high school must decide which school to attend. It’s the law for teenagers to go to school, but as populations diversify, so does the traditional school model. Education is not uniform. Choices are plentiful. In fact, schools increasingly “provide the consumer with what they want,” said La Cuesta Continuation High School Principal Frann Wageneck, explaining that the traditional school model was developed in the 1940s and ’50s. Now there are options for those who seek alternatives, in both the public and private realm. Perhaps Ferris Bueller taught us a lesson: Teenagers long to escape the monotony of wooden desks and flat instruction. “The movement in education right now more closely mirrors the progressive movement. Even Common Core standards are more collaborative and go back to real-world applications,” said John Dewey, current headmaster at Garden Street Academy. Dewey is well versed in various options for Santa Barbara students; his three kids each went to different high schools — Dos Pueblos High School, Bishop García Diego High School, and Garden Street Academy. His oldest daughter, Isobel Dewey, spent two years at a smaller school before she transferred to Dos Pueblos for the final two. She chalked up the transfer to a desire for a larger, diverse atmosphere. With education in her blood, she’s currently teaching physical science to 9th
graders in urban Philadelphia, where choices are not as prevalent as they are in Santa Barbara, she said. Santa Barbara students have the freedom to choose among varied options for their high school career. From the welcoming entrance at Santa Barbara High School to the manicured mini-campus at Anacapa School, price tags are not the only factors to consider. Throw in the academies within the public school system, alternative/ private schools (with some scholarship opportunities), electives, sports, clubs, extracurricular activities, and after-school programs, and the possibilities multiply. Still, after considering personal preferences, the elimination process ensues, and options do not seem quite as copious. Decisions are often based on several factors including proximity to home, tuition prices ($15,000 to upward of $40,000 for private schools), college prep, specialized programs, class size, religious affiliation, and friends.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS Speaking to a random sample of public- and privateschool students showed that success stories exist for myriad individuals, all of whom wanted different things from their school experience. Sky Ulep is a senior at Santa Barbara High School who is in the MAD (Multimedia Arts and Design) Academy and created a website during his sophomore year called THINK (The Hazard Is North Korea) to spread awareness that coincided with his history course’s curriculum. Brittany Tacadena is in the Anger Management class at San Marcos. Tacadena requested to be in the program
S CONT’D
november 21, 2013
THE INDEPENDENt
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