Zulema Magana,
Sophomore
Academy of International Studies
“My grades are going up.”
Zulema Magana is a sophomore at the Academy of International Studies (AIS) one of the four small schools on the Woodburn High School campus that opened in the fall of 2006 with funding and coaching from the E3 Oregon Small Schools Initiative. AIS is a small school committed to offering bilingual education, with the International Baccalaureate diploma offered in three languages. It focuses on social justice, and what it means to be acting at one’s potential as a learner, leader and global citizen.
The Woodburn Campus schools serve a dynamic, diverse and fast-growing community. Its 1,300 students represent an incredible range of life experiences and backgrounds. Hispanic students are the largest and fastest growing group, making up 70 percent of students. An additional 13 percent are from Russian/Eastern European families –established “Old Believers” and newer immigrants. Nearly half of Woodburn students are English language learners.
In the smaller school environment of AIS, Zulema has gotten extra support from teachers. Some would say she has blossomed. “What I really like now is that I get more help in my school,” said Zulema. “My grades have gone up to A’s and B’s and math is my favorite subject - which wasn’t always the case.”
Zulema reports that she knows her teachers better than she did when Woodburn was one large high school, and that most importantly they know her better and are holding her accountable. “They don’t let me forget to do assignments,” said Zulema. “And I enjoy getting to know them better and seeing them more often, like Ms. Frankovich my Wellness and Health teacher.”
Although Woodburn High School only opened as four new small schools in the Fall of 2006, teachers report positive signs and early successes – particularly around the power of relationships.
Other new small schools on the Woodburn Campus include the Wellness, Business and Sports School, the Woodburn Academy of Arts, Sciences and Technology and the Woodburn Arts and Communications Academy. All the schools report teachers are building stronger relationships with students as they continue to create classes that challenge students to higher levels and help them understand how important their education is to their future.
Students like Zulema, are enjoying school more than ever before and are now thinking about when, not if, they graduate. “I plan on going to PSU after I graduate,” said Zulema. “I want to be Nurse and do something to help people.”
The future looks very bright for Zulema and hundreds of other students attending the new small schools on the Woodburn Campus. There is still much work to be done in these schools, but early indicators are promising. Kudos must go to the teaching and administrative staff of all the schools on the Woodburn Campus. In a very short time, they have transformed a large comprehensive high school into four new small schools that are diverse, dynamic and challenging. And they are creating a new culture of possibilities and hope for an entire community.
back to newsletter
|
