{"id":2240,"date":"2022-06-03T14:42:18","date_gmt":"2022-06-03T14:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/?p=2240"},"modified":"2022-06-03T16:39:39","modified_gmt":"2022-06-03T16:39:39","slug":"is-the-connected-high-school-network-net-working","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/2022\/06\/03\/is-the-connected-high-school-network-net-working\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the Connected High School Network, Net-working?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Emily Milton<\/p>Editor<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, the former ACPS School Board approved Superintendent Dr. Gregory Hutchings to form what is called the High School Project, better known as The Connected High School Network. This program was designed to further integrate students at the Chance For Change, Satellite, Minnie Howard, and King Street campuses of Alexandria City High School as one whole high school in Alexandria. The recent developments of creating a more structured and versatile campus-based high school reflects the concerns of overcrowding in the King Street campus and lack of flexibility to a high school education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the high school campuses that is prominent in the rebranding and reshaping of ACHS is the Satellite campus. Satellite allows students to take two classes at a time in two different day sessions through online education sites either physically at the Satellite campus itself or on their own at home. Sheree Stephens, a Satellite administrator, says some students come to Satellite because they \u201cjust need a little bit more one-on-one [support]…a smaller environment\u2026they work\u2026 [circumstances concerning] their parents\u2026they have chronic illnesses\u2026anxiety and don’t like the large campus\u2026 [or] they\u2019re athletes and want to do things outside of school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Principal of Satellite campus, Fredericka Smith, says that the Satellite staff is currently \u201c…working on creating collaborative spaces where students can work\u2026and even though they might not be working on the same assignment or even in the same class, they still have the opportunity to talk and just enjoy themselves and build relationships and just have more of a social piece to being here as well.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fredericka Smith \/ Picture by Hanafia Arsad<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With this more connected environment in mind, there have been many efforts by ACPS staff to figure out ways to include campuses like Satellite so that they feel they are truly a part of ACHS, not as a separate school. First-year Satellite student Duncan McCall explains a transportation system between campuses available to Satellite students: \u201cI\u2019m one of the four or five people who take the bus over to King Street Campus\u2026 It gave me the opportunity to take a couple classes at King Street that I might not be comfortable taking here, or aren’t possible to take here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with transportation between campuses to further the inclusion efforts, King Street campus clubs have been welcoming to students who want to join but may not be at the King Street campus during meetings. Junior Darcy Setliff says, \u201c[Clubs like] Best Buddies and the Marine Conservation Club\u2026also meet outside of school for cleanups or different activities, so it\u2019s not too hard to participate if you just reach out to the teachers who run the cubs. They’re pretty accommodating if you can\u2019t make it to Lunch and Learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History teacher Simon Guggenheim reinforces that efforts have been made by other campuses, but also by Satellite itself. \u201cWe have our own SGA [Student Government Association], and that\u2019s something that didn\u2019t exist last year\u2026We’re just kind of getting it rolling again.\u201d He goes on to say Satellite has an SGA representative that travels to King Street to meet with their SGA, \u201c[Liaising with King Street\u2019s SGA] is another thing we\u2019ll expand next year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The community atmosphere is vital to the structure of the Satellite campus. Sophia Chapman, a third-year student at Satellite affirms, \u201cBecause we are all non-standard, we don’t have an expectation that anybody\u2019s gonna be a particular way\u2026 we recognize how different we all are, and we\u2019re all here for different reasons, and we\u2019re accepting [of] one another.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kimberly Giles, who teaches all subjects but mostly math and English, reflects on how she feels Satellite is able to connect to ACHS: \u201c[Satellite students] are still a part of King Street Campus because they\u2019re able to participate in the clubs\u2026with sports, and so even though you have to get in a car and drive here, we\u2019re still all a big family and we\u2019re just one big Titan. We\u2019re all Titans, and I appreciate that as well. I love it! I\u2019m a former Titan, and we didn\u2019t have this program back in the day.\u201d She continues by explaining community circles that students participate in, which help students bond with one another to form that \u201cfamily\u201d atmosphere. Giles says, \u201cThey\u2019re able to come together and the mentor-teachers are able to continue to encourage the students to not only get to know one another here but also to get to understand different things that they have available at the King Street Campus.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students at the Satellite campus state that although they involve themselves in clubs and other programs at the King Street campus, other Titans still have big misconceptions about what the Satellite campus is and why students go there. Chapman responds, \u201cIt used to be a program that was more geared through graduating early. Some people think that it’s just like if you have a 504 plan and need some accommodations, but really\u2026There’s not one reason why people come to Satellite.\u201d Junior, Darcy Setliff, says, \u201cI think people don\u2019t think it [Satellite] exists\u2026or they think that it\u2019s fully virtual, and you don\u2019t come to school\u2026there’s a lot more teacher involvement than I thought.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even teachers at the Satellite campus have misconceptions about other ACHS sites. Giles says, \u201cBefore I started working here, I actually was only thinking about the King Street campus, and I didn\u2019t realize that we are so broad\u2026 I just learned about the CFC [Chance For Change campus] when I started working here.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setliff and McCall reflect on the fact that most students at other campuses assume that Satellite is similar to how the 2020-2021 school year was structured. Setliff said, \u201cI think people are confused and think it\u2019s how they learned in 2020 and 2021 [rather] than Edgenuity [online learning program used at Satellite]. People do socialize\u2026you don’t just sit at your computer all day; you can do what you want.\u201d McCall supports Setliff\u2019s statements by saying, \u201c…it’s just the same amount of learning or work, just condensed into smaller packages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith, the principal, insisted, \u201cYes, there is a huge disconnect [between ACHS campuses] and we are trying very hard to bridge that gap\u2026\u201d She explains that students at Satellite mainly miss out on activities at Minnie Howard and King Street due to the Lunch and Learn schedule: a new, flexible lunch structure for students at Minnie Howard and King Street campuses. \u201cOur students have a different lunchtime\u2026 They can\u2019t [participate in clubs or activities] because it’s not available to them during their assigned lunchtime.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another big issue with the disconnectedness of the campuses is the lack of communication. Smith recalls, \u201c…A lot of times, emails will get sent out and it goes to King Street [and] Minnie Howard, but it doesn’t come to Satellite\u2026 that’s happened a few times. For instance, with prom, [we] ended up having to create a situation where I\u2019m selling the prom tickets to our students, versus having someone come here and sell prom tickets to them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith says that King Street Principal, Peter Balas, and other administrators have been very supportive of the initiatives to expand and improve Satellite\u2019s awareness to students. For Smith, a key feature to the inclusion of her students is \u201cMaking sure we try to keep the lines of communication open and get the information we [Satellite] need so we can pass it on to our students\u2026versus our students having to go to the King Street campus.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At the Satellite campus, students work independently on online learning platforms \/ Photo by Hanafia Arsad<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although there may be underlying feelings of disconnectedness between students at different campuses, moving forward, with ACPS staff assistance, Smith says, \u201cThe goal is to get [enrollment] up to between 200 to 400 students over the next few years as [a] part of the High School Project.\u201d Giles concludes by stating that the main reason ACPS has multiple campuses is that, \u201cThis [ACHS] is the foundation for where you need to go next. And I think we\u2019re all trying to make sure that you understand that you have to do something\u2026 to figure out what your next step is\u2026to help you understand where your gifts are right now. That\u2019s what I think is the most important, because this is not forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Featured image by Hanafia Arsad<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This article is part of a three part series about Satellite Campus. To view the other two articles, click below<\/em>:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Forgotten Campus: ACHS’s Satellite<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Voices of Satellite Students<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2019, the former ACPS School Board approved Superintendent Dr. Gregory Hutchings to form what is called the High School Project, better known as The Connected High School Network. This program was designed to further integrate students at the Chance For Change, Satellite, Minnie Howard, and King Street campuses of Alexandria City High School as one whole high school in Alexandria. The recent developments of creating a more structured and versatile campus-based high school reflects the concerns of overcrowding in the King Street campus and lack of flexibility to a high school education.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":2279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[614,8],"tags":[31,210,482,32,326,715,712,730,592,713,483,735,734,463,78,295],"class_list":["post-2240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","category-news","tag-achs","tag-acps","tag-administrator","tag-alexandria-city-high-school","tag-balas","tag-campus","tag-chance-for-change","tag-connected-high-school-network","tag-environment","tag-king-street","tag-minnie-howard","tag-net-working","tag-networking","tag-principal","tag-school","tag-student"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2240"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2309,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2240\/revisions\/2309"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2021-2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}