SMALLER LEARNING COMMUNITIES (SLCs)

Penn High School has restructured into Smaller Learning Communities (SLCs). The Freshman Academy was our first SLC and that has now been followed by the Sophomore Academy. The success of the academies has been incredible. The benefits we've experienced include:

• Higher student achievement
• Higher student attendance
• An increase in student attendance
• Increased student engagement
• Decrease in student misbehavior

ACHIEVEMENT ACADEMIES 

In the fall of 2011, we opened the four Achievement Academies which include the Fine Arts Academy, Health and Human Services Academy, Business and Management Academy and the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Academy. We know that students in these academies will also realize the same benefits they saw in their freshman and sophomore academies. The achievement academies were designed by students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community members to help students bridge the gap between high school and myriad of post-secondary options.  Each of the achievement academies will help students concentrate their efforts on making a meaningful senior year with classes and projects designed specifically for each student. During the scheduling process each sophomore will elect one of the four academies:

Fine Arts Academy
Health and Human Services Academy
  Business and Management Academy
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Academy

The Achievement Academies at Penn High School will be designed to bring focus, rigor and relevance to student’s high school course of study. Based on Federal and State Career Pathways models, students may choose one of four academies in which to study their junior and senior years. Students will begin to consider the focus of their high school education when they complete their four year plan in the eighth grade.  Students will choose their desired diploma – Core
40, Core 40 with Academic Honors, or core 40 with Technical Honors and select courses that meet those requirements. As freshmen, through each of their core courses and Career Planning and Success Skills (CPSS), students will explore the many opportunitiesavailable in the Penn Achievement Academies. Then, in their sophomore year, students will select their Penn Achievement Academy in Orientation to Life and Careers (OLC) class.

Selection of an academy will not limit the courses a student can take. Students in each academy will be supported by a group of teachers in that academy, as well as community partners, to create an individualized learning plan that helps each student with his/her post-secondary goals.  Students will be required to take a minimum of one elective within an academy per semester, beginning their junior year. Most students will select additional courses within their chosen academy to individualize their education to specific interests or post-secondary plans. Students will be encouraged to seek work-based
experiences, either as a cooperative education course or internship.

Click here for an overview of the Achievement Academies

Click here to see the menu of courses offered in each academy.