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The GTCHS faculty and staff are in the business of learning to do things
better and better for our students. We believe that our students deserve a
program of study that is fully coordinated from the beginning of school
through graduation, and is current enough to meet their needs as they
enter a rapidly changing world. Never before has it been more important
that schools - which have remained relatively unchanged for decades- make
improvements to meet the demands of life in a technological age. It
is estimated, for example, that today's graduates will make at least six
career changes in their adult lives because of the rapid changes in the
work place. Our graduates must be confident, lifelong learners able to do
more than memorize bits of information; they must be thinkers, problem
solvers, citizens who can apply the knowledge.
Why? Improving teaching methods and fully coordinating our instructional
program requires that the full faculty be brought together on a regular and consistent basis for
study and planning In the past, teachers and administrators have tried to coordinate our program
of study and make instructional changes during after school meetings, and over the summer
without the participation of the entire faculty. This "shot gun" of "hit and
miss" approach to school-wide improvements, while it has resulted in some benefits for students, can never be completely
effective. Real results require a commitment of time and participation by the whole faculty.
Like many businesses today, we see a need to dedicate part of each week to planning
and improving -
a quality team approach to making this business of education ever more effective through
continuous improvement. A plan for coordinating the educational programs and improving teaching
methods has been created for our school. The students will be dismissed each Friday at 1:30 pm
and will allow our teachers to meet for over one and a half hours. Sometimes the faculty will meet as
an entire staff but more often as grade level or department teams. Their work will be fully
coordinated and planned. Parents and student members will be invited to observe and share in this work.
Because the work we will be doing is so important, a strict set of guidelines and ground rules
will
govern how this Common Planning time may be used to maintain the integrity of the
project. The
effectiveness of our work will be measured by the research measurements of effective school
indicators along with surveys of faculty, parents, and students for accountability of this time use.
Student's Schedule: Each Friday afternoon, students will end their
academic school day at 1:30 .m. Students that must remain on campus will have a study hall, tutorial or
research period supervised by support staff and teacher aides. All GTCHS classes will meet on an
alternating block schedule each Friday in order to use better utilize the college labs for science
instruction. The school day has been extended for our students to exceed both state and regional
accreditation requirements. While we are concerned about the amount of instructional time students
receive each week, we are also concerned about the quality of learning while in the classrooms.
Community Forum: While many students will benefit from the extra time
each Friday afternoon to study and complete research , to schedule doctor’s appointments,
participate in enrichment activities, take advantage of peer tutoring, and read), we realize that
this program may be an inconvenience to some because of transportation or supervision concerns.
If you have suggestions or concerns, please contact the school administration for more
information.
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