Resources and Support Systems
The school has resources and provides services that support its purpose and direction to ensure success for all students.
To access the Soldotna High School Faculty presentation for Standard 4 click Standard 4 Video
4.1
All faculty members at Soldotna High School are Highly Qualified in their fields, and any new hire is expected to fulfill roles and responsibilities that align with the purpose and direction of the Soldotna High School educational program and to commit themselves to making student success their utmost priority. These roles and responsibilities are clearly defined in both the “Job Description” and “Performance Responsibilities” sections of any Notice of Vacancy.
According to the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District (KPBSD) Annual Budget, in 2013-2014 personnel services expenditures totaled $5,234,035: $2,638,234 was dedicated to certified staff salaries, $970,224 was dedicated to non-certified personnel, and the remaining $1,625,577 was dedicated to benefits. The increase or decrease in the number of certified positions is determined by the KPBSD office formula currently set at a 24 to 1 pupil to student ratio. While Soldotna High School Administration has used this ratio, as well as ongoing assessments of educational program needs, to successfully fill necessary positions which support the school’s purpose and direction over the past five years, the significant challenges of the 2014-2015 school consolidation of Soldotna High School and Skyview High School have delayed a Level 4 rating in this area. While school administration successfully attained necessary new certified staff members to accommodate the large numbers of transferred freshmen from Skyview High School, there is room for continued improvement as issues arise from the consolidation. The higher expected enrollment will afford opportunities for educational program growth and the school and consolidation team are creating strategies to distribute and fill faculty positions to achieve the pupil to teacher ratio of 24 to 1 in support of the school’s purpose, direction and educational program.
4.2
Here at Soldotna High School, we are embracing the challenges of school consolidation which will include an increase in students, a redistribution of faculty, and a careful scrutiny of resources to ensure that our highest levels of student support are still maintained. Soldotna High School administration works to secure various classroom and school-wide resources to improve the educational goals of the school. Capital Improvement Projects are sought out by the administration and championed by them at the district and borough office. Recently the principal worked to secure endangered funding for a much needed football field renovation here at Soldotna High School. Along with the school-wide projects, various teachers have had experiences where the administration worked with them to procure grants such as the new I-pad lab in the Consumer Education Department and an added Process Technology program in our Career Technical Education department (see Anecdotal Evidence from teachers).
4.3
The custodial staff at Soldotna High School sets and maintains high operational standards to provide a clean, healthy and safe environment. There is a daily schedule that the custodial staff follows to assure that all parts of the school are cleaned on a daily basis (see Custodial Cleaning Area 2, Custodial Cleaning Area 3, Custodial Cleaning Area 4). The team agreed that the school is at a Level 3 because, while school personnel hold accountability for maintaining the cleanliness of the building, expectations for students are not maintained for holding accountability towards a clean building. There is a system in place to request and track maintenance needs with Kenai Peninsula Borough Maintenance using a web-based program called www.myschoolbuilding.com (see Head Custodian Lance Roberts to view the program). The head custodian receives the requests and records them into the program. These requests then go to the Borough to fill. MSDS sheets are maintained in the custodial office in red binders (see Head Custodian Lance Roberts to view binders). These are available to all staff. To track and record the value of school equipment, the school uses a program called APECS (please see Stephanie Bohrenson to view the program), which is an accounting system to track inventory, the value of inventory and depreciation.
School leaders have adopted and created clear expectations in regards to safety and have clearly shared these expectations with staff and students. The school has procedures in place which are documented in an Emergency Action Plan manual that has been provided to each member of the staff. The manual clearly outlines what to do in the event of emergencies such as fire, earthquake, and volcanic eruption. The school adheres to monthly fire drills and participates in training for other emergencies. All staff members are up-to-date on their first responder certifications (see First Response Certification Roster). Also, the school complies with local and state inspections and requirements (see Vice Principal Tony Graham to view these records).
4.4
Students and school personnel at Soldotna High School have access to the media and information resources necessary to achieve the educational programs of the school. The Soldotna High School Library houses thirty-five Dell internet-ready computers (Inventory List). Soldotna High School subscribes to several research programs: Discovery Education, Worldbook Encyclopedia, and Academic Search Premier. In addition, students are encouraged to use hard copies and printed material when researching. The school library website lists links to various research tools including Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) which serves as the style guide for Soldotna High School.
A faculty technology and resources survey revealed that twenty-six of the thirty-two certified staff maintain a webpage or blog for student and parent reference. These sites include links for students and parents to use when accessing information pertaining to that particular course. Other media in use include Ipads, Smartboards, Gradpoint, and online texts such as Pearson Successnet. Soldotna High School encourages students making presentations to use iPads, Microsoft Suite, SMART boards, and You Tube which requires district permission. Those students involved in research are required to use Purdue OWL’s style guide for MLA and APA formatting as well as the Digital Pipeline, Discovery Education, World Book Encyclopedia online and Academic Search Premier for in-depth research. The official plagiarism check in use at Soldotna High School is turnitin.com. All language arts classes require students to submit essays to Turnitin.com. Photography and yearbook classes utilize Photoshop, Filmmaker, Illustrator, Microsoft Suite of Products and various cameras including video. The science and engineering courses employ LabVIEW, NXT-G for Mindstorms and Mindstorms robotic systems. Instructors also use Pinterest, Google Maps, THOMAS.gov, PBS Teachers, senorwooly.com, gameguroo.net, and Vernier Probes.
The Soldotna High School Library enjoys at generous budget of $8,000.00 a year that is currently used to replace out-of-date hard copy books. It is also used to build a current reference and nonfiction section. In order to sustain and adapt to reconfiguration changes, the librarian continues to weed and replace antiquated books and other materials.
4.5
Soldotna High School has the technology infrastructure to meet the teaching, learning and operational needs of all stakeholders. School personnel develop and administer needs assessments and use the resulting data to develop and implement a technology plan to improve technology services and infrastructure. The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District (KPBSD) supports the technology infrastructure needed to provide support from the district level; we have a 300Mb fiber connection building-wide. Moreover, the district has Administrative Regulation (AR) to keep internet safety in place and support Board Policy (BP) 6161.4 Acceptable Use Policy/Internet Safety Policy. This policy sets forth basic guidelines for all users including staff and students as well as anyone else who may use the KPBSD network.
One of the main struggles at Soldotna High School is the lack of cell phone reception building-wide; there is WiFi building-wide, but cell phone reception would be beneficial for increasing the integration of technology in the classroom as most students carry a cell phone. This concern has been brought to the attention of the KPBSD Educational Technology Committee.
School personnel have identified needs for additional technology in several areas. One of these areas is in the Intensive Needs, Special Education classroom. This classroom now has a set of five iPads for use by students. iPad expectations are clearly defined and posted in the classroom (I Pad use). In addition to this classroom set of iPads, there are over twenty SMART Boards in use in classrooms every day.
KPBSD has recently published the new Technology Plan for 2013-2016. The plan is very specific in addressing the needs and goals of the district. The plan also specifies Professional Development needs and goals district wide. The KPBSD Educational Technology Committee is tasked with updating the Technology Plan, along with several other technology issues at the district level (see Ed Tech Committee Notes). Soldotna High School has a representative, Beth Swaby, serving on the Educational Technology Committee. This representation ensures that Soldotna High’s needs are heard at the district level and also facilitates the downward flow of information from KPBSD to Soldotna High.
4.6
The Soldotna High School educational team promotes and facilitates support services and activities to meet the physical, social and emotional needs of students in the school. Personnel, classes, referral processes, interagency collaboration, student government, and activities provide a diverse range of services targeted at maximizing support for all students.
According to the KPBSD budget, Soldotna High School has a student/teacher ratio of 1:24.5. In addition to teaching staff, certified personnel available to students include a school psychologist, two guidance counselors, a career guidance counselor, and a Peninsula Community Health Services (PCHS) counselor. There is a full-time nurse (see Nurse Duties). Sixteen para-educators provide academic, social, and behavioral support to students with disabilities. The counseling office has one support staff position. All certified and classified employees are First Aid and CPR certified. Staff has mandatory training on suicide prevention, child abuse, and diversity/equity (see KPBSD Required Courses).
Several classes at Soldotna High School address character education and topics such as bullying and diversity acceptance. These include Consumer Education, Child Development, Relationships, and Health (see Consumer Education Course Description, Child Development Course Crosswalk, Relationships Crosswalk, Health Course Outline). There are school-wide advisory classes which also address these areas and additional personal/social issues such as being a bystander at fights, developing responsibility and strength of character. The advisory classes are structured to facilitate connections between students and a teacher by utilizing smaller class sizes. The schedule attempts to keep the same group of students and faculty member together throughout students’ high school careers. The four-year advisory also fosters relationships which may cross social groups or clique lines.
Soldotna High School has an Intervention Team (I-Team) that meets on a regular basis to review referrals for students who are having social, behavioral, health, housing, grieving or academic issues. The I-team is comprised of teachers from several disciplines to provide an all-encompassing approach to identifying student needs, and providing support and plans (see I team referral form). In addition to the I-team referral, there is also a separate Special Education referral process (see Special Education Referral Form). Special Education targets students whose needs cannot be met through the I-team process. Through the IEP (Individual Educational Program), students can receive specialized instruction in reading, writing, and math and receive related services such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, vision services, adapted physical education and hearing services (see Summary of Services for Special Education). Accommodations are available for both instruction and assessment (see Accommodations) for students with an IEP. There are five special education teachers and a school psychologist in the building who are available to students and families to explain and begin this referral process. Soldotna High School also implements 504 plans for students who need accommodations due to health issues or disabilities. The 504 plan is developed for students who do not require the specially designed instruction implemented through an IEP but who still require accommodations to access an equitable education (see 504 Eligibility Form 504 plan).
Soldotna High School further meets students’ needs through partnerships with community agencies. The school has interagency agreements with Peninsula Community Health Services and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) (see DVR Memorandum of Agreement, PCHS Memorandum of Agreement, PCHS Referral Form). DVR works with school personnel who case manage students with disabilities to coordinate transition vocational training and services post high school. The school district has a homeless liaison who can assist students in connecting with social services agencies, and agencies such as Alaska Housing, the Food Bank and Independent Living to support physical needs.
The school has a comprehensive extracurricular sports program that contributes to meeting the physical, social and emotional needs of students. Sports activities are offered from the beginning of August through the end of May (see Sports Offered at Soldotna High School). Four types of physical education classes are offered, two of which are required for graduation.
Soldotna High School has a large, active student government. Several years ago, student government membership was changed from an election selection process to a student application process. This resulted in the opportunity for diverse, larger groups of students to become part of the leadership of the school bringing varied backgrounds and skills. Student government conducts activities addressing social issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, bullying, and diversity. They also sponsor social events such as dances (see Student Government Activities).
Other activities occur at Soldotna High School that strive to meet the needs of students. During the holidays, but not limited to this time, food baskets are prepared for students and families by staff and students. The staff has a “Sunshine Fund” which purchases items for students, and an annual collection/fundraiser occurs during the holidays. The school district has a free and reduced lunch program and a breakfast program. A staff member at school facilitates a Native Youth group to discuss and support issues relative to their needs (see Native Youth Council Information).
Soldotna High School counselors administer the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a state generated survey, on an annual basis. At this time, the results of this survey are not used for any school planning; however, this could be a tool used in the future to further meet the needs of students. Online teacher evaluations are available to students, parents and community members. These evaluations, in addition to being used for instructional input, can also identify information regarding student’s physical, social and emotional needs and provide guidance for developing improvement plans.
4.7
Soldotna High School provides a variety of services to support the counseling, assessment, referral, educational and career planning needs of all students, but has areas that need improvement. One area that provides many services is Soldotna High School’s counseling department. The school has two school counselors to implement a full range of counseling services based on both the American School Counseling Model and the Kenai Peninsula Borough school district’s standards (see ASCA national model and KPBSD counseling department flow chart in 4.7 Artifacts). This program includes guidance, individual student planning, responsive and systemic services (see SOHI counseling calendar in 4.7 Artifacts). The guidance services include a curriculum that has been developed over the years and is now called Personal Education Learning Plans (PLCP) (see student PLCP in 4.7 Artifacts). PLCP is established by counselors across the district and continues to improve each year. The PLCP provides students with career education activities designed to develop necessary skills that will enhance their personal and educational development. Depending on the school counselor’s time, grade level career activities are provided to the students (see copy of counseling duties and AKCIS Career Portfolio in 4.7 Artifacts). Starting in the spring of last year, KPBSD’s technology department made a screen in Power School that shows a snap shot of a student’s post-secondary plans (see PLCP). This snap shot can be viewed by teachers, students and parents. In addition to guidance services, Soldotna High School counseling department’s individual and group planning services include helping students establish personal goals and develop future plans by evaluating their educational, occupational and personal goals (see SOHI credit check form, PLCP in 4.7 Artifacts). These services may include the following strategies for appraisal: advisement, goal-setting, decision-making, social skills, transition or post-secondary planning (see counseling calendar in 4.7 Artifacts). Furthermore, the counseling department provides services that are responsive in nature. These include working with the community’s mental health and social services agencies (see Peninsula Health Services referral form, Office of child services Form in 4.7 Artifacts).
Soldotna High School counselors chair the intervention team (I-team). Students who are having difficulty in the classroom setting can be referred to the I-team (see teacher/personal referral form in 4.7 Artifacts). The I-team is designed to address students who are most in need, and it provides comprehensive support to students through a prevention-oriented approach. Students who are referred to the I-team can receive a series of interventions (see A-Plan in 4.7 Artifacts). Last year, these interventions were documented in PowerSchool to provide more communication of services provided to students (see power school Intervention sheet in 4.7 Artifacts). The goal of intervention is to move towards the Response to Intervention model (see district RTI in 4.7 Artifacts). Last year, tiers of intervention were identified to meet the RTI model. The I-team’s goal in using the RTI model is to provide evidence-based interventions of moderate intensity that address the learning or behavioral challenges of at-risk students.
In addition to the counseling services provided, Soldotna High School’s Special Education Services include individual education plans (IEP) to students that have disabilities and qualify for service. A student who qualifies for services under this department go through a referral process (see Kenai Peninsula Borough School District I-team packet in 4.7 Artifacts) According to the special education referral process, students can receive the following services: speech/language pathologist, vocational education, occupational therapy, physical therapy, interpreter, study skills, differentiated reading/writing or math instruction as well as hearing and vision services (see Summary of Services for Special Education). Another service is accommodating and modifying general curriculum and formal testing. Modification of general curriculum includes our co-taught classes in language arts and math. These classes provide two teachers to teach a subject (co-taught course descriptions in 4.7 Artifacts). Typically, Soldotna High School is able to provide co-taught math and language arts for grades 9 and 10, but due to the amount of teacher FTE the school receives we are unable to continue the program for grades 11 and 12.
In addition to the IEP, Soldotna High School uses 504 plans to help accommodate students who do not qualify for an IEP, but have medical situations lasting longer than six months (see 504 Accommodations).
Soldotna High School offers health services for students including a full time nurse that helps to enhance the educational process by maximizing the health and well-being of all students. Services to students from the nurse include first aid and crisis management, student walk-ins, collaboration with key people, health screening as well as referral to health care providers (see the practice of nursing in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District in 4.7 Artifacts).
Soldotna High School also provides services for students preparing for assessments. Before state testing, a series of workshops are held by the English and math departments during advisory and after school to help prepare students (see e-mail discussion about HSGQE help in 4.7 Artifacts). Additionally, students can come to the counseling office for SAT, ACT and PSAT prep materials (see helpful websites for the college bound in 4.7 Artifacts).