Tiny Anzar High’s different approach pays off
Drive by Anzar High School and you might miss a lot. At first
glance, the school perched at the edge of fields of lettuce looks
physically no different from any other high school. It has a
gymnasium, a library, several classrooms and an administration
building.
However, when you step inside the administration building and
start looking around you suddenly realize this school is anything
but ordinary.
Tiny Anzar High’s different approach pays off
Drive by Anzar High School and you might miss a lot. At first glance, the school perched at the edge of fields of lettuce looks physically no different from any other high school. It has a gymnasium, a library, several classrooms and an administration building.
However, when you step inside the administration building and start looking around you suddenly realize this school is anything but ordinary.
Inside the main office, there is a list that reads ESLR rules. One, every graduate of Anzar will be able to demonstrate higher order thinking skills. Two, every student will be able to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing. Three, every student will be able to work effectively with others. Four, every student will have an awareness of various belief systems and world cultures. Five, every student will be able to utilize techniques to challenge the completion of intellectual tasks.
It has been 12 years since Anzar High School near San Juan Bautista first opened its doors – some things have changed, but the core values have remained the same. Principal Charlene McKowen says Anzar’s program ensures that the school is student-centered and focuses on individual needs.
People have taken notice, too. In 2005, Anzar was one of a handful of schools awarded with the California Distinguished Schools honor.
One of the unique distinctions about Anzar is that each student is paired with a faculty advisor. “The advisory program is the hub of the school. It’s our way of ensuring that every student has an adult advocate at all times, an insurance policy,” McKowen said.
The students stay with the same advisor for the entire time they are at Anzar. The advisor oversees class scheduling, college and scholarship advising, behavioral issues, testing preparation, graduation exhibitions, service learning placements, and other on-going issues.
The ratio is usually one faculty member per 20 students. McKowen says that typically, the close relationships that develop between the student and advisor help to ensure that no student is “lost in the shuffle.”
In addition, the bond that forms within this small group of students insures a “safe” place for every student, every day.
Students meet with advisors twice per week. In addition, the silent sustained reading time which meets three times per week is conducted in advisory groupings. Therefore, students see their advisors and their fellow advisees daily.
In the fall, after the first grading period, advisors also set up student-led conferences for each of their advisees and their parents. This is the time and place to set some goals together for academic, emotional, and behavioral success in high school. Advisors help students prepare for this conference, but the students run the meeting as they begin taking responsibility for their high school performance.
“The advisors are here in lieu of guidance counselors. With a guidance counselor, the student might not see that person unless they absolutely needed their help, but the kids see these advisors all the time. Because our school is so small, most advisors have their advisees in a class at some point in their four years of schooling. This helps give advisors a 360-degree view of the students.
The advisory group is also the place where students make their voices heard in major campus decisions. Each advisory provides two representatives to the Associated Student Body. The representatives are charged with carrying the ideas discussed within advisories to the weekly ASB leadership meetings.
Habits of Mind
Habits of Mind are a way of thinking. Anzar graduates students who can approach any topic or subject in an insightful and perceptive manner, for the rest of their lives, McKowen said. In order to train this kind of thinking, the curriculum in all classes is guided by the Five Habits of Mind, commonly referred to as the “EPERR’s.” Those stand for Evidence, Perspective, Extension, Relevance and Reflection.
The EPERR’s are posted in huge posters in each classroom and incorporated into assignments in all courses.
Service Learning
The second thing that makes Anzar unusual is its service learning component. In order to instill and foster compassion and empathy for the community, McKowen incorporated a service learning program. “This is sort of like glorified learning,” McKowen said. “Because community service can sometimes take on a negative connotation, people think of picking up trash along the side of a road. Service learning is mutually beneficial to both parties.”
The program allows students to find an identifiable need in the community and participate in a two-way experience. Anzar’s Service Learning program requires students to develop a significant relationship with a service learning placement provider that allows students to feel self-empowered to a leadership capacity.
Some examples of service learning might include becoming a trained docent for Mission San Juan or volunteering at a public library. Another example that McKowen points to is the Community Food Pantry in Aromas. This program was started by former Anzar students.
All students are required to participate in at least six semesters of Service Learning. This works out to about eighteen hours per semester, spread out as much as possible.
Staffing
Everything starts with Anzar’s staff. McKowen says that the staff at Anzar is unique in the fact that they operate under a consensus model. Therefore, one person’s problem is everyone’s problem. Every decision is made through a consensus process.
It is through Anzar’s community guidelines that an atmosphere of trust has been built, McKowen claims. Teachers go beyond cooperation within a subject-based division. Thus, it’s perfectly natural for the English teachers to know exactly what the history teachers are doing.
McKowen says that most of the kids don’t realize the caliber of instruction. “It’s just so special. This is such a special group of educators, always putting the kids first. I’m so proud to work with them,” she enthused.
Backward Learning
Within the classrooms teacher practice the principle of backward learning. McKowen explained that through this method, all teachers isolate before each new unit what they want students to do/know before they even start that chapter. Then they post the goal on a poster board in their classroom for the students to see and work toward that goal. The posted goal clarifies what the students are working toward, so they can see why they’re learning what they’re learning. It encourages the students to question what the teacher is teaching and gets them to use the Habits of Mind.
Graduation Exhibitions
The crown jewel in Anzar’s cap is perhaps the school’s use of graduation exhibitions. This is a graduation requirement which stems from the belief that the kind of thinking required and the kind of learning that happens in the process of working on the exhibitions gives the graduates a tangible “edge” as they go on to higher learning or the work world.
“At the worst, exhibitions are complex projects that the students work on as juniors and seniors, but the projects have to be student-passion based,” McKowen said.
She says that the exhibitions are a combination of research, written work and oral presentations. Students must cover five or six areas – language, arts, science, social science, service learning, a post-graduate plan, and possibly math. There are also two or three components – art, language, and possibly math — that must be woven in an exhibition of choice.
Students have the choice to do some individual exhibitions, but they are encouraged to take a more interdisciplinary approach by combining areas, with a maximum of three overall presentations allowed.
The process begins with the completion of a series of prerequisites. Once done, the students are eligible to take a class entitled Graduation Exhibitions. In the class, students are partnered with a coach, a teacher that guides each student individually through the creation of their exhibitions. The graduation exhibition class is graded according to how well the student uses his/her class time.
The first step in developing an exhibition is the identification of interests or passions. From these, students identify topics. The topics are typically subjects that the students are passionate about. Some previous topics have included: “How Does Dreaming Relate to Our Everyday Lives;” “Who is Responsible When a Child Commits a Crime;” and “What Connection Does Star Wars Have With Mythology?”
From the topics, students then identify issues complex enough for them to explore from many perspectives. Development of issues is critical. Working with a complex issue about which a student cares deeply is what allows a student to demonstrate mastery of the subject and the EPERRs. Once the issue has been identified, students and coaches work on research skills, writing skills and oral presentation skills.
Exhibitions are not reports, McKowen is emphatic. The key difference between a report and an exhibition is the intellectual jump that occurs when moving from “topic” to an “issue”. The exploration of issues, rather than topics, provides the students with the opportunity to show that they can use their minds nimbly as they gather evidence, identify multiple perspectives and biases, and logically position themselves amongst those perspectives. In this way, Anzar students are trained and expected to use their minds as well.
Each exhibition requires a written and oral presentation. Students are required to make the two presentations unique. This means that students do not just read their written portion for the oral component. Instead, they intentionally leave important information out of their written materials, saving it for the oral portion.
Both the written and oral sections of the exhibitions are evaluated by a panel of judges assembled from the community. The judges all go through the same training process ahead of time, in a two-hour simulation-based workshop using rubrics, score sheets, and actual student work.
Oral presentations usually last from 20 minutes to one hour, with some going longer. Each oral presentation is followed by a question-and-answer period. McKowen says that by showing that they can think on their feet, students are able to demonstrate that they have truly “mastered” their topic to the best of their ability.
Anzar High School has a student population that ranges between 350 and 370 students. The school is affiliated with the Coalition for Essential Schools, which has its national offices in Oakland. However, the concepts employed at Anzar initially come largely from Brown University. There is very low staff turnover, but McKowen says that when teachers do choose to leave they usually wait until the end of their four-year track, so it doesn’t affect the students they are mentoring.
