Plan is to offer a TEAM satellite classroom inside the main high school
TEAM High School and Woodland High School will team up next year as students attending Woodland Public Schools’ alternative high school will have the option of studying in TEAM’s main facilities or in a satellite room at Woodland High School.
With the pandemic requiring remote learning, Woodland’s pre-existing remote learning programs, Lewis River Academy (grades K-8) and TEAM High School (grades 9-12), experienced substantial increases in enrollment. Elizabeth “Liz” Vallaire, TEAM’s math and science teacher, came up with the idea of potentially having a satellite classroom at Woodland High School for TEAM students who co-enroll, performing the majority of their studies at TEAM but also taking classes at Woodland High School.
“We often have students who are great independent workers and who fit really well with the Apex model, but who struggle with just one subject,” explained Vallaire. “Our ratio is not set up to be able to offer daily assistance to students in any particular class, so allowing students to co-enroll means they can get the focused assistance they need in a particular subject while still retaining the freedom of schedule that the alternative high school provides.”
Teamwork between the two schools led to the development of Vallaire’s idea.
“Woodland High School’s administrators and counseling team worked incredibly hard to help support TEAM High School throughout the pandemic,” said Jake Hall, executive director for Learning Supports and Alternatives who also serves as the principal of the district’s two remote-learning programs. “When Liz mentioned the idea of a satellite classroom at Woodland High School for TEAM students, both schools’ staff members immediately supported the idea.”
TEAM’s satellite will be located in a science lab classroom which would have gone unused starting in the 2021-2022 school year and will increase visibility for the district’s alternative high school. “I have heard from many students that they were encouraged to transfer to TEAM earlier but were afraid to since they didn’t know the staff or the building,” said Vallaire. “We are hoping that the proximity of TEAM might encourage reluctant students to take the leap in transferring to TEAM, making those transitions much smoother and easier.”
In addition to co-enrollment, a satellite classroom at the main high school campus offers students from TEAM opportunities to take part in some of the more traditional high school experiences. “TEAM students will now easily be able to participate in sports or other extracurricular activities where TEAM could not offer transportation from our school to WHS previously,” said Vallaire. “Additionally, TEAM’s students will have more access to counselors and special education staff as well as have the opportunity to thrive in peer social interactions such as during lunch.”
With TEAM having a significant presence within Woodland High School, all of Woodland’s high school students can feel closer to being a single student body.
“This could bring our Woodland students together by making the schools more united,” said Hall. “Additionally, it affords the TEAM staff members the opportunity to collaborate with their colleagues at Woodland High School; I’m really proud of the two schools working together for our students in this tangible and incredibly useful way.”
Learning about TEAM High School
TEAM High School offers Woodland’s students a path to earning a high school diploma that accommodates individual life circumstances such as full-time work, challenges with traditional school schedules, or family responsibilities. To learn more about TEAM High School, how to enroll, or how your organization can partner with Woodland Public Schools, visit the TEAM website at www.woodlandschools.org/team.
Learn more about how Woodland Public Schools educates students and serves the community, by visiting our dedicated news webpage at www.woodlandschools.org/news/wsd
Information provided by Woodland School District.
