For the three days, juniors and seniors did not have to attend classes until 8:53 a.m. on February 3, 4, and 5. While many rejoiced over the late start and assumed that sophomores were simply completing the UBSCT exams, there was some behind-the-scenes work occurring at PCHS.
PCHS Principal Hilary Hays stated that the late starts were a “huge gift” and gave PCHS faculty “some of the most valuable time all year.”
Each of the three mornings during testing, teachers met and worked on the ongoing accreditation process. According to Hays, the meetings were a “review of school goals and action plans.”
All teachers were required to attend these meetings. When asked her opinion on the meetings occurring during the late-starts, PCHS Math Teacher Margaret Carley said, “We have all four classes so it’s fine with me and it’s like every other day pretty much.”
On February 3, teachers broke into departments. Each of the different PCHS departments reviewed the school’s action plan as well as their responsibilities as a department within the overall plan.
On February 4, teachers broke into “Focus Groups,” which are more specific to curriculum. Several examples of different types of Focus Groups include Quality Instructional Design, Assessment, Community, and Leadership. These groups also are “looking at recommendations from the last [accreditation] visit,” said Hays.
On February 5, teachers met to discuss and explore the new school-wide writing rubric. Hays explained how the rubric is very generalized, providing an example category of “uses correct punctuation.” According to Hays, the rubric will act as a “grading tool for our school, not for grades,” and will act to “make sure all teachers are looking at writing in the same way.”
Referring to the rubric, PCHS English Department Head Pam Carlquist said, “The idea is really good. It makes people realize the importance of writing.” She feels that the rubrics are “not restricting anyone.”
These meetings act as a tool to help assist PCHS develop in certain areas, especially before the next accreditation team visit, which is scheduled for March 30 and 31. The team will visit to verify that PCHS is “doing certain things” up to the state's standards, said Hays. While the team will be assessing specific factors, PCHS wants to portray an “authentic look” and will “not do anything different,” said Carlquist.
Hays said PCHS is currently accredited, but the process to become accredited changed about nine years ago. While the process to achieve accreditation changed, PCHS did not immediately follow the new trend and has been working hard the past three years to meet these new conventions. Hays described how the old accreditation process was more about “bragging about yourself” and now “it’s a rubric.”
Carlquist described how it is easy to become “too complacent with being one of the top schools in the nation” and how this feeling is not always a good thing. “Accreditation is a vehicle” for in-depth evaluation.
One goal of PCHS is evaluating the situation of “who is learning, who is not learning, and what are we doing about it,” said Hays. She cited examples of outreach to these students that included math and science tutors, senior tutors, and Miner Tickets.
However, Carley, like many other teachers, has discontinued the use of Miner Tickets, “I stopped because my students thought they were kind of silly and felt like they should do the right thing anyways. I think they’re more appropriate for younger kids who do not have that sense of doing something because it’s the right thing to do.”
To facilitate this portion of accreditation, PCHS also has a “grade checker” per say, whose job is to look at kids with very poor grades and contact them providing assistance.
All teachers were required to attend these meetings. When asked her opinion on the meetings occurring during the late-starts, PCHS Math Teacher Margaret Carley said, “We have all four classes so it’s fine with me and it’s like every other day pretty much.”
Carley also said, “Accreditation has to do with jumping through hoops” and that “the school does what it needs to.”
Late Starts
If they are so helpful, Why don't we make them permanent? I can't speak for others in the school, but these late starts really helped me focus in class throughout the day. It just seems like a good idea to enforce these late starts as the new, regular day schedule.
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