St Joseph School Seattle Wa

America's Promise Alliance and Apex Learning® Partner with School Districts to ...

Miami-Dade School District (Florida), Norman Public Schools (Oklahoma), St. Mary’s School District (Maryland), and Cross County School District (Arkansas) will address student retention and dropout prevention by implementing remediation programs for struggling students and credit recovery for students who have failed courses; provide additional instruction resources for teachers in traditional classrooms; increase student enrollment and exam scores for Advanced Placement; and offer original credit for students who are unsuccessful with traditional instruction, transfer students, and students who need flexible scheduling options.

Every year, 1.3 million students drop out of school — one every 26 seconds, 7,000 every school day. America’s Promise Alliance (the Alliance) is the nation’s largest partnership organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth. It was founded in 1997 with General Colin Powell as its founding chairman, and is chaired today by Alma Powell. Apex Learning® is the leading provider of digital curriculum for secondary education and is a member of the Alliance’s Business Leaders Council and Education Innovators group. The partnership with these districts will support America’s Promise Alliance’s Grad Nation Campaign, which is a 10-year initiative to mobilize Americans to end the high school dropout crisis and prepare young people for the 21 century workforce. The goal of the Grad Nation Campaign is to improve the nation’s overall high school graduation rate to 90 percent by 2020.

"The Grad Nation project will help us spearhead the changes we seek, moving to digital content and developing educational environments to meet the demands of today's learners," said Alberto M. Carvalho , Superintendent, Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

Digital curriculum plays a significant role in empowering students to take charge of their learning. “Research shows when this occurs, performance increases and learning accelerates; students stay in school, earn credits, and achieve at higher levels, resulting in increased graduation rates,” said Cheryl Vedoe, CEO of Apex Learning. “Increasing access to high quality online learning for more youth can improve our chances of achieving the Grad Nation goals, changing outcomes and ultimately succeeding as a nation. The outstanding vision of the leadership of these school districts and Apex Learning’s expertise were a natural fit,” said Elizabeth Morgan, PhD, executive director, Grad Nation Campaign, America’s Promise Alliance.

New SAAS Faculty Already Back at School

August 19, 2011 – While families are enjoying the last few weeks of summer, our new faculty and staff are already back in the classroom. The fourteen newest members of our community attended the New Faculty Orientation on Thursday, August 18.  Below is a brief bio on each one.

Sarah Akhtar (Learning Support), B.A., Amherst College. Sarah has taught for over ten years in both public and private schools. Most recently she taught Upper School American Literature at Beaver Country Day School in Chestnut Hill, MA. She has also worked as a tutor, AP Test Prep Presenter, and Yoga teacher and was awarded the First Year Teacher of Excellence Award in Springfield, MA, in 2006. Sarah graduated magna cum laude in English and Education.

Alicia Balle (11th Grade Coordinator; English), B.A., Western Washington University; M.A., Grand Canyon University. Alicia has experience as both a teacher and an administrator. She has worked at Lake Washington High School, Redmond Junior High and High School, and Holy Names Academy, serving in multiple roles including teacher, department chair, content team leader, and administrator. She graduated magna cum laude from the Woodring College of Education at Western Washington University.

Jacque Beckley (Mathematics), B.S., Vanderbilt University. Jacque has worked for a number of schools including Lake Forest Academy (IL), Centreville High School (VA), and Choate Rosemary School (CT), as well as at Northwestern University and Vanderbilt University. She has also served as a private tutor and has coached track, cross country, and dance.

Emily Carmichael (French), B.A., Brown University; M.A., New York University; M.A., Middlebury College. Emily has taught French at a number of institutions including the Washington Academy of Languages at Seattle Pacific University, Alliance Francaise de Seattle, French-American School of Puget Sound, Seattle Languages International, and Epitech in Paris. She has also worked as an intern for The Museum of Jewish History (NY), as a publisher’s representative for Cengage Learning (NY), and a grant writer for International Center of Photography (NY). She also enjoys singing and reading and interviews high school applicants for Brown University.

Joseph

Seattle

Joseph

Freefall, America, free markets, and the sinking of the world economy

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