Mission Statement
The mission of Small Schools for Equity is to help a diverse group of students achieve the highest academic standards so that they can give voice to their dreams and grow into healthy, productive adults. We live out this mission by guiding young people to discover and explore their passions, to grow into independent, reflective thinkers, and to build connected, socially just communities, both inside and outside of the school. We are a public high school rooted in the community of Southeast San Francisco that is open to students throughout the city regardless of grades or test scores.
Description
Small School Design Our school design is based on solid educational research and models that have a proven track record of academic success with urban students -- especially African Americans, Latinos and English language learners Our school is personalized through two smaller institutes, the Junior Institute (9th and 10th grade) and the Senior Institute (11th and 12th grade), which are set up to provide more support and increasingly challenging, independent learning experiences. Class size is limited to 25, and each staff member serves as an Advisor to only 16 students. In the Junior Institute, students take Math, Science, Humanities, Fine Arts, and either Japanese or Spanish. Junior Institute curriculum focuses on developing students' skills in math, written and oral communication, and critical questioning and analysis. In the Senior Institute, students will have more freedom of choice in their course selections, based on their own interests and intellectual curiosity. As students mature, our school will provide more college-level seminars to prepare students for a university academic culture. Senior Institute students will also be able to enroll in San Francisco State University courses. Performance Assessment At our school, teachers plan what and how they will teach based on school-wide, state, and district standards. Students are asked to demonstrate their skill and knowledge through large pieces of work that we call Portfolio Work. In order to graduate from our school, students will have to present and defend their best work from each discipline in front of a panel of teachers, students, parents, and community members. These graduation exhibitions are called Masterpieces at JJSE. Community Values SSE's school culture is rooted in six core values: We hold each other up. We value ourselves as lifelong learners. We respect and care for our learning environments. We resolve conflicts peacefully. We use school time for learning. We stand up for social and environmental justice. We believe our Community Values promote positive behavior and independent, reflective thinking and create a truly safe environment for students to grow into adulthood.
