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HIGH SCHOOL

High School Design Idea

SIA's High School will be serving students in grades 9 and 10 in the 2022-23 school year. See below for more details about our unique program.

No upcoming events at the moment

School Culture:

Students in attending SIA's High School will still be immersed in a program that focuses on the overall mission of SIA. They will still participate in their houses, school clubs and have opportunities to travel with their classmates. The experience in the High School will be focused on helping students really dive into, and begin to answer, the question, "What do I want to do after high school?". Our goal is to prepare all SIA graduates to enter either college or the workforce with the skills to thrive in either environment.

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Our High School will differ from a traditional high school in the sense that we are focused on targeted preparation for life after high school. Students will take accelerated courses to prepare them for their chosen pathway and will start to tackle some of life's biggest questions throughout their courses. We will focus on supporting the development of their identity as an adult and challenge them to develop a worldview that acknowledges the challenges we face in our world, but sees the incredible opportunities that exist to make the world a better place. It is the culmination of the last line in our mission where we seek to empower them to "become leaders who can powerfully transform our communities".

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Students who sign on to finish their high school years at SIA need to be committed to a rigorous program, as both pathways available to them will require them to demonstrate a high level of focus in order to be successful.

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Academic Program:

High school students will participate in a globally focused, rigorous academic experience that is centered around preparing students for their post secondary life. We have created a unique 9th and 10th grade experience that is designed to allow students to complete 

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  • 9th grade:

    • English 9​

    • Math: Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2

    • Spanish: (Year 3)

    • History: AP Human Geography

    • Science: Biology

    • Electives: Art, various electives offered

    • Fitness/Health

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  • 10th Grade:

    • English 10​

    • Math: Geometry, Algebra 2, Pre-Calculus

    • AP Spanish

    • History: US History

    • Science: AP Environmental Science

    • Electives: Art, various electives offered

    • Fitness

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SIA has created two pathways for students in 11th and 12th grade students from which to choose (See the chart below for more details)

  • "College"

    • Students can elect to participate in Running Start and enroll in a full schedule of college level courses at either the Community Colleges of Spokane or Eastern Washington University​

    • Students would not attend classes regularly at SIA

    • SIA high school staff and counselors would continue to support students and families to ensure students successfully complete this program

    • Students who graduate from this pathway will leave high school with both a high school diploma from SIA and an Associate of Arts degree (if doing RS through CCS) or, 2 years worth of college level credit (if doing RS through EWU)

  • "Career"

    • Students can elect to participate in the incredible variety of offerings at the Skills Center

    • Students participating in classes at the Skills Center would complete half of their courses there and return to SIA for the afternoon to complete their Math and English courses​

    • Students who graduate from this pathway will leave high school with a high school diploma from SIA and training/certification in a trade to prepare them for post-secondary life

    • Students accessing the career path will still complete all of the prerequisite courses necessary to attend college as their postsecondary option, if they so choose

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SIA HS Pathways (02-22-21).jpeg

Frequently Asked Questions:

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Enrollment:

  • Students who are currently enrolled at SIA for 8th grade will not need to reapply for the high school program

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9th/10th Grade Courses:

  • Due to the small size of SIA's high school, all students will take the courses as listed above

  • World Languages - Students entering 9th/10th grade are required to take (2) years worth of world languages as part of the graduation requirements for Washington state. Students have the option of taking Spanish 3 in 9th and AP Spanish in 10th, if they have already completed Spanish 1 and 2 in 7th/8th grade (new students will be assessed prior to being placed in these classes). Students who would like to study (2) years of a different language, or new students who would like to start Spanish, will have the ability to do so via the courses offered via Spokane Virtual Learning. These courses will be completed independently during their world language block at school. There is no option to opt out of world language courses as they are required for graduation and are foundational to becoming a global citizen. Families who are looking into colleges should always consider the specific courses required by those institutions, as many will require (3) years of world language for admission.

  • Teachers will offer electives on a rolling basis during the shortened Friday schedule. These will be released prior to the semester and students will have the opportunity to select from the different teacher selected courses.

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Advanced Placement (AP) Program/Honors:

  • All students will be required to participate in advanced courses for Science, History and Spanish

  • Students are not required to participate in the AP assessment unless they wish to receive college credit for those courses. Remember, students participating in the Running Start program will earn a full (2) years of college credit already.

  • SIA will not offer courses that are designated as "Honors" in 9th/10th grade. However, courses offered during those years will operate on an accelerated course schedule and students will need to be prepared to complete a much higher level of coursework than they did in the middle academy. The goal is to prepare all students to enter a post-secondary pathway starting in 11th grade, meaning they will need to have near college level skills at that point to successfully complete their pathway.

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Dances and other school activities:

  • High school students will have the opportunity to plan and participate in a variety of activities. Middle Academy students have planned a dance for the past 3 years and we fully anticipate that High School students will have dances as well.

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Sports/clubs:

  • SIA will not offer a wide variety of high school level sports. We have yet to decide which, if any, sports we will offer. The reasons we are choosing not to offer sports are:

    • Eligibility

      • Per state law, if a charter school chooses to offer a sport, students that attend that school cannot play that sport at their local high school. So, if SIA were to try to field a football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, etc. team, our students would not be able to go play that sport at a more competitive level at their neighborhood high school. 

      • SIA students will be allowed to participate in sports at their local high school and the school will work with families to the best of our ability to schedule this into their day.

    • Funding​

      • Unfortunately charter schools in WA state are not able to access local levy funding. Levy funding is what all school districts use to pay for their athletics programs. ​In order to fund our sports, we would need to pull money from our classroom program and we are not interested in sacrificing the quality of our academic program to do that.

  • Clubs

    • SIA staff will work to create clubs that allow our Upper Academy students to build relationships with one another and dive deeper into their unique interests​

      • These could include: eSports, chess, running, fitness, art, choir, Model United Nations​, Math is Cool, theater/drama, coding, A/V club/student media, yearbook

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Requirement to participate in one of two pathways:

  • All students attending SIA's High School will be required to fully participate in either the Running Start or Skills Center pathways. Students entering 11th grade and wishing to not participate in one of the two pathways will need to enroll in their neighborhood high school.

  • SIA's College and Career Counselor will support students and families to the best of their ability to access the pathways and complete them successfully. Should a student decide that they no longer wish to participate in their chosen pathway, and do not choose to enroll in the other, they would need to attend their neighborhood high school.

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Running Start disclaimer:

  • The Running Start program is college. Students and families who choose this pathway need to fully understand the choice they are making. Students are required to complete all work that is assigned to them during their college course. Topics discussed in RS courses are selected by the CCS or EWU and are not open to debate with families. Students may not choose to opt out of lessons taught there as it will negatively impact their grade and their ability to attend classes at those institutions.

  • Due to FERPA regulations, SIA is not responsible for tracking student progress or academic grades during their Running Start program. When a student chooses to enroll in this program, they are choosing to enroll in college.

  • Running Start will require students to spend a college level amount of time on their coursework. It may be expected that students do multiple hours of homework each day. 

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Transportation:

  • SIA will provide STA bus passes to all 9th-12th grade students free of charge to access SIA and/or their chosen pathway

  • 11th/12th grade students will need to use their own transportation, or access public transportation, to access their chosen pathway. SIA will not provide transportation to or from CCS, EWU or the Skills Center.

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School Schedule and Calendar:

  • 9th/10th grade students will have the same school day and calendar as the rest of the K-8 program at SIA

  • SIA will work with students wishing to participate in after school sports at their neighborhood high school

  • 11th/12th grade students will follow whatever school day/calendar that is used by the pathway they are accessing. Skills Center students will access their classes at SIA on the schedule established by SIA.

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Travel Opportunities:

  • We are still exploring what domestic and international travel will look like given the restrictions that have been in place due to the COVID-19 global pandemic

  • High school staff will coordinate both domestic and international travel opportunities for students that align with the content being taught in their courses

  • More information about opportunities will be released prior to the start of the 2021-22 school year

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