About JEH

Johanna Echols-Hansen Continuation High School (JEH) is committed to providing high-quality education to a diverse student body. JEH serves students who have been unsuccessful at the comprehensive high school or who need a more flexible schedule for personal reasons. The student population is made up of juniors and seniors who are at least 16 years old. JEH is a member of the Big Picture School network built on the following three premises:

The goals of the school are to move beyond credit recovery and a focus on graduation only but graduating with a focus more on what happens after high school; that learning is interest driven, and students find relevance in their work as the learning is based in real-world matters that pertain to the student and the community. This is achieved through a program centered on building student ownership of learning through the creation of individual Learning Through Interests (LTI) plans promoting the philosophy of one student at a time.

 

The entire learning experience is personalized to each student's interests, talents, and needs. This personalization expands our work beyond academics and involves looking at each student holistically. The structure of the school, at its very core, is the advisory time. Students are with an advisor who, through building relationships, supports students in finding their interests, matching them to an internship, and guiding and facilitating their learning. Internships are at the heart of JEH as real-world learning is best accomplished in the real world.

 

Students intern twice a week for the entire day with experts in the student's field of interest, completing authentic projects and gaining experience and exposure to how their interests intersect with the real world. The premise of Big Picture Learning schools, of which JEH is, offers an interest-based secondary school design with several unique characteristics to offer students a personalized, real-world-based high school experience that supports them in aspiring to higher education and helps them succeed in gaining admission to four-year colleges.

 

Students remain together in a small advisory with the same teacher and group of fellow students. The advisory is the core of the BPL experience. Another hallmark of these schools is Learning Through Internships (LTIs), which entail real-world placements in students’ self-identified areas of interest. These two days a week spent in the working world help students understand their passions, plan career goals for the future, and practice academic skills in settings beyond the classroom. Furthermore, every BPL student is expected to take college entrance examinations, apply to at least one post-secondary institution, and complete financial aid applications.

 

JEH is an integral part of the Cloverdale Unified School District providing an alternative route to graduation for students who do not excel in a traditional school setting. JEH is creating partnerships with area businesses and other community organizations to provide students with internships, speakers, and mentors. To provide personalized attention to each student, JEH has a 20:1 teacher-student ratio, and an atmosphere that emphasizes student needs and access to curriculum that supports a competency-based model so that the curriculum takes on a very interdisciplinary approach. Together, these elements create a safe and engaging learning environment in which all students can excel.

 

JEH staff confer with the counselor and staff members to be sure the students are on track with their coursework in case the student wants to return to the comprehensive high school. In addition to the certificated teacher, a classified employee is on hand during the entire school day. This person is responsible for attendance and assistance with credits and transcript information.