Academy Survey

Washoe County School District (WCSD) has decided a “specific program” academy is a good idea for Incline.  The specific programs the district mentioned are:

• “Green energy
• Saving Lake Tahoe (environmental)
• Hospitality/Service Industry”

http://www.inclineschools.org/attachments/1971_Incline%20Great%20Schools%20Meeting%20Notes%20edited.pdf (bottom of page 2)

WCSD has created this very brief survey to ask us what specific program our high school should focus on. 

Questions NOT asked:  

• Do you think a specific program academy is a good fit for Incline Village? 
• Would a college preparatory academy be a good fit for Incline?

In the last question on the survey some of us have written:  “A college preparatory academy would be a better fit for Incline than a specific program academy.”   Please take the survey, especially if you realize any subject-specific academy is problematic in Incline.   

www.k12insight.com/WCSD/InclineCommunitySurvey.html

The survey will be closed Friday, 2/24/12.

All WCSD students are allowed to apply and attend any subject-specific academy that interests them, unfortunately:

• Because of our location, traveling to Reno is not practical for many Incline families 
• The district will not provide transportation to Reno academies
• The deadline for applying for the 2012-13 school year was Friday, 2/10/12.

http://www.washoe.k12.nv.us/staff/high-school-signature-academy

A few obvious questions:

• How will a subject-specific academy meet educational needs, increase graduation rates, and motivate students not interested in the specific program chosen?
• How will we retain families with high performing students who are not interested in the subject picked?
• Why does the District want to transform what most would call our best school, the high school? 

Over the last two years, 84% of our graduates were college bound and pursued dozens of different academic interests.  Some of us think Incline High should become the premiere college preparatory academy in northern Nevada.

Since John Clark left IHS a couple of years ago, we went from 16 AP (college level) classes to 12.  Here is a cost-effective plan that would move Incline schools from good to great, raise the bar K-8, prepare more of our students to succeed in at least one AP class prior to graduation, and increase the number of AP classes offered.

http://myinclinevillage.com/2011/01/04/a-plan-to-improve-our-schools-for-all-students.aspx

At the ISAEF community forum on 1/25/12 IHS principal, Mrs. Cooper, responded to this question: “Can IHS become a College Preparatory Academy without focusing on a specific subject?”  Part of Mrs. Cooper’s response was: “College prep academy?  We cannot say without seeing the results of the survey.”

http://www.inclineschools.org/attachments/2020_ISAEF%20Community%20Forum%201-25-12.pdf

Please fill out the survey, and if you agree mention a college preparatory academy, and any subject-specific academy is not a good fit for Incline.

www.k12insight.com/WCSD/InclineCommunitySurvey.html