Binghamton High School

Experience Based Education Program (EBE)

Mission Statement and Philosophy

The mission of the Experience Based Education Program is to offer each and every student who has experienced repeated failure in the traditional school environment an alternative setting in which to experience success.

Students in EBE will be encouraged to view the community as a vital learning resource. They will also be encouraged to have some ownership in decisions affecting their lives in the school. Individual and peer counseling will be a constant facet of the program in order to enhance self-concept and assist students in dealing with the past while becoming more future-oriented. The school will maintain constant communication with the home so as to become a cooperative partner with it in helping the student achieve success. Each and every student will have access to caring teachers, a supportive guidance staff and community agencies when intervention is necessary.

Background

The EBE school is based on a research-based model out of Oakland, California, which achieved well-documented results with at-risk students.

Goals

The EBE school has set high goals for both itself and its students. The goal statements below serve as a guide for students and faculty. In order to make the program a success, all involved parties: teachers, parents and students, must strive on a daily basis to live up to these goals.

  1. EBE Program Goals
  2. Provide opportunities for students to experience academic achievement.
  3. Assist students in coping with personal, family and school problems.
  4. Provide career opportunities to students through the use of community resources and organizations.
  5. Improve student retention, attendance and academic achievement.
  6. EBE Student Goals
  7. Develop socially acceptable behavior and a spirit of cooperation.
  8. Develop a positive self-concept.
  9. Develop an acceptance of responsibility for personal behavior and personal problems.
  10. Earn academic credit and work toward graduation by meeting course requirements prescribed in Part 100 Regents Action Plan.
  11. Develop academic competencies necessary to achieve personal and career goals.

Student Selection Process

The EBE program is aimed at students who are academically able but for a variety of reasons have not been doing well at school. Students can be referred to the EBE program through their cluster principal, guidance counselor, classroom teacher, parent, friend or self. Students are referred to EBE for a variety of reasons: they may be behind in grade level, have a history of chronic absenteeism and/or excessive cutting, frequent tardiness, below average achievement as measured by report card grades, inability to tolerate present school structure, failing to see the relevance of education to life experience, or low self-concept.

The top priority is students who are behind in grade level, have a history of attendance problems, have a serious discrepancy between their academic potential and their performance record, and are willing to make a commitment to the program. Entry into EBE is strictly on a voluntary basis. It is done only after a careful review of the student’s records and an interview with the EBE teachers, staff and the guidance counselor. Next, students have the opportunity to evaluate whether the program is for them by sitting in on EBE classes and discussing the program’s benefits and its expectations of students with the staff. Parents are invited to visit the classroom and gain awareness of what the program is all about and whether it fits their child’s educational and social needs.

EBE isn’t for someone who wants to avoid academic challenge and hard work. It is for those who do not fit into the traditional classroom structure, but who are serious about giving something different a try.

Current Student Enrollment

EBE is primarily designed for upper classmen who are in danger of not receiving a high school diploma. The enrollment limit is currently set at 50 students who are in eleventh or twelfth grade.

Students all enter the program voluntarily. There may be a turnover in the student population in the course of the year, making slots available for new students. Students may spend a year in the EBE program and transition back to traditional school after a temporary crisis has lifted or after better academic habits have been nurtured.

Expectations of Students

Students are carefully screened and fully informed of what they must do to continue participation in the program. All sign an EBE contract together with their parents outlining exactly what their responsibilities in the program are. Students may be dropped for continued noncompliance with the terms of the contract. Before this happens, students and their parents are informed and the student is placed on academic probation. What the student must do to remedy the situation is clearly spelled out. The program’s goal is to assist students in achieving a successful outcome, but they are ultimately in charge of their own success. The EBE contract is reproduced below:

EBE Contract

I, ______, understand that as a participant in the Experience Based Education Program, I do agree to the following:

  1. I will be present on a daily basis.
  2. I will be on time.
  3. I will not use drugs or alcohol.
  4. I will not use vulgar language.
  5. I will not use physical violence or force in any form.
  6. I will agree to complete the work assigned and participate in class.
  7. I understand that there will be weekly group discussions on various subjects, some related to the program and some not. I agree to be as honest as I possibly can in these meetings, and to state clearly how I am feeling.
  8. I will act in a mature and responsible manner when I am involved in activities away from the program, because my actions determine how others feel about the program.
  9. I will help maintain the building in which the program takes place. I will help keep it neat, clean and in good repair.
  10. I understand that being accepted into the EBE program means that the staff and the school feel I am capable of acting in a responsible, mature manner. I am committed in this program to finding more and different ways of dealing with people and situations.
  11. I understand that if I violate any of these agreements that it is grounds for a staff review of my participation in the program. I may have privileges removed that I will have to earn back. Ultimately I may lose the privilege of being in the program if I cannot change my unacceptable behavior.
  12. This agreement is our commitment to work with the EBE program for at least two 10-week sessions of the academic school year.

______

Student’s SignatureParent’s SignatureDate

Student Scheduling

EBE students have the benefit of very flexible scheduling. Doubling-up in core subjects in which they may lack credits is possible. For instance, 11th and 12th grade English may be taken simultaneously. Credits can also be earned through volunteer experience or a work-study program.

Attendance Procedures and Requirements

In order to profit from any educational program, a student must attend on a regular basis. Realizing that discipline in this area is important to all future endeavors, the EBE School sets an 85% attendance rate as a guideline to help discipline and improve the habits of those students who have demonstrated difficulty achieving minimum attendance requirements in the past.

If students are absent on a given day, they are asked to call the EBE room at 762-8263. A note written by a parent or guardian should accompany the student upon his/her return to school.

The EBE staff makes every effort to contact students who are absent on a given day. This effort is designed to place more accountability and responsibility on the student themselves for their attendance and make-up work.

Parent/School Connection

The EBE School feels it cannot make a substantive difference without the support and encouragement of parents and guardians. Students need positive feedback for their efforts not only from teachers, but from the homefront as well. With this vital link in mind, EBE invites the full participation of parents in their child’s education. Their involvement may range from

  • Visiting the classroom
  • Coming in to school to discuss any problems
  • Informing the teachers of the successes their children have achieved
  • Maintaining a close connection when the student is missing school
  • Stressing the importance of coming to school on time on a daily basis

Parents can expect that special situations will be carefully taken into account when decisions are made regarding their children. They can expect referrals to school or community agencies when there are special problems.

If their child is ill, parents are expected to call the EBE room at 762-8263 and let the staff know that the student will not be in class. This allows for the school to keep better track and provide assignments for students legitimately missing school. It also allows resources for those who are experiencing problems to help get them back in school.

Staff

The EBE School currently includes four staff members: a guidance counselor and three teachers: English, Social Studies and Mathematics. Each of these individuals has accepted inclusion in the program on a voluntary basis and is sincerely interested in facilitating each student’s progress both academically and personally.

Teachers regard themselves as co-pilots in the educational journey with the student as navigator. Teachers see as objectives the following:

  1. Help student experience both academic and personal success.
  2. Help students develop responsibility for their own behavior.
  3. Help students deal with the past but focus on the future.
  4. Help students develop techniques to deal with personal and family problems and to use outside agencies.
  5. Create positive learning experiences.
  6. Help students develop the values necessary for demonstrating socially acceptable behavior.
  7. Help students develop academic competencies.
  8. Help students take an active role in planning their educational program, making good use of community resources.
  9. Teach students to show appreciation.

Counseling

All EBE students have the same counselor who provides them with intensive services when necessary. He/she also coordinates their academic program and makes sure they progress on an appropriate timeline towards graduation. The staff realizes they must provide for the needs of the whole student and help him/her deal with problems and situations that interfere with achieving academic success.

Periodically, the group meets to discuss a particular topic: risk-taking behavior, decision-making, career choices, family relations, values, etc. Students are encouraged to discuss coping strategies and provide support for one another.

Teachers are chosen for the program partially because they accept the philosophy that their role involves more than the transmission of academic knowledge. Hopefully, they provide role models, a safe adult to talk problems over with and direction to student services when necessary.

The staff functions as a team, which allows for the targeting of special problems and a more unified approach to helping students through any rough times.

Curriculum

It is the EBE School’s philosophy that the student should not be given a watered-down curriculum and that all have the capability of achieving success with the same books, concepts and curriculum that the traditional school offers. The school does make a serious effort to relate the curriculum to future careers. We do not, however, limit ourselves to teaching basic or life skills.

Many within the student population are highly intelligent and capable of achieving success in college or in highly technical jobs. We feel it is our job to prepare students for all those possibilities and leave open as many future options as possible. There are computers in the EBE room to which all students have access. They are encouraged to use the computers for paper-writing and self-paced curriculum. No student is made to feel that the curriculum is for the less-than-capable student. The students are required to pass the Regents exams mandated by the State of New York and will earn the same high school diploma that other BHS students earn.

Grading Philosophy

Each teacher in the program passes out a set of his/her academic expectations to students at the beginning of the course. This clearly sets forth what responsibilities have to be met by the student in order to achieve a passing grade and outlines how grades will be computed. Students are encouraged to take this information home and share it with their parents.

Report cards are issued four times a year, and the passing grade is 65. Interim reports are issued at the 5-week report, as in traditional school, to warn students if they are in academic jeopardy.

Discipline Policy

In encouraging students to take responsibility for their actions, there are a series of progressive discipline measures used to remind students of their obligations. Infractions of the contract merit student’s lunchtime detention, which is monitored by staff. Continued infractions may lead to more traditional approaches such as IBS (In-Building Suspension) or after-school detention.

Students in academic trouble can be placed on probation and given an opportunity to correct the situation. If the staff feels that the situation cannot be turned around, it may, as a last resort, recommend that a student be dropped from the program. This is done only after every effort has been exhausted to work with the student and improve his/her rate of success. This turnover allows other students to avail themselves of the opportunities afforded by EBE.

Grade Levels and Location

EBE sets a limit of 50 students in order to effectively meet its goals with students. The program gives priority in allotting those slots to upperclassmen, particularly seniors.

The EBE School is currently housed in Rooms A310, A318 and A319.

Support Programs

Believing that the special needs of the “at-risk” population are not wholly being met by the traditional school structure, EBE makes use of those programs which focus on making education more relevant to a student’s future job prospects.

EBE makes every use of a variety of social and community agencies for students’ non-educational needs. EBE provides linkages to the Broome County Health Department, drug and alcohol counseling, mediation in dealing with family problems, etc. The school, in reaching gout to a variety of agencies, is attempting to meet the needs of the whole student, thus allowing him or her to better focus on academics. Speakers from various careers are invited into the classroom.

Incentives

The student needs to be expected to be the prime planner of his/her educational program. The program’s whole orientation is to make the student feel a sense of responsibility and ownership. However, it is recognized that students who may have a history of failure in the traditional school structure may need some rewards for improving their behavior, punctuality, attendance and academic performance.

Valedictorian and Salutatorian for each quarter are recognized. Each teacher also institutes his/her own award system and each staff member is always looking to praise positive growth.

Benefits of the Program

Students have smaller class size, more individualized instruction, greater flexibility in scheduling their classes, more familiarity with teachers and courses, more exposure to community resources and more input into their educational program. In addition, teachers are more able to closely monitor attendance and make more frequent feedback to students.

On their part, students are able to get to know one another quite well and become for one another a supportive and caring community. Students are not allowed to disappear in this program; they are constantly challenged and encouraged to achieve success and believe in themselves.