MASTERY OF KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

REASONING

Since Harborside opened its doors in 2007, and having its first graduating class in 2011, the graduation rate for Harborside Academy students has remained an impressive 99%, exceeding both district and state averages by nearly 10% or more. In addition, more than 99% of our seniors have been accepted into college before they graduate.

In order to ensure that our students are ready for post-secondary education upon leaving Harborside, it is our mission to project the pervasive, schoolwide belief that all students can succeed in postsecondary education. The question for students is not whether to attend college, but how to prepare for college, while making the transition successful. We do this by engaging in several practices designed to create a college-going culture among our students. Beginning in middle school, Harborside students are exposed to a curriculum that prepares them for college readiness. This includes engaging in Xello lessons during crew, participating in college and career week, and even taking an ACT practice test as 8th graders.

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At the high school level, teachers work to align course expectations, assignments, goals, and activities vertically across grades 9–12, using a set of college readiness standards as the reference point. Specifically in grades 9-10, Harborside's RTI work with students and interventions to make sure students who are not on track and ready for college, become on track to graduate and also ready for college. This targeted work that Harborside has imbedded in our everyday schedule, has allowed students to work on skills to become successful. For example, Harborside is proud to note that the proficiency of our economically disadvantage students, who historically have gaps in their academic skills when coming to Harborside, has increased by 12% within the last 3-5 years. Our proficiency of students identified with IEP support have also increase in proficiency by 10%. These numbers clearly indicate that the checks and balances that Harborside has in place, specifically early in a students high school career, have allowed students the opportunity to become college ready.

We also arrange visits to college campuses each year and offer a College Readiness course that provides students with guidance and tips on how to start college successfully within the first year. By the time they graduate, nearly all students have completed this elective course. This course is unique to Kenosha Unified and is only offered through Harborside Academy. This course has been designed, with the help of Dr. Robert Neuman to help students with many strategies that will help them improve in high school, prepare for college and prepare for work life beyond college. 

In 12th grade, counselors work intensively with students, providing support related to college application, choice, and helping students apply for financial aid. We highly encourage our students to apply to at least one postsecondary institution and celebrate this event within the school and community with our annual walk to the post office. In addition, we offer a number of advanced placement courses where students can receive dual credit for both high school and college. Students starting in as early as 9th grade, can enroll in AP level classes and graduate with a possible 27 college credits if they pass each AP course we offer. This provides students an amazing opportunity to experience a high level, rigorous, college course while attending high school to allow them the opportunity to also save money on college tuition by earning credits early.

Teaching self-management skills is another important step in preparing our students for postsecondary education. At all grade levels, students are taught strategies designed to improve their study skills, collect, organize, and retain factual information, take better notes, manage their time more efficiently, work in teams, and reflect on the quality of their work. Students engage in academic goal setting several times each year, character self-assessments, as well as complete Passage presentations at the 8th, 10th and 12th grade level. Additionally, students in intervention classes create data binders in order to compile notes, keep track of targets learned, and take ownership of their learning. They are expected to be able to articulate how each strategy learned helps them move closer to proficiency, self-assess, and monitor their own progress. This work aligns with Core Practice 3.