GOOD SHEPHERD SERVICES

GOOD SHEPHERD SERVICES TRANSFER HIGH SCHOOLS

A Model That Works

Good Shepherd’s three transfer schools provide a full-day, year-round academic program for students who have been truant or have dropped out of school following initial enrollment in 9th grade in a high school. Our schools are designed to both help students meet their unique academic requirements and to be flexible enough to be continually responsive to their varying needs. Good Shepherd’s school model is organized around five core principles and five essential components.  Together these ten key elements inform our schools’ philosophy, policies, and practice. They are deliberately integrated into all aspects of our transfer schools -- from meeting structures and classroom routines to the ongoing interactions between the staff and students -- and are intrinsic to fostering success.

Core Principles

High Expectations

We believe that each student can and will achieve at high levels, regardless of past performance. By enrolling in a GSS transfer school, our students commit to actively participate in the educational program and to achieve the goals they set for themselves. Both GSS and DOE staff members provide support and feedback to help students sustain a high level of achievement.

 An Active and Rigorous Learning Environment

To ensure that the academic program is both accessible and effective, curricula are designed to be hands-on, in alignment with state standards, and connect to students’ life experiences and practical needs. There is a focus on project-based learning and classroom activities, which build upon students’ strengths while maintaining the academic integrity of individualized programs.

Building Healthy Relationships

The GSS model emphasizes the fundamental importance of helping students build healthy relationships with school staff, peers, family members, and with the broader community. Within the school environment, adults are committed to forming caring and trusting relationships with students to support them both academically and personally. These relationships provide an anchor for students when issues arise, inside and outside of school, that may jeopardize their ability to reach their goals.

Student Voice and Responsibility

To keep students actively engaged in school, we believe that it is important for them to not only take responsibility for their own learning, but for them to take an active role in shaping the overall school community. Staff members provide young people with opportunities to voice their thoughts and opinions and make meaningful contributions to their learning environment.

Building Community

A strong supportive learning community is key to the success of our students.  Building this community is the responsibility of everyone involved with the school – students, staff, parents, neighborhood partners, and other community stakeholders.  It is supported through defined structures of cooperative decision-making and shared responsibility at all levels. 

Essential Components

Partnership and Shared Leadership

The equal partnership between GSS and the DOE provides the foundation for the success of our model. While both parties contribute to and are responsible for different aspects of the school, they both make an active commitment to operate the school together at all levels of each organization – from the DOE and CBO leadership, to the DOE Principal and the GSS Program Director, to the Advocate Counselors and the DOE teaching staff.

Integration of Advocate Counseling within School Setting

Recognizing that students often lack a trusting, positive adult relationship, and that personal problems are frequently the major obstacle to achieving graduation, at enrollment, each student in the school is paired with an Advocate Counselor who serves as the student’s chief advocate and primary support person throughout his/her time at the school. Advocate Counselors work with students one-to-one in twice-monthly scheduled sessions, in weekly peer support groups, and on an as-needed basis – coaching them and helping them set personal and academic goals, facilitating the development of an individualized post-graduate plan, and supporting them in overcoming barriers to success.

Youth Development Approach to Instruction

We provide an engaging instructional program that recognizes individual strengths, needs, and learning styles, as well as students’ widely varying levels of credit attainment. Students progress through the school in ungraded cohorts and have a personalized course schedule based on the courses and Regent exams that they need to graduate. In the classroom, teachers use strategies that allow for differentiated instruction and provide engaging, hands-on activities and assignments that have real world relevance – these strategies create a consistent, safe environment in which students can flourish.

Defined Target Population and Admissions Process

Our schools work with students between the ages of 16 and 21 who have either dropped out of high school or been excessively truant.  Students must have previously been enrolled in high school, have at least a 6th grade reading level, live within the school catchment area and successfully complete the admissions process. It is critical that students come from the identified school catchment to enable Advocate Counselors to conduct home visits and allow students and their family members to benefit from Good Shepherd’s programs and resources in the community. These parameters and admissions procedures ensure that our students fit with the model and are prepared to take responsibility for their progress in the school. This results in a powerful alliance between students, staff and family from the onset in the journey toward graduation.

Personalized Small School Environment

Most students in our schools have previously attended very large traditional high schools - our model, in contrast, emphasizes the school as a community which values each member and offers high levels of individual attention for each student. A small school and low student-to-staff ratios help facilitate our youth development approach. GSS Model Schools typically enroll between 150 and 200 students, who engage in classes of a maximum of 25 students, with the typical class having 21 or 22.  Advocate Counselors also only work with a maximum of 25 students at any given time.  In addition, families are actively encouraged to play a role in their student’s success by participating in a variety of school-related events and activities.