Academic Support Services
What we do at Sequoia High School for Academic Support Services may refer to a wide variety of instructional methods, educational services, or school resources provided to students in the effort to help them in their overall learning progress, catch up with their credits, and generally succeed in school. The terms support or supports may also be used in reference to any number of academic-support strategies used in Sequoia High School or services provided thought County agencies.
At Sequoia, academic support encompasses a broad array of educational strategies, including tutoring sessions, online supplemental courses, off campus learning experiences, after-school programs, teacher advisors, and volunteer mentors, as well as alternative ways of grouping students, counseling support, and instructing students. Academic support may be provided to individual students, specific student populations (such as Special Education students), or all students.
While the design and purpose of academic-support programs may vary widely, but at Sequoia High School, the following are some representative examples of common forms of academic support:
- Classroom-based strategies: Sequoia teachers continually monitor student performance and learning needs, and then adjust what they teach or how they teach to improve student learning.
- School-based strategies: Sequoia High School creates academic-support opportunities during the school day, such as Student Success Class, to increase the instructional time for academically struggling students, while also varying the way that instruction is delivered. For example, if students in a course primarily learn in large or small groups that all work at the same pace, students in a Success Class or other support program might work one-on-one with a teacher and be given more time to practice skills or learn complex concepts.
- After-hours strategies: Sequoia High School provides after-school or before-school programs, usually with help of the XL program, that provide students with tutoring or mentoring, or that help students prepare for class or acquire study skills, for example.
- Outside-of-school strategies: Community groups and volunteer-based learning programs, often working in partnership with Sequoia such as: Turning Point, local public schools, may provide a variety of programs connected to what students are learning in school.
- Technology-assisted strategies: Sequoia High School uses digital and online learning applications, such as visual simulations or gamed-based learning, to help students grasp difficult concepts, or teachers may use course-management programs that allow them to archive course materials and communicate with students online.
In addition to the various support settings and delivery methods described above, academic support may also have a specific educational focus or goal. A few representative examples:
- Relationship-based support: At Sequoia High School, strategies such as daily homeroom is used to build stronger and more understanding relationships between teachers and students. The general idea is that students will be better served and more effectively taught if teachers know students well and understand their distinct learning needs, interests, and aspirations.
- Needs-based support: Many or most forms of academic support are based on identified learning needs, and schools will provide supplemental or intensive instruction, practice, and guidance to students who are struggling academically or who have specialized needs—these can include students with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, or developmental disabilities; students who are learning English or cannot speak English; students who recently immigrated to the United States, or students who are performing academically or developing intellectually well below or above the expectations for their age or grade level.