Nationally, the initiatives to improve schools focus strongly on curriculum and testing. However Shadow Hills HS is taking it a step further by recognizing the need for the elements that make up school climate, the way the students of a school view themselves. SHHS has begun to analyze the way in which school climate can support academic achievement and create a college-oriented atmosphere alongside a secure, supportive learning environment. In the classroom arena, SHHS gurus are working to create cooperative learning environments that bolster the students’ abilities to lead without bullying or peer pressure. The result: an ongoing growing environment where students teach the classes, peer tutor, peer collaborate, and foster dialogues that are high in equality and rely on the intrinsic ideas of joint problem solving. SHHS really started focusing on this college-oriented initiative in the year 2012, with the advent of the new principal, Mr. Wood. Thanks to Mr. Wood’s tireless efforts on behalf of us students, initiatives have been added to Shadow Hills that encourage us to push into the college environment that we strive towards. In the 2012/2013 school year, Renaissance students started the “Don’t D-Grade, Up-Grade” program that promoted the A-G eligibility requirements (college acceptance requirements) to the student body. In fact, in that first year alone, our percentage of seniors that became A-G eligible almost doubled, rising from 18% the year before to a whopping 35% in the 2012/2013 school year. In addition to the “Don’t D-Grade, Up-Grade” program, programs such as Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), the California College Guidance Initiative (CCGI), Grad Guru, and Shmoop have been added to our school’s repertoire. 
   For those of us in the know, these new programs are rocketing our college acceptability into the atmosphere. For those of us not in the know, check some of these programs out- you won’t regret it. AVID is an elective group of classes, where students get to focus on becoming college ready. Mondays and Fridays in the AVID elective classes are spent peer tutoring each other in order to attain a higher understanding of your core class curriculum. Thursdays are devoted to college and career guest speakers, as well as, scholarship and college requirements to get into the four year college or university of your choice. Tuesdays and Thursdays are spent increasing a student’s writing, organization, inquiry, collaboration, and reading skills; enabling AVID program students to be college willing and ready. The CCGI is the next amazing step in our journey towards a college atmosphere. CCGI allows all students who filed the permission slips to be initiated into a program that not only tells them their current A-G eligibility, but communicates their information to the CSU and UC systems; giving students and colleges immediate access to each other’s data. Students will have at the tips of their fingers the knowledge of where they place to be competitive when applying for colleges. Combining with CCGI is the Grad Guru app. This app sends our students text messages every day, reminding them of application start-up dates, deadlines, FAFSA filing, the DREAM Act, and scholarship information; it gives tips on how to elicit letters of recommendation, to write college essays, and other minutia. Last, the Shmoop program has been started on our campus. This amazing program gives our students access to all the study guides for state tests. Everything from SAT’s to AP tests can be found on this spectacular website and even better, the website is super user friendly. Each test begins with a diagnostic, and then contains short five-minute study guides on important topics that you can pick and choose from based on needs, then there are multiple practice tests to work through and see how you have improved. If you have not signed up for Shmoop yet, do so now. This is an invaluable resource that any student interested in college cannot live without!
   The programs that Mr. Wood has introduced to SHHS are not the only reason we have a college-oriented atmosphere on our campus, the students themselves have become a huge part of the college-environment. When visiting classes on campus, (such as Ms. Garczynski’s Spanish, Ms. Gilbert’s English, Ms. Greenstein’s Science, Ms. Frazer’s AVID, Ms. Alvarez’s Math, or Mr. Bautista’s Freshman Seminar) cooperative learning environments can be seen where students are taking control of their learning. Everywhere you look students are participating in dialogues that require respect and group agreements. Walk into these classrooms and you can see Socratic Seminars, student taught lesson plans, group work taking place through GoogleDocs, peer tutoring, pair shares, etcetera. Through the hard work and dedication of our principal, teachers, and especially SHHS students, Shadow Hills is becoming one of the top, elite college going schools in the valley. Knights Do It Right!