Teaching Context

I work at River HomeLink, a K-12 alternative learning experience (ALE) school in the Battle Ground School District, where I teach 6-12 grade English Language Arts classes. I primarily work with 9-12 graders in our High School Diploma Program, but I took on a class of 6-8 graders about three years ago as well. As an "alternative school," my context has different freedoms and challenges than a traditional high school or middle school setting.

We do not meet for classes five days per week. I have contact with my classes two times per week on either a Monday/Thursday or Tuesday/Friday rotation. The other three days of the week, students are learning from home with their parents/guardians.

In the history of Washington State's Alternative Education, our school is what was once designated as a "Parent-Partnered Program." Ever since I joined RHL in the fall of 2003, I have been working on innovations to my traditional teacher mindset to help communicate and collaborate with parents, which involves relinquishing "control" of 60% of students' total learning time, and to provide structure and support for parents and students who work remotely from me.

Many of my innovations have included technology integrations into my practice. A sample teaching schedule in a 5 Block Class Schedule in this model can be found below.

My Actual 2019-2020 Schedule