We Are Engaged
We Are Engaged
Embedded Files
Through focus group research, the following classroom engagement strategies were defined by IHS students as helpful or supportive in their success in the classroom. For the past two years, we’ve asked our current students how they feel about these strategies. Here’s what they had to say!
Percentage identified as Absolutely necessary for student engagement or important for student engagement:
Step-by-step explanations: 80%
Teacher check-Ins for understanding of material: 79.8%
The opportunity for revisions or retakes: 79.1%
In this lesson, we investigate our the "E" in Sixers-- Engaged. Engagement is defined as strong relationships between students, teachers, families, and schools, and strong connections between schools and the broader community. Student engagement is a key element of a positive school climate, with a large body of research linking it to academic achievement.
Listen to how some SIXERS engage in and out of the classroom, then let us know-- Why is it important to engage in our school and community? How will YOU engage in school this year?
Academy of Finance Mentorship Program
Academy of Finance Mentorship Program
By Chau Quach, Academy of Finance Coordinator
The Academy of Finance at Independence High School kicked off the third year of their mentorship program in January! Finance Academy juniors and seniors who sign up for the program get paired up with volunteer mentors from a variety of professional backgrounds in the local community (sometimes even from the East Coast!). Pairings are made based on student interest in a certain profession or based on student needs if possible (depends on volunteer availability).
Mentor sessions are completely virtual and total about 6-7 sessions. Students meet with their mentors for about 1-1.5 hours each session. An agenda and activities are provided for each meeting and focus on topics such as self-esteem, smart goals, career explorations, job shadow experience, resume and mock interview support.
Our mentors have ranged in professions such as chief finance officer, accountant, small business owners, product design engineer, art director, product manager, nurse, scientist, architect, lawyer, chef, and more. Companies represented by our mentors include: Google, Apple, Excite Credit Union, Microsoft, Cradlepoint, Meta, Deloitte, Levi's, Nike, Paving Your Way Forward, La Papillion, and more. Since 2020, we've had 70 students and 70 mentors participate in the program. Several pairs have reported back that they still keep in touch with each other.
As an added bonus, we have a few Sixer alumni (Jessica & Jocelyn Yu, Chelsey Cartwright (Prewitt) , Sabrina Truong, Lam-Anh Le, Kathryn Coehlo, etc) return to participate and give back to their community each year!
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