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Overview of the Seminar Component

A lot of questions have been asked about the seminar aspect of the new schedule proposal. Rightly so. This is a completely new attempt to meet the needs of our students. Not all of the logistical issues have been solved yet. We have looked at the general requirements to make it work, and we are confident we can meet them. Because this is a new experiment, we are sure there will be some problems along the way, but we are also excited about all the possibilities. Think of the following overview as general guidelines, but we've only scratched the surface of what we can do.

What is it?

The Seminar period is a short 28 minute class that will meet three times a week in nine week increments. Students may sign up for a variety of "seminars" offered by the staff, community members, or possibly other students under the supervision of a staff member. The seminars will go on student transcripts as pass / fail courses. (Students will not receive academic credit.)

Why do it?

Student Engagement
Giving students the opportunity to learn about something of their choosing will likely help students feel more connected to their school day. Although not in this exact format, we did find another school where mini-seminars were given in the English classes. The students were thrilled to have a chance to study something they chose and felt more connected with the learning environment.
Structured Enrichment
Students from all over the spectrum will have the time to expand their education. For some, this will be a structured remediation class, while others will be able to further explore areas of interest. Freshmen, for instance, will have a mandatory "Freshman Experience" seminar for their first nine weeks. (We hope to use this first seminar as a time to cope with our freshman failure rate.)
Consolidating Routine Interruptions
This period will be the used to make announcements, advisements, and pep rallies. Moving these interruptions to this time will ensure that instructional time can be maximized.
Academic Connection
Although the seminars should have a wide range of ideas, it is important to maintain a clear connection to some academic benefit. This requirement should not be seen as limiting. Anything from a novel study group to a class on Bridge has academic connections. A novel study group helps students appreciate literature where as a group of students learning Bridge learn about logical thinking, teamwork, and communication.

Sample Elective Seminar List

Below is a list of potential topics for elective seminars. The committee plans to survey teachers and students to find out what topics both are interested in. We have about 165 teachers who could offer these seminars to the students, which gives us a great deal of flexibility with planning sessions and keeping the seminar sizes small.

  1. Freshman would be required to take a Freshman Experience course for the first session. This could help the freshmen get acclimated to Centennial and provide a place for discussion and questions about high school.
  2. The following seminars will be for students who wish to supplement their coursework with extra study time or students who have been targeted as needing extra test preparation for high stakes testing:
    1. Study Hall
    2. Writing Lab (teachers could work with students who need help with essays)
    3. Test Prep (remediation)
    4. SAT Prep (could offer several of these in Verbal, Writing, and Math)
  3. The following list shows more examples of potential seminars for next year:
    1. College Focus (college search, focus on applying to schools)
    2. Resumes/Interviewing
    3. Guitar
    4. Knitting
    5. Culinary Arts
    6. Football/ Basketball Strategies and Coaching
    7. Poetry
    8. International Culture
    9. Peer Tutoring
    10. Creative Writing
    11. Novel Study/Book Club
    12. Current Issues
    13. Community Service (Start Something)
    14. Peer Diversity (ADL)
    15. Film Studies
    16. Public Speaking
    17. Language for Travelers
    18. Landscape Architecture
    19. Fiber Arts
    20. Creative Writing for World Languages
    21. Mathematics in Literature
    22. Math Tutoring (for various levels - Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Math 1)

These are only suggestions. The possibilities for seminars are limitless; teachers could propose whatever topics they are interested in teaching.
In addition, clubs could potentially meet during this period. For example, senior class council could meet for half of the sessions during a seminar period, and then the other half they could be involved in peer tutoring or working with freshmen.