BY
EARLENE WARD - FOR THE SIERRA STAR
SUBMITTED
The Yosemite Joint Union High School District has two necessary
small schools, Foothill High located in Yosemite Lakes Park and
Raymond-Granite High located in Raymond.
Eight high schools
make up the Yosemite Joint Union High School District, offering
students a variety of educational options.
Yosemite High School is the district’s comprehensive school in which
the majority of the students are enrolled.
Four other high schools are located on property adjacent to YHS,
one is located in downtown Oakhurst, one in Yosemite Lakes Park
and one in Raymond.
Mountain View High School (MVHS) is located adjacent to YHS and
serves ninth and tenth graders.
Tom Fiormonti is principal of MVHS. “Mountain View is a transitional
program for freshmen and sophomore students who are in need of a
more structured, individualized program in a self-contained classroom,”
Fiormonti said.
“The goal of the program is to provide students with an opportunity
to stay on track to graduation and to hopefully provide them with
the skills necessary to be successful in a traditional high school
setting.
“Students who enroll at Mountain View will be placed in a self-contained
classroom for five periods of the day to receive instruction in
the core curricular areas of math, English, science and social science.
For the remaining two periods of the day they are enrolled in courses
on the Yosemite High campus, typically a physical education class
and an elective of their choice. The program affords students a
more personalized and individualized approach to education,” Fiormonti
said.
Also located on property adjacent to YHS are Ahwahnee High School,
Evergreen High School and Yosemite Adult High School. Roberta Tackett
is principal of these three schools.
Ahwahnee is a continuation high school which accepts students on
both a voluntary and involuntary basis with the majority attending
on a voluntary basis. There is a teacher and two instructional aides.
The school added another portable classroom during 2004-05 that
will serve as a computer lab, giving students enhanced opportunities
to use technology.
A basketball court was also installed at the back of the campus
last year, allowing students an opportunity to get physical exercise
during breaks from class.
Over the past few years, AHS students have had a number of community
service projects including helping plant flowers along the community
walkway and helping with work at the Putney Ranch Camp which is
operated by the Madera County Sheriff’s Department.
AHS students contribute to the alternative education literary magazine.
“Students in all of the alternative schools participate in a variety
of extra curricular activities that change from year to year based
on student interests,” Tackett said.
Evergreen is an independent study school located adjacent to YHS.
Students spend at least an hour a week at the school getting assignments,
taking tests and turning in completed work. They also participate
in class activities on the computer, and they work in science labs.
The rest of their work is done at home. There are four teachers
at EHS.
EHS also has a program for pregnant and parenting teens. Community
members volunteer their time to baby-sit the children while their
mother or father is at EHS. There is also a playground at EHS, donated
by the current YJUHSD Board of Trustees President Priscilla Pike,
for use by the small children while their parent is at school.
Located near EHS and AHS is Yosemite Adult High School which provides
educational opportunities for people over 18 years of age. This
is also an independent study program where students can earn a high
school diploma or prepare themselves to take the General Educational
Development (GED) test. There are two teachers at YAHS.
Glacier High School became part of the YJUHSD two years ago and
serves students who are primarily home schooled. The school is located
off Highway 41 north of Oakhurst. Students spend some time at the
school’s facility but do most of their work at home. Parents are
an integral part of GHS. The YJUHSD provided the school with a portable
science classroom last year, giving students the opportunity to
complete a laboratory science.
Many of the students at GHS are graduates of Mountain Home School
which is part of the Bass Lake Elementary School District. The two
schools share the same facility. Mike Cox is principal of Glacier
High.
The YJUHSD has two necessary small schools. These facilities must
be located at least 20 miles from the district’s main campus. The
schools are, Foothill High located in Yosemite Lakes Park and Raymond-Granite
High located in Raymond. Tackett is principal of both of these schools.
FHS offers classroom instruction and independent study. There are
two classrooms at FHS and two teachers.
Raymond-Granite High offers classes for high school students and
for adults. High school students attend classes at the school and
adults work through independent study.
The school features a kitchen where students help prepare lunch
once a month, a computer lab where they work on robotics along with
other projects, there is a wood shop where personal projects and
community projects are completed and the students do landscaping
projects at their school and in the community.
There is one full-time and one part-time teacher at RGHS.
Much of the work at RGHS is experiential learning, according to
Tackett, where students do a lot of hands-on activities related
to their course of study.
“Our alternative programs provide a wonderful opportunity for students
who have needs that make it difficult for them to attend Yosemite
High,” said YJUHSD Superintendent, Bill McCabe. He notes that some
students have to work, making it impossible for them to be in the
classroom all day, 180 days a year. Others have family obligations
that require more of their time than they would have available as
a full-time student.
“All alternative education students meet the same academic requirements
as every other student in the district,” Tackett explained. “There
is also a wide selection of elective courses available and unique
courses can be designed for students’ individual interests.”
Because of the nature of independent study, students can do their
schoolwork any time; they are not obligated to certain hours and
certain days. They do, however, have an assigned time when they
must report to school.
AHS students attend classes four hours a day five days a week and
complete some of their assignments at home.
“The one-on-one personal contact the students have with their teachers
is not available anywhere else,” Tackett said of the alternative
programs. “The teachers become the students’ mentors and take a
personal interest in their lives and problems.”
“The alternative education program offered by the district helps
us with our mission of meeting the needs of every student,” McCabe
said.
“It is critical that every student receive a high school education
and not every student is able to, or wants to attend a comprehensive
school. We have added to our alternative program over the years
as needs arise and we will continue to be mindful of the needs of
all of our students. I am proud of all of our schools and how they
meet student needs.”
Another program offered by the YJUHSD, but is not part of the alternative
programs, is Adult Education through the Yosemite Community Education
Center that offers fee-based classes to adults in the community.
These classes are offered at night and on Saturdays. These are not
classes leading to a diploma but, rather, are courses offered for
adults to take for enrichment or special interest.
Many of the classes are related to technology but there are also
a variety of other classes offered. Most classes are held at the
YHS campus, with some computer classes offered at FHS and some art
and dance classes offered at the Sierra Senior Center in Oakhurst.
Tackett is the principal of this program.
Course schedules are mailed to residents at the beginning of each
semester and the catalog of courses is also posted on the district
Web site at www.yosemiteuhsd.com (go to YCEC on the menu bar on
the left of the district’s home page).
Tackett says they are always interested in adding new classes in
the YCEC program. Anyone who has a class they would like to take,
or anyone who has an idea of a class to teach, can call Tackett
at (559) 683-8801 ext. 241 and discuss their interests.
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