January 15th, 2020

PRE-AP COMMUNITY SURVEY – EXTENDED TO JAN. 31st

SJAM was opened in 2004, and has offered the AP program as a grade 9 to 12 pathway since 2013. In 2015 we became one of the first schools in the WRDSB to pilot the 1:1 Chromebook initiative and have most recently in 2019 we have developed our Highlander Innovation Lab program which students apply to at Grades 11 and 12. We hope to remain at the leading edge of educational opportunities in the WRDSB.

During the 2019-2020 school year we are actively engaged in a vision process as a school. Our school culture is one of high expectations for all learners, and we value inclusive and innovative education opportunities for all students.

As a part of our process we are reviewing our AP programs in Math, English and Science. We have very few students (less than a dozen a year) who complete the ultimate goal of the AP program, which is the standardized exam at the end of the grade 12 year. We also struggle to maintain full classes of AP students in our grade 11 and 12 program, depending on course, which means other sections must have more than 30 students to compensate. Some AP classes have had to be cancelled for low numbers in the last few years. Additionally, the AP curriculum focus is provided for us , thus allowing for little content creativity from its teachers and a very traditional evaluation method.

We do know that there are many positive aspects of the AP program that our staff, students, and parent community value. Any school specialized programs SJAM offers should support the type of education our community wants but also meet the needs of all learners. We are considering whether or not our school specialized program opportunity should be AP in all 3 current subject areas or in all grades.

This survey will help us understand the opinions of the school community as we consider our future school program options. The survey will stay open until January 31st, 2020 (extended deadline) and the results will be shared with the community on our website. We are grateful for your feedback and we thank you for your participation in this important consultation process.

Sincerely,
SJAM School Improvement Planning Team

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