Avalon School

Avalon School is a project-based charter high school in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is a small, democratic liberal arts high school.

Advisors

At Avalon, teachers (called 'advisors') are referred to by their first names:

*Carrie Bakken (Social Studies)
*Dean Walczak (Finance Manager, Science)
*Geri Connelly (Art)
*Gretchen Sage-Martinson (English)
*Jackie Powell (Social Worker)
*Jo Sullivan (Biology)
*Kevin Ward (English)
*Andy Richardson (Social Studies)
*Regina Goldner (Middle school math)
*Pete LaFrance (Science)
*Laura Bader (Math)
*Annika Bowers (Spanish)
*Nora Whalen (Social Studies)
*Anna Wesley (Middle School)
*Monessa Newell (Middle School)
*Bret Running (Special Education)
*Becky Yuzna (Special Education)

Some of the advisors are leaders of a homeroom-like group of students, called advisories. Advisories are housed in room-sized cubicles. Advisories are spaces where students work on independent projects or other assignments for math or seminars. Each student has their desk space which they can decorate as they please. The advisories create a semi-homey environment ideal for getting work done

Math

The Avalon math program used to utilize software called Accelerated Math, created by Renaissance Learning. In the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year, Avalon switched math curriculum to a combination of classroom instruction and accelerated math. Everyday from 9:20-10:20 the majority of the student body goes to either geometry, algebra one, or algebra two. In the math classes they use the assignments and quizzes from accelerated math but every class is run like that of a normal public high school. The teacher discusses and teaches the topics for the day and students work on putting skills to work.

Projects

Avalon is project-based, meaning the focus of the student's work is independent projects. If a student has an idea for a project, he or she must fill out a proposal form and rubric, get parent approval, and present their idea to their advisor. When the project has been completed, the student must do a reflection -- a process of answering questions about the development of a student's project, what he/she learned and how this helps the world/community. It is then taken back to the advisor, who asks the student questions and uses a rubric to assess the grade.

eminars

Seminars are, simply put, classes. These classes are specifically tailored to Minnesota graduation standards although they are not usually your traditional "Intro to Literature" style courses. Instead, the advisors get creative making classes such as "Rights of Passage", "World Genocide", or "1950's Literature". There is usually a small class size. Although some classes, such as Economics, can become quite large. They are generally discussion based and allow the students to have quite a bit of control.

Avalon Middle School

Avalon recently added a middle school, which accepts students in grades 7 and 8.

External links

* [http://www.avalonschool.org Avalon School Website]
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