Unity With The Move

Moving schools is hard, and that us exactly what I am going to have to do. My school Science Leadership Academy (SLA) will be moving into Ben Franklin High Schools campus, due to our lease being up. Their school is very different from mine. So I thought that it would be a good idea to bring up the issue of how we are going to get along. My hopes are very high going into this new situation, everyone has to adjust but I hope it will all go smoothly. That being said, there might be a few bumps along the way because of how different the two schools are. I want to fix any problems that might occur in the future.

Science Leadership Academy is a public high school that holds about 500 students. SLA is project based, which means we are inquiry driven where we learn by doing major projects rather than midterms or finals. It is a different process to get into SLA than other schools, because you have to do an interview. SLA not only wants to see that you can make and present a nice project, they also want to get to know you and what new students can offer to our community. Our community is something that make us special and unlike other schools, because everyone who goes to SLA is quirky and unique. SLA gives a lot of freedom to be who you are and also a lot of privileges. For example, our laptop program, where all students get a laptop to do school work on. With this comes a lot of responsibility, and teachers know that they can trust us. SLA has achieved above average on all of their test scores. Not only are our academics are great, but  according to Great Schools, SLAs rating is an 8/10.

This is a picture of Science Leadership Academy

Ben Franklin High School is very different, they are a public school from grades 9-12. This school holds about 700 students, which is a couple hundred more than SLA. They have a very strict dress code, unlike SLA where we have total freedom to wear what we want. Including everything from a logo on the shirt, to making sure you have a belt. Ben Franklin's test scores are 56% below state average. Which is very low compared to SLA’s. Also 100% are low income students.

This is a picture of Ben Franklin High school

Ben Franklin’s mission is to “provide a high quality education that prepares, ensures, and empowers all students to achieve their full intellectual and social potential.” SLA’s mission is to “provide a vigorous, college-preparatory curriculum with a focus on science, technology, mathematics, and entrepreneurship.” Ben Franklin's vision is to  “become successful and socially responsible individuals” and also go to college. While SLA’s core values are “inquiry, research, collaboration, presentation, and reflection”. As you can see, these schools are very unique in their own way.

Once my school moves into Ben Franklin's campus, we will have access to many more things. For example like a gym and more learning space. With that being said Ben Franklin High School is making big adjustments, into their curriculum and their campus. Knowing that these two schools are not very alike, all the students and staff are going to have to figure out a way to get along. Not only will the SLA students have to teach Ben Franklin students about how we learn, because they are going from there curriculum to being project based. Both schools will become so much closer to each other because they will share a some of the same spaces. I know that this might be difficult to some, because of how the schools are like opposites. So far my research has showed me that we can really help Ben Franklin improve on things and how much they can benefit from us. I want to bring both schools together and make the situation easier for everyone.

This is my annotated bibliography.