Paramount, CA – The Paramount Unified High School Promise team has visited four campuses this school year, observing new classrooms and meeting with students and teachers to gather learning opportunities to share with the District.

The staff – 29 educators, parents and community members – journeyed to McBride High School in Long Beach, Da Vinci Schools in El Segundo, High Tech Los Angeles and Del Lago Academy in Escondido to expand learning opportunities for Paramount’s nearly 5,000 high school students.
“It was an eye-opening experience to see firsthand how other schools approach education and put their students in positions to be successful,” said Ryan D. Smith, Paramount’s assistant superintendent and head of the Promise team. “We’re really grateful to the schools for allowing us to observe their curriculum and exchange ideas that can be beneficial for all of our students.”

The Promise team visits began in October, when the group journeyed to High Tech High and Del Lago. The group visited McBride in November and Da Vinci Schools in December, spending a full day at each. The days featured presentations by faculty, classroom visits and insightful conversations with students.
Several practices stood out to the Promise team as intriguing techniques. High Tech establishes an achievement culture, in part, by referring to all students as scholars; Del Lago enjoys strong partnerships with community businesses that help students find internships, and McBride has a pathways program that includes criminal justice/investigation, engineering, health science and medical technology.

“Watching the collaboration between educators at each school and the way the young learners responded to curriculum was a big takeaway for me,” Promise team member Holly Hennessy said. “It’s useful to look at new methods for inspiring students as we strive to prepare our high school pupils for college and careers.”

In addition to school visits, High School Promise will pull from a variety of resources to find innovative curriculum to inspire college and career preparedness. The staff meets regularly to review findings and exchange new ideas.

“We’re learning valuable lessons from these visits but also building partnerships throughout the state with groups that share a common goal of creating the best future for our students,” Superintendent Ruth Pérez said. “This will only make us better educators and our District stronger.”

PHOTO CAPTIONS:

011217_PARAMOUNT_PROMISE1: Paramount’s High School Promise is a team of 29 members who pull from a variety of resources to inspire college and career preparedness for the District’s students.

011217_PARAMOUNT_PROMISE2: The Paramount High School Promise team has visited four campuses this school year to gather learning opportunities to share with the District.