The UHS program hopes to promote student development as lifelong, autonomous learners. The Program Essentials provide the framework upon which UHS is built. Program Essentials focus on helping each student learn to set goals, monitor progress, and modify their own behavior; all of which are evaluated on an ongoing basis. These are the requirements that set the UHS Program apart from other secondary programs in the district and which clearly establish the intent and purpose of the program in terms of long-term outcomes for students.
Grade Requirements
UHS requires students be responsible for their own learning and to demonstrate mastery of graduation requirements. UHS students must receive a proficient (“B”) or better in all language arts and Mathematics courses and partially proficient (“C”) or better in all other required content areas. Students entering UHS with high school credit(s) below the UHS requirement must work to reassess the content area(s) until the minimum proficiency is achieved.
Orientation Seminar
Provisional UHS students will be required to take a UHS Orientation Seminar with the UHS Program Coordinator during their first semester in UHS. The purpose of the Orientation Seminar is threefold: examine personal growth and development, create a cohort among new UHS members, and learn what it means to be in UHS as well as how to utilize the flexible options provided through the program. In order to become an Established member of UHS, students must achieve a proficient in Orientation Seminar. Orientation Seminar will count as a .5 elective credit on the transcript.
Goal Review & Organization Weekly (GROW) Meetings
UHS students are required to meet with the UHS Counselor weekly to monitor academic progress, set goals, and reflect upon growth.
Personal/Career Exploration Learning Unit
The Personal/Career Exploration Learning Unit encourages the student to extend a significant amount of time examining how they might want to utilize their interests, talents, and strengths in the future. Personal Exploration could include interest and learning style inventories, investigating new academic interests, computer research, or other personal examinations. Career Exploration could be satisfied through mentorship, entry-level paying jobs, job shadowing, preparing/participating in job interview or job fairs, web-based college or career searches, autobiographical studies, or volunteering. Career Exploration involves exploring different career and job possibilities.
Applied/Service Learning Unit
The Applied/Service Learning Unit facilitates solving real-world problems and/or building connections to the community through volunteer activities. Applied Projects allow the student the opportunity to engage in personally relevant civic action. With support, the student plans, implements, and evaluates the project from beginning to end. Service Projects are volunteer activities in which the student gives time, energy and/or expertise for the betterment of their community.
Advanced Study Learning Unit
The purpose of the Advanced Study Learning Unit is for each student to make high level, progressive development in a chosen area of study until ultimately they perform beyond a high school level in that area. The hope is an advanced study represents an accumulation of experiences over a student’s years in high school which result in their being much more skilled, knowledgeable, and capable than when they began. UHS appropriate level of proficiency is required.
Presentations of Learning
The Presentations of Learning showcase each student’s progress toward graduation, how they are utilizing the UHS program to meet their unique needs, and what type(s) of non-traditional study they are undertaking. Each year the students give an oral presentation to UHS peers, the UHS Coordinator and Counselor, and others by invitation describing how they have grown as a learner and what skills and knowledge they have acquired.
Best Works Portfolio
Throughout a student’s educational experience at UHS, they are expected to maintain a comprehensive record of work completed and evidence of learning that will be maintained in a Best Works Portfolio.