At Universal High School, students ‘smart and accepted’

The high school students in the small seminar group were spread out at tables, comfy chairs and couches while working on their original independent studies projects during their seminar time on Monday.

Their in-depth projects encompassed a wide range of topics and interests, including ballet, computer programming, rock climbing, conversational Spanish, photography and learning to play the piano.

Universal High School juniors Kayla Stangis, left, and Melissa Coon work on completing some homework before the end of the day. UHS is an alternative, gifted-and-talented program, housed at Silver Creek High School, that provides students with a more flexible, independent form of learning. Kira Horvath, Longmont Ledger

“Our students have very diverse interests,” said Mary Kennedy, coordinator of the Universal High School (UHS) program offered by the St. Vrain Valley School District. “These are our new students this semester. They are just learning the nuts and bolts of the program and exploring their options.”

The UHS program, housed at Silver Creek High School, is organized under the gifted and talented umbrella. It caters to students who are intellectually and/or creatively gifted and want a faster pace and more depth in a subject than they can receive in a regular classroom. Currently, 27 students are enrolled in the program.

“The structure of regular school doesn’t work for these students,” Kennedy said. “Many of them want more depth in subjects. They may be focused on a career path, or have demanding outside school schedules. Some don’t enjoy the social environment. These students are self-directed, capable, very bright and creative. Our program fits their unique needs.”

UHS students can choose from a menu of options for their classes, including traditional high school classes, college courses at Front Range Community College or the University of Colorado, online courses, correspondence courses and independent study. They can take part in internships and mentorships to learn about possible careers; in fact, they must complete 100 hours of career exploration as one of the graduation requirements.

Students meet weekly with UHS program counselor Susan Metzler to review goals and weekly progress, share evidence of learning and make sure they are on track with their academic plans.

“My goal is to make sure they are excited about what they are working on,” Metzler said. “I work to empower them. Some students spend a lot of time figuring out who they are and where they want to go. I just try to give them whatever guidance they may need to get there.”

“This program creates a nice sense of community among the students,” Kennedy said. “They can be smart and be accepted here.”

The UHS program requires students to score proficient or better in all subjects, complete 100 hours of service learning and three units in “technology,” in addition to the career exploration requirements.

“Our students have a electronic portfolio of their work when they complete their degree requirements,” Kennedy said. “Many explore different applications of technology in their creative and academic work.”

Students enrolled in Universal High School usually start as sophomores or juniors, but freshmen have enrolled. “We can’t take seniors because they can’t complete the requirements in only a year,” Kennedy said.

Junior Eric Lennard has used some of his career exploration hours to shadow Math, Engineering and Science Achievement program teachers in Lyons schools.

“I found that I really liked education,” he said. “I think I might want to teach in a program like Universal High School someday. It’s harder to be non-conforming, and I would understand that.”

Junior Kayla Stangis enrolled in UHS partly because she was bored in her classes. “I would understand the material much faster than the class moved, so I would be bored,” she said. “And I hate busywork. With this program, I can move at my own pace and there’s no busywork.”

Junior Anna Lenhert sought out UHS for the schedule flexibility it could give her.

“I dance and play the harp, and that takes up a lot of my time,” she said. “I need a flexible schedule, and UHS can give me that.” Lenhert takes classes at Front Range Community College, does independent study classes in government and choreography, and is taking an online physics class from the University of Nebraska. She thinks she might try to incorporate some quantum physics into her classes “just because it is interesting to me.”

“This is why I need flexibility – I try a lot of new things,” she said.

Junior Melissa Coon came to UHS because she didn’t like the traditional high school classes. “There was a lot of make-work, and I hated that,” she said. “And if you didn’t understand something, the teachers just kept on going and you would just get a poor grade. Here, I can keep working on a subject at my own pace until I understand it completely.”

Coon, who just enrolled in UHS this semester, is learning to play the piano as her original independent study project. She already plays the clarinet, violin and guitar. Coon also is exploring a variety of disciplines as she looks at her options for classes.

“One of the strengths of the UHS program is that we can give our students the opportunity to explore all sorts of subjects,” Kennedy said.

Freshman Allison Hughes wanted a program that took her out of traditional classes and allowed her to be more independent and explore her artistic side. “Right now I am interested in photography,” she said. “Next semester, my original independent study project will focus on landscape and portrait photography.” Hughes also worked on the school play, doing set design and construction.

“I used to complain all the time about my middle school classes, and my Mom is really happy that she found this program,” Hughes said. “Now I don’t complain about school at all.”