Opportunity Center Program
Opportunity Center Program
OUR PURPOSE
Opportunity Center has a two-fold purpose. The first is to provide experiences that encourage a student's emotional and social growth, self awareness, responsibility, and self-esteem. The second purpose is to provide the educational skills and experiences that will enable students to transition to the world of work, or to additional post high school education and training.
THE SCHOOL
Opportunity Center is a small, award winning alternative high school with a family atmosphere. One of the oldest alternative programs in the state of Oregon, the school began in 1971 to meet the needs of at-risk middle school students, and evolved into an alternative high school during the 1983-84 school year. The program enrolls the most at-risk high school students from the Eugene district, focusing on those students who are in danger of dropping out. The school enrolls approximately 165-170 students at a time and services over 325 students in a typical school year. Entering students must live in District 4J, or have a district transfer if they live out of the district or if they move from the 4J attendance area.
THE STAFF
The program has eight teachers, one special education classroom aide, a secretary and registrar, and two child care specialists in the Opportunity Center nursery. In recent years grants and matching funds have enabled the retention of a part-time school to work coordinator and a small increase in nursing time.
THE CURRICULUM
Opportunity Center has an accelerated high school curriculum that was originally modeled on the adult high school completion programs found in the community colleges. Students need 220 credits from traditional academic areas like social studies, history, health, language arts, career education, math, science, art, and elective offerings in order to graduate. Students completing the program receive an alternative high school diploma. The OC diploma is sanctioned by District 4J, and qualifies program graduates for entry into state apprenticeship programs, community colleges, post high school training programs, and the military.
Classes ~ Opportunity Center classes are small and ungraded. Credit is variable and is measured by the quality of the student’s work, attendance in the class, and participation in the discussions and activities. Credit is also available for employment experiences and for volunteer efforts in the community. In addition to the regular academic classes, there are a number of specialized classes that address the personal and social issues of our student population. Young parent and early childhood classes are offered to parents. Anger management classes, stop smoking classes, and classes on AIDS, chemical dependency, and employment are also offered. The special education instructor offers a variety of classes designed to increase language, writing and math skills. In addition, there is strong emphasis across the curriculum on skill development, especially in reading, writing and math. Elective classes like pool, volleyball, basketball, the Internet, and craft classes focus on activities that students can continue to enjoy after graduation.
Young Parent Program ~ The Young Parent Program teaches important parenting skills to teen mothers and fathers. The program also accents nutrition, personal finance, and a wide variety of other issues that affect young parents. Social service agencies regularly visit to provide services and information, and to help students develop a network of connections to the larger community. The young parent program has a close working relationship with the University of Oregon Early Childhood Education program, providing valuable training opportunities for university students and allowing our program to acquire important information on new research and developments in the care and education of young children and their parents.
School to Work ~ The school to work component of the curriculum is managed by the school to work coordinator, the program’s special education teacher, and the career education teacher. This team is assisted by a district vocational training assistant. Members of the group examine an individual student’s needs, and help to develop a post high school employment or training plan.
Technology ~ The introduction of technology into the program has created new learning opportunities for the students and the staff. Basic computer skills are being taught and reinforced, and student research and writing has been enhanced, Online courses are being developed to extend the flexibility of the curriculum on site and at home.
PROGRAM ORGANIZATION
Group Leaders ~ Each of the eight teachers and the special education assistant are designated as group leaders. Each student is assigned a group leader upon enrolling. The group leader tracks the academic progress and attendance for each of the 15 to 20 students in the group. The group leader also helps students problem solve solutions to academic, social, or personal issues. The group leader meets the group twice weekly to communicate about attendance, course work, or other issues that arise. In addition, all group leaders meet in a twice weekly staff meetings to discuss students, the program, and general school policy.
Conflict Management ~ The group leaders mediate the conflict management system. If a conflict occurs and the group leader finds it advisable, a conference is called. Students, parents and interested parties are notified as necessary. Resolution of the conflict is required. Students unable to manage an appropriate accommodation are asked to withdraw from the program. The conflict management program is successful because students understand the procedures and the procedures are enforced with equality and fairness. As a result, students report that they feel safe and respected at school.
Attendance ~ Attendance is a critical factor in maintaining a placement in the program. There are no excused absences under this system. The group leaders monitor attendance closely. If a student’s weekly attendance falls below 80% three weeks in any six week grading period, the student may be placed in Friday School. Failure to attend Friday School classes may result in the student being released from the program. Opportunity Center regularly has a waiting list of students who want to enter the program. If a student in the program is unwilling to attend and work the program, that student is requested to withdraw so another may have the chance to enroll and graduate. The exiting student may request to return to the bottom of the waiting list, and rejoin the program at a future time.
Academic Terms ~ Our school year has six, six week terms. Shorter terms are appropriate to student attention levels and also enables the small staff to offer a larger variety of classes through the year.Divided Schedule ~ Our day is divided into a morning and an afternoon session. This structure allows the staff to serve a larger number of students, and also works well for those students who have jobs before or after school, or those students who have important responsibilities at home. The same classes are offered during the morning and afternoon sessions. Hot lunch is served between the two sessions. The divided schedule operates Monday through Thursday. On Fridays, enrichment classes are offered.
Friday Classes ~ The Friday class offerings are flexible and change weekly. Friday classes offer opportunities for students to experience enrichment activities that are unavailable because of the time structure of the regular school week. Friday classes include field trips, special events or speakers. The Friday schedule improves the academic consistency of the regular school week because it reduces disruptions created by students and staff being out of the building.
Friday School ~ In order to improve student retention and reduce the dropout rate, the Opportunity Center program offers Friday School as an option to withdrawing or releasing a student. Friday School classes are offered only on Fridays and a student is enrolled in Friday School only when the student is unable to find success in the regular program. Friday School students are required to complete six Friday School classes during the unit that follows their removal from the regular program. If the student is unable to complete this requirement, the student may be released back to the home school. With the successful completion of the Friday School requirement the student is immediately re-enrolled in the regular program.
3411 - B Willamette Street 97405 687-3488