Honors Humanities Seminar at SMHS Nominated for Education Award

The Honors Humanities Seminar program at San Marino High School, a collaborative effort between the SMUSD and the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, was recently selected as a finalist for the 2017 Golden Bell Awards.
Golden Bell Awards recognize outstanding programs and governance practices of school boards in school districts and county offices of education throughout California. It is sponsored by the California School Boards Association and has been in existence for 38 years.
In 2015, the district created the course in partnership with the Huntington Library. The innovative, online blended program utilizes cross curricular collaboration and integrates The Huntington’s collections into a unique learning experience. The seminar is a Golden Bell Awards finalist in the program category “Community Schools through Partnerships and Collaboration.”
English teacher Amanda Hernandez and Visual Arts teacher Michelle Pauline both serve as instructors for the Honors Humanities Seminar course. The course was the subject of a feature article in the April 14, 2017 edition of The Tribune.
“The Golden Bell Award recognizes extraordinary programs while rewarding innovation,” said Superintendent Dr. Alex Cherniss. “This is the most prestigious achievement a program can receive, and I’m so proud of Ms. Hernandez, Ms. Pauline, Assistant Principal Doug Berry and our students for making this dream a reality.”
This is the third year the class has been in existence. Each Monday, students grab a quick bite to eat aboard a bus to The Huntington, where they stay through 4th period and lunch. Online posts are made Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and they reassemble in a classroom on Fridays. A blog records the thoughts of the students, who by the end of the school year will have visited just about every corner of the institution.
The class is a University of California-approved Honors English elective and enjoyed such early popularity, it has to be filled through a lottery system.
The genesis of Honors Humanities came during a meeting between Superintendent Dr. Alex Cherniss and officials at The Huntington just a few weeks after Cherniss took over in July, 2015.
“We were talking about a partnership between the school district and I thought, ‘why not a class?’” Cherniss recalls. “I relayed the idea to then-Principal Mary Johnson and she and her staff did the rest of the work. I think it’s a great addition to our curriculum.”
“On behalf of the Board of Education, congratulations to Mr. Berry and his team for this remarkable achievement,” said School Board President C. Joseph Chang. “The Honors Humanities Seminar program is an excellent example of working together with the Huntington Library and the district’s successful partnerships with the San Marino community to benefit our students.”
“This groundbreaking course is taught by two amazing teachers and strives to provide San Marino High School students a 21st-century learning experience through innovative instructional strategies, while taking advantage of the one of a kind resources at the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens,” said Berry. “The collaboration between these two groups provides students with a college-level class experience which is equivalent to a UC course.”
The Golden Bell Awards will be presented on November 30.