San Marino High School Principal Benjamin Wolf has detailed the Titan action plan modeled in line with the San Marino Unified School District Board of Education goals, with his presentation capping off the last of the SMUSD schools.
Wolf on Sept. 26 outlined the subjects and solutions that he and Assistant Principal Sara Penalora collaborated on to align with the Board’s overarching benchmarks it released earlier this year.
SAFETY AND WELLNESS
For the first goal of safety and wellness, Wolf said SMHS has been participating in ongoing safety training for its staff, students and families, as well as teaming up with the district’s security specialist, Peter Crabbe, to map out the school’s safety plans.
“We are continuing to work with Mr. Crabbe on our safety plans,” Wolf said. “He’s had meetings with teachers and has been looking at our campus. We had our first drill that was very successful, and we are coming up on our next one in a month.”
SMHS teachers have also adopted the use of taking attendance with the Catapult Emergency Management System. The district uses the Catapult EMS to improve two-way communications among staff to streamline student accountability in the event of an emergency. It is mobile-friendly, alerts-based, and integrates data from the district’s student information system for improved incident responses. Catapult EMS is used in drills and safety exercises.
“It was our first chance to see how many of our teachers were taking attendance with their phones, and I think we’ve had 100%. … That’s really great, because they’re not required to use it, but we’re really happy that San Marino teachers have chosen to use their personal cell phones and make sure they are using the best technology for safety,” Wolf said.
As the Titan Wellness Center continues to serve its school community, Wolf said SMHS is working on coordinating wellness between the center and its counseling department.
“We have so many amazing resources on our campus, with all the interns in the wellness center and our four counselors, so taking a multi-tiered system of supports approach, where we look at the best, closest-to-the-classroom interventions for students is really important,” Wolf said. “What can our teachers do for wellness and then what can our counselors do and then what can the wellness center do, making sure that we are going through those levels to help our students closest to the classroom as possible.”
Through its homeroom period, social-emotional learning curriculum is taught to students by the Counseling Department.
“Homeroom serves two really important features for wellness: It allows our counselors to do wellness lessons, but it is also a wellness time of day in it of itself, allowing students to unwind at the end and accomplish some of their homework, which lowers their stress level, so homeroom period is going to be really important to us when it comes to safety and wellness,” Wolf said.
Additionally, Wolf said the recent switch to a block schedule has been beneficial for students and their mental health.
“Block scheduling allows students to take fewer classes during the day and have fewer assignments,” he said, adding that students can go into the subject matter in more depth during the school day, reducing their workload when it’s time to head back home.
Wolf also noted that SMHS has plans to address the way it assigns homework and grading in the future.
“There’s a lot of research on grading reform and the effects it has on students both academically and from a wellness standpoint,” Wolf said.
FISCAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY
To ensure San Marino High School’s fiscal health and sustainability, teachers, staff and community members are helping to shape the school’s needs assessment and master plan to keep its facilities top notch, attractive and functional, said Wolf, who noted that about eight faculty members will be meeting with architects this month to discuss ideas for campus facilities.
To reduce the cost of transportation, the school has acquired three vans and is looking at possibly adding a fourth in the future, for occasions when full-size buses for small groups are not necessary.
The principal also stressed the importance of promoting and sharing the school’s successes and new programs, especially online. Instagram has seen more followers recently, said Wolf, who takes pride in the excitement of the photos shared to social media with the community, making them aware of the school’s accomplishments like the opening of the Titan Medical Arts Academy.
SERVICE, VALUE,
APPRECIATION
On the topic of appreciation, Wolf said the high school ordered new furniture to refurbish the staff lounge to make employees feel valued.
Another new addition to campus is the reinstatement of the Social Committee, which Wolf said is going to plan events to recognize staff and faculty, and provide them with social, bonding opportunities in partnership with the school’s PTA.
Wolf recalled a BBQ he hosted before the school year began and how the PTA stepped in to purchase all of the hamburgers and hot dogs. He expressed gratitude for the PTA’s generosity and looks forward to them continuing to do events throughout the year.
Wolf said he and his assistant principal are concentrating their time and efforts toward having a presence at all of the school’s activities and athletic events.
“Sara and I have been to every sport by now,” Wolf said. “I go to every away and home football game, and every event possible, so people see us and talk to us.”
SMHS celebrates student success and shares the news through the school’s newsletter, email messages, social media and recognitions at SMUSD Board meetings — all of which Wolf said are sales tools that can help attract prospective students. He also said the school is looking into making short films about the school to be posted online to pique the interest of families who want to join the Titan family and stay in the school district.
PREPARE STUDENTS TO BE GLOBAL CITIZENS
Restorative practices and the universal design for learning model are being continued at SMHS, with its second cohort of teachers now ready to implement its lessons in their classrooms.
“I’ve been working with our staff in faculty meetings to look at data, specifically looking at some of the English language arts question areas that are not tied to English classrooms — things our science and social studies teachers can do with our students to help their literacy and scores on CAASPP (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress),” Wolf said.
After previously speaking with fellow Titan and SMUSD student Board member Megan Choa, Wolf said he decided he wanted to develop a student voice panel at the high school to bridge the gap between new research on teaching tools and what is applicable to SMHS students.
“I do feel that it is very important to have a student voice in the things that we do, and I’m planning on putting together a student voice panel that is very specific to what is happening in the classroom,” Wolf said. “Especially because San Marino is a unique community, a lot of them will look at some research that’s done in Title I schools and they’ll say, ‘Well, this won’t work in an affluent community where students are already highly motivated,’ and a lot of times, they are right. But what they can’t ignore is what students tell them … what they think is working best in their classrooms and what they think isn’t.”
First published in the Oct.12 issue of the San Marino Tribune
