Avanti High School is a public small school of alternative learners that serves grades 9-12 within a small city urban setting. The school serves as one of the Olympia School District's alternative programs. The school currently has 150 students and every student is known as relationships, habits of mind and heart, and an advisory program exits in order to support the school's core values. Additionally, the school places a heavy emphasis on the integration of the arts, experiential learning, and social justice and equity.
The whole school essential question for Avanti High School is:
How do we maintain our small school core values and practices when an external expectation for growth and conformity exists?
The work that lies ahead for us (whole school) is in developing systems and practices that allow for growth without threatening our collective sense of community.
We are a school that has been recognized for our ability to integrate the arts in an interdisciplinary manner. Another strength of the school is an overall emphasis on experiential and entrepreneurial learning experiences we provide students. Additionally, we have a Social Justice Institute that offers regular seminars and workshops on a variety of equity related subjects such as race, class, gender, Identity, ability, conflict resolution and mediation, and host a number of guest speakers in an effort to promote cultural competency on campus.
How do we sustain our small school community as we grow by 100 students and double our staff?