School Days: Morgan Hill Unified School District
Central High: On the Path to Progress
By Lanae Bays, Public Information Officer, Morgan Hill Unified School District
T
o Principal Lisa Martin, the Central High School staff
and student population is a community, like a family.
Since she took over as Principal in the 2018-2019
school year, she has emphasized the importance of
growing the capacity of her staff to better support the stu-
dents who attend the Morgan Hill Unified School District’s
Alternative Education programs.
“We are all ‘the leadership’ here,” she said.
Martin has always had an interest in Alternative Education.
She worked in juvenile probation, earned her Master’s degree
in Counseling and an Administrative Credential, and then
joined Branham High School where she served for two years
as a Counselor and 13 years as Assistant Principal.
She was drawn to Central High School because of its
smaller more intimate campus footprint. With a student body
of 140 students, the school’s programs provide varying degrees
of support and address areas that its students might be missing
at a comprehensive high school. A new addition to staff this
academic year is a Support Specialist who works with students
who have challenges or needs such as food, clothing and shel-
ter. The goal is to make sure they feel connected to their school
and community and receive academic mentoring in order to
achieve the best educational outcome.
The Continuation program is for students aged 16 and
older who are credit-deficient and therefore not on track for
graduation at one of the district’s comprehensive high schools.
For these students, the emphasis on both academics and atten-
dance is part of Central’s formula for success.
Martin has taken steps to ensure curriculum is engaging and
current, and to allow students to choose some of the books to
read, in order to help them be engaged and successful. Regular
meetings with parents and students help set consistent expec-
tations. The students also self-evaluate their progress every
six weeks.
The Post-Secondary Workability program is for students
aged 18-22 years old. This IEP-based program is funded
through the California Department of Education and provides
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
work experience for youth with disabilities. Students are
taught a life skills-based curriculum by a credentialed teacher.
In addition to learning pre-employment and job placement
skills, they also gain experience utilizing public transportation,
planning leisure activities and cooking for themselves.
The Morgan Hill Independent Learning Academy (MOHILA)
is a program for 6 th through 12th grade. This is a web-based
curriculum, but student success depends on remaining con-
nected and showing up to the school every day. The program
follows the set of requirements for graduating from California
high schools, as set forth by the California Education Code
(A-G diploma). Students are closely monitored to make sure
they stay on track. Each semester, parents and students meet
with the school to agree on goals. This differs slightly from the
Independent Study program, which is for students aged 16
and older with outside obligations such as caring for family.
Under this program, students check in with the school once
a week, and must practice time management to keep up with
their school work. After successful completion of this program,
students receive an A-G diploma.
Central High School offers extra-curricular activities such
as field trips and sports through Procomm, a league through
which the students play other Continuation Schools in sports
such as softball, flag football, basketball, soccer. Students can
join the Interact Club through the Morgan Hill Rotary and
Kiwanis Clubs for opportunities to participate in community
service projects. They must be attending and passing classes in
order to participate in Interact activities.
This year, Central is on track to increase the graduation rate
by 30 percent over last year. Martin has pride in her school
community that comes from knowing what her students have
overcome to pursue their education. Martin is passionate
about her students’ social/emotional well-being and making
sure that the school is serving their needs in the best possible
ways.
“I’m not doing anything new or different,” Martin said. “I’m
just doing what’s right for the kids.”
SPRING 2020
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