School Context Report - Cheney High School by Drummer Dog

Washington's Approach

legodrummer04 — 2024-01-24 18:24:25 UTC

Washington has shown a significant amount of support for diverse learners. Washington passed a bill in 2021 that required them to update the state standards for cultural competency, diversity, equity, and inclusion. There are several protections given to students throughout Washington state, such as those given to transgender students, those given to students with disabilities through acts such as 504, and protections involved in extracurricular equity, like those given to athletics. The Washington Education Association has taken stances against police brutality and racial discrimination, as well as provided resources to learn about issues facing diverse learners and educators.

Available Programs

legodrummer04 — 2024-01-24 18:24:54 UTC

Some of the programs available to students within the Cheney High School are: LAP, or Learning Assistance Program. This program focuses on lifting students up who are not meeting achievement standards for either Language Arts or Math; EL, or English Learners program. This program is designed to help students who do not speak English at the same level as another language; resource room. This includes separate learning environments for students who require them, as well as other types of accommodations for students who are better suited to a standard classroom; Functional Academic and Communication Classrooms, where students with learning or communication skills respectively are given access to personalized instruction.

District Demographics

legodrummer04 — 2024-01-24 18:25:09 UTC

The Cheney School District serves around 5,300 students in a community of around 40,000 people. This community is 77% White, 9% Hispanic/Latino, 3% Black/African American, 3% Asian, 2% American Indian, 1% Pacific Islander, and 6% two or more races. About 9% of students in this school district have disabilities. 15.6% of students live below the poverty line, and 22.6% receive food stamp or similar benefits. 320 teachers work in the Cheney School District, and the graduation rate is 86%. The district has reading proficiency at 56% and math proficiency at 47%.

School Mission

legodrummer04 — 2024-01-24 18:25:31 UTC

The Cheney School District's mission statement is "to guarantee a safe and caring environment where ALL students learn at high levels and graduate with options for post-secondary education, careers, and civic engagement." Cheney's mission statement seems to focus on the diversity of their students, as well as placing a high value in the future of the students.

Meeting Needs

legodrummer04 — 2024-01-24 18:25:58 UTC

The Cheney School District places a high value in the diversity of ideas of its students. Cheney works primarily on the federal models required. For students with disabilities there are very few accommodations outside of those guaranteed by IDEA. For other students with diverse backgrounds there are protections set up on state, district, and school levels for students with differing ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds. Additional protections also exist for homeless or temporarily housed students, on the basis of sex, gender, or sexuality, etc.

Strength's and Weaknesses

legodrummer04 — 2024-01-24 18:26:18 UTC

As far as I can tell, Cheney High School does a fair job of advocating for students of differing backgrounds. Based on a number of sources, they mention a number of groups. There is significant strength in the protections they offer for students, as well as in their multiplicity. However, there is a lack of other programs to include students in the learning environment that leaves much of the leg-work up to the teachers. This could be a positive, as a positively minded teacher could have the freedom to provide students with useful opportunities. It could also mean that without a standardized structure some students are left by the wayside. Most likely, the truth is somewhere between those extremes. While the freedom is useful, it would likely be positive to put in not only protections for students, but to actively advocate for students in ways similar to those which have been done on a state level. Cheney High School may also benefit from an improved approach to Disability Education by making the physical spaces in classrooms more accessible.