Innovative Connections High School
IConnect High School is dedicated to providing students with opportunities for personal, academic, and career growth. We provide a nurturing, close-knit, and collaborative learning environment where we can learn, encourage, and be successful together. Our staff is highly qualified and we utilize research-based, learning practices and technology to deliver educational opportunities that build academic and work competencies that will lead students to more success in the real world.
Statement of School Mission: The mission of Innovative Connections High School is to provide an educational learning experience for students who have not been successful in the traditional high school settings. I-Connect is committed to providing an academic program which is student centered, positive, and safe.
Vision: The vision of Innovative Connections High School is to acknowledge every child can learn through challenging and rigorous learning experiences along with character development, career exploration, and workplace readiness skills to transition students into a post-secondary life.
For more information about Innovative Connections High School please call or e-mail:
Principal:
Tanisha Bules 970-370-3663 / tbules@cboces.org
Director:
Mark Rangel 970-352-7404 ext. 1122 / mrangel@cboces.org
Math/English/ICAP Teacher:
Jennifer Kaderka jkaderka@cboces.org
Civics/Science/Personal Economics Teacher:
Nikkie Cooper
ncooper@cboces.org
Paraprofessional:
Burgandy Rehn
brehn@cboces.org
Concurrent Enrollment
The Board believes that students who wish to pursue postsecondary level work while in high school should be permitted to do so. In accordance with this policy and accompanying regulation, high school students may receive course credit toward the fulfillment of high school graduation requirements for successful completion of approved postsecondary courses offered by institutions of higher education.
This policy and accompanying regulation do not apply to students seeking to enroll in postsecondary courses pursuant to the Accelerating Students through Concurrent Enrollment (ASCENT) program or a “dropout recovery program” pursuant to the Concurrent Enrollment Programs Act (the Act). Students seeking to enroll in the ASCENT program or a dropout recovery program shall work with the executive director or designee and meet the Act’s applicable requirements.
State Assessments
Any student who requests a paper and pencil assessment for state mandated assessments must contact the principal to request in the fall of each school year to ensure time is permitted to request such assessment from the state.
IConnect Course Descriptions
12th Grade English - This course requires students to take part in research projects to improve their community. Students will research a community problem, or area for improvement, and will research what has been done and what can be done to improve the issue. By researching problems around their community, students hone their problem solving skills, develop research abilities, advance their critical thinking, learn about their community and the importance of being involved. They also learn about their community on a global scale and learn how our world is becoming a global society of which they can be an integral part. This course is heavy in writing and critical thinking—teaching kids to question everything. They learn to sort through and compile information, analyze the validity of sources, and express their thoughts and support them with hard facts and evidence.
Personal Economics- Uses aspects of finances of individuals, such as banking, budgeting, credit and investing to illustrate concepts of traditional economics.
Science- Combines key concepts of geology, astronomy, physics, chemistry, ecology and biology and weaves them together to ensure students have the skills they need to survive a zombie apocalypse, or modern life.
American History -From Christopher Columbus to the present, students will be learning how the United States became the nation it is today. Each unit will cover a theme in our history, as well as key vocabulary words and famous individuals to be aware of. From this survey course, students should not only come away with appreciation of what it takes to build and maintain a nation, but they might also learn more about their own ancestors and the sacrifices they made to come to this “land of opportunity.”
Economics/Government - This course discusses the purpose of a government, our rights and responsibilities as citizens, how issues get voted on publicly, how taxes work, and how complicated it can be to run a system as large as the United States Government. Economic Systems around the world, national and international Economic Policies, and the United States Financial system. Students should be able to come away with practical information that will help them determine sound financial decisions they make in their adult lives.
ICAP- Individual Career and Academic Plan - Using individualized career and personality assessments as well as research into future career possibilities, students will learn about many potential future job prospects and the process needed to make that dream a reality.
Capstone- As part of the ICAP graduation requirements, Students at IConnect High School will have a Capstone Project to be completed at the end of their senior year. At IConnect, the form of this Capstone Project is a formal and business presentation of their learning from their year here. The formal presentation will be graded on the visual aid, the professionalism of the presentation and the future plan of the student. The presentation will be delivered to a panel of community members. All students will have an exit interview with the staff at IConnect.
WorkKeys Assessment Program- WorkKeys is the complete interactive training system for basic workplace skills. WorkKeys provides a comprehensive learning system for common skills required by all jobs, based on ACT's WorkKeys assessment system. The WorkKeys system measures the skills required in the everyday workplace. It helps to improve America's workforce by sharpening the workplace skills of students or employees. Employees are then placed in jobs where they can be more successful. This system benefits individuals, businesses and educators by providing a common language for describing basic skills needed for jobs.
Students will be required to take Work Place Documents 1-7 levels, Applied Mathematics 1-7 levels, Graphic Literacy 1-6 levels, Workplace Observations 1-5 levels, and Business Writing 1-5 Levels passing the final quizzes with a 80% or higher. Upon completion of each section students will take a paper test to receive the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate. Students will need to score at a silver status (5) or high to meet graduation requirements.