Sunday May 21st, 2023

Volume 1, Issue 17

Hello Patriots!

It's been a while since we've shared out some updates on all the exciting things going on at RHS. We have a lot to report on, both this year and as we look ahead towards planning for next year. This purpose of this update is to celebrate with the RHS Community the many accomplishments of our students and to share about some new programing/partnerships that will launch at RHS in August 2023.

I hope you all take some time to review all of the great work happening at Revere High School.

Christopher T. Bowen, Principal

cbowen@reverek12.org

Be sure to follow the RHS School Calendar to keep up with all the goings on at this busy time of year!

At RHS we have redesigned our vision for campus supervision and security to better support our students and improve our school climate. We are excited to share out these new positions with the community. We are confident that with this increased support structure we will be able to significantly improve the climate of our school community!

• We will now have 10 Campus Supervisor Positions, with increased responsibilities and increased pay. Campus Supervisors play a critical role in maintaining a safe, welcoming, and secure building and is responsible for facilitating respectful communication in a diverse multicultural, multiethnic and multilingual environment. Job Responsibilities are broken into the following three categories: (1) Campus Supervision & Perimeter Security; (2) Translation, Interpretation* and Caregiver Engagement Support; and (3) Student Support and Mentoring.

• We will also be adding 5 Student Engagement Coordinators to work with Assistant Principals, Family Liaisons, and Student Support Teams to improve accountability for student attendance, engagement and communications with families. The Student Engagement Coordinator supports the Assistant Principal by implementing intervention for chronic absenteeism, student support, and student engagement. The coordinator will communicate with parents/guardians to address attendance and behavior concerns and plan for necessary support. The coordinator will also respond to telephone calls or other referrals or may go on location to intervene to support the student’s return to school. The coordinator will also assist with student/ family support and family engagement as deemed necessary, in collaboration with the RHS Family Liaisons. The SEC will be trained in and will implement intervention models, Check-in Check-Out and Check-and-Connect. In all of this work, the coordinator serves as a point person to help the students on their caseload make progress towards graduation and towards the realization of their goals after high school.

• The support teams will also include 5 Student Support Specialists to make sure students and families who need the most support receive that in a timely manner. The Student Support Specialist reports directly to the Assistant Principal of the Student Support Team they serve. The Student Support Specialist is a member of the student support team who provides support and progress monitoring for a caseload of at risk students (approximately 10% of the students supervised by the SST). The SSS will be trained in and will implement intervention models, such as the Collaborative Problem Solving Model, Structured Restorative Interventions, SEL Lessons and models of academic intervention coordination and delivery. They are both a coach to their peers and an interventionist to the students on their caseload. Student support specialists have access to each student’s records in the information system and will document interactions with students, staff, and guardians. Additionally, the team of Student Support Specialists (5 in total, one for each Student Support Team) will collaborate with their Student Engagement Coordinators to provide programmatic support to the BRYT Transition Program, the RHS Welcome Academy and the In-School Intervention Restorative Justice Program. In all of this work, the specialist serves as a point person to help the students on their caseload make progress towards graduation and towards the realization of their goals after high school.

We want to hire the best possible candidates for these positions, so we appreciate your help spreading the word in the Revere Community about these career opportunities. Here is a link to the positions available!

Revere High applied and was selected out of 100 Massachusetts schools to the high school community to partner with Big Brothers Big Sisters to launch the “Big Futures Mentoring Program.” Beginning Fall 2023, 80-100 Ninth Graders (Class of 2027) will be eligible to participate in this program, which will be an extension of our Summer Bridge Program. The program not only provides students with a community based mentor, but engages them in a college and career focused experience throughout the four years of high school. The Summer Bridge Program Staff and our BBBS will be visiting all Revere Middle Schools in the coming weeks to make sure students are aware of the opportunity. There will also be informational sessions for caregivers, with translation available. Those dates will be shared soon.

We are also in need of community mentors to support this program! Do you know anyone (including yourself) who might want to become a mentor to an RHS 9th grader next year? Please help get the word out about this program. Information is linked below! For more information, please e-mail our Justin Wilson: JWilson@emassbigs.org. Justin will be our BBBS liaison and will work full-time with us at RHS supporting this mentoring program.

Next year, we will Launch the Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition (BRYT) Program at Revere High School. The creation of a BRYT Program will support the needs of students transitioning back to school after prolonged absences due to hospitalization. After partnering with BRYT this year to design this program, the school is moving forward with this support by joining a network of over 140 schools that operate this model. For more information on BRYT or the mental health needs of our students, please explore this website. If you know of any clinicians interested in applying to take on the role of BRYT Program Coordinator, please share this job posting. We are very excited about the support we will be able to provide students and families going through these challenging times.

Thanks to the leadership of RPS Fine Arts Director Kelly Williams, we are very excited to be able to offer an expanded Fine Arts Program @ Revere High school Next Year. To start, RHS students will have the opportunity to participate in a Summer Arts Program designed specifically for them. Information on registration will be available very soon!

We also were able to listen to student feedback in the course selection process and have allowed for many more opportunities to take art in the school day. Not only have we increased opportunities for 9th graders to be able to take Art classes @ RHS, which has not been the case for a long time, but we are also growing our Fine Arts Faculty. With the addition of two Visual Arts Teachers and one Vocal Teacher, many more course requests for art will be filled . For example, in addition to offering students the chance to study vocal performance, this will also allow us to offer Introduction to Dance and Introduction to Fashion Design. The RHS team is so thankful for the leadership of Ms. Williams and her team of Music, Theater and Visual Arts Educators at RHS. We are even more excited for our students who will be able to explore this passion areas.

Check out Ms. William's Presentation to School Committee about these new developments (video begins around 30:00).

Revere High School is so excited to share that we were selected by Department of Education to form our Early College Program with North Shore Community College. This program will begin next year and be open to Class of 2026. Students in the program will take college and high school classes, aligned to the Career Concentrations we are building. They will have the chance to earn up to 30 college credits (for free) by the time they graduate from RHS. Recruitment for this program begins this spring and will occur throughout the fall. Our first Caregiver Info Sessions will take place @ RHS this Thursday 5/25 from 5:30-7:30pm. Info sessions for students in the Class of 2026 will take place during the school day this week.

Beginning Fall 2023, eligible Revere Students will benefit from our Dual Enrollment partnership with Suffolk University. Courses will also be aligned to our Career Concentrations Program and will be free of charge to students. Suffolk is an excellent partner for Revere High School, not only due to its academic programing, but also because of its close proximity to the MBTA Blue Line. Students who take classes at Suffolk through this partnership will have access to all university services, including tutoring, libraries, gyms, etc. This partnership is in addition to our many other partnerships for Dual Enrollment including North Shore Community College, Salem State, Bunker Hill Community College, Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, and Fisher College. Information about this and other Dual Enrollment Opportunities can be found here.

We are excited to announce the creation of a Career Development Program @ Revere High School. This program will be led by our newest RHS Faculty Member (Ms. Tara Mitchell), who will begin after Memorial Day. The program will provide all RHS Students with opportunities and experiences to learn about future careers, in partnership with Revere Works, YouthWorks @ Mass Hire and Massachusetts Connecting Activities. Additionally, interested students who need to balance high school classes with their need to work will be able to engage in a Work-Based Learning Program that will give them flexibility and space in their schedule. This program will launch in Fall 2023, so students interested in this experience should see their Guidance Counselor.

We are excited to announce that RHS is in the process of developing an Exploratory Course in Plumbing and Pipefitting through a partnership we have formed with the Northeast Metropolitan Vocational Technical School in Wakefield. In Fall 2023, we will offer RHS Juniors and Seniors the opportunity to take a 2.0 credit course, taught by a teacher from the Voke @ RHS, that will engage them in learning these plumbing competencies. As the program grows, we will offer opportunities for internships and other work-based learning experiences. Check out this Video about the Plumbing Industry and post-secondary career opportunities in this important trade. Student interested in receiving more information about this course should complete this quick survey.

Introduction to Translation and Interpretation Services. We are excited to announce that next year we will partner with the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) to offer a new elective at RHS called Introduction to Translation and Interpretation Services. This semester elective will lead to RHS Elective Credit and a certificate in translation/interpretation from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. This course is designed for RHS students who are fluent in English and at least one other language. Regardless of what career you are thinking of going into or what your plans are after high school, this course will prepare you to take future courses in translation/interpretation and may give you an advantage for jobs in a variety of career fields! If you are interested in registering for this course next year, please complete this survey so we can get you information. Note, this course does not satisfy your world language requirement.

In the fall 2023-2024 school year we are excited to partner with University of Massachusetts Lowell to launch a new Dual Enrollment opportunity that is aligned to our developing Health Sciences Career Concentration. Students will get to take two new college courses at RHS during the school day and will receive both high school and UMass Lowell credits! Students who will be in 11th and 12th grade can take “Introduction to the Pharmaceutical Industry” in the fall and “Introduction to Exercise Science” in the Spring. Right now, students can express interest in taking the fall Pharmaceutical Industry course by completing this form. Please e-mail Ms. Currie with Questions Tiffany Currie <tcurrie@rpsk12.org>. A “sample syllabus” is attached below.

Next year we will be expanding our Gateway to College Partnership with North Shore Community College. Gateway to College at North Shore Community College empowers youth in communities north of Boston who have dropped out of high school or are not on track to graduate with an opportunity to reclaim their education by enrolling in a college program that allows them to at the same time earn a high school diploma and free college credits that can be applied towards a degree or certificate at NSCC or transfer to a four-year institution.

KEY BENEFITS:

• Graduate with a diploma from your high school
• Earn up to 22 free college credits per year
• Career pathway development and job skills training
• Personal development and identity based motivation workshops
• Financial aid and literacy
• Postsecondary Education Exploration, Preparation, and Selection
• Holistic personalized support and advising
• A flexible course schedule

Students interested in exploring whether this option is right for them should connect with their guidance counselor or assistant principal. This program is open to students in the Class of 2025 and older, who should be at least juniors next year.

This year, Revere High United States History 2 students visited the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate to participate in a mock Senate debate on legislation regarding voting rights. Students were introduced to the Senate chamber, an exact replica of the chamber in Washington DC and participated in breakout sessions around constituent letters, gerrymandering, and ranking provisions of the bill. Students wrapped up their visit by debating in the main chamber and voting on the law. Many thanks to *US II teachers, **chaperones, and school nurses for making this experience come to fruition.

The cast of In the Heights, which put on the first musical at RHS in 30 years, received so much well-deserved press this spring! On top of all that good press, State Representative Jessica Giannino invited the cast and directors to the Massachusetts State House to recognize their achievements and the Latinx culture it celebrates. The cast was able to perform a selection of numbers from the musical at the State House’s Grand Staircase!

The RHS JROTC Academic Team will be off to Washington, D.C. in June to compete in the JROTC Leadership & Academic Bowl (JLAB) at the Catholic University of America. We are always proud of the achievements of the RHS Patriot Battalion, but this one is a first! Pictured below are cadets Karla Leal, Paris Peguero Pena, Brianna Restrepo and Annabelle Sandy-Roche.

On Friday, May 12, the four founding members of Revere High School's Feminist Empowerment Movement, Madison Lucchesi, Emma Higgins, Christy Ly, and Roumaisaa Farkhani, were invited to the State House to meet Senator Edwards in recognition of their work advocating for equality for women in their community. Over the past four years, these students have worked tirelessly, including hosting a successful menstrual product drive during the height of the pandemic, making menstrual products free and available at all Revere public schools, creating two murals and an art instillation highlighting feminists, and raising thousands of dollars for local charities that support domestic abuse and sexual assault survivors.

We are incredibly proud of RHS Senior Kathy Trinh who earned the prestigious Gates Scholarship to Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Congratulations Kathy!!

The RHS Robotics Team (The NUTRONS) made headlines this Spring with their second place finish at the world championship that took place in Houston! Upon their return to Revere, they were greeted by a Police and Fire escort (see below). Moreover, shortly after their return, several members of the team and Mr. Miranda testified at a Massachusetts State House Hearing to advocate for increased state funding to Robotics Programs in public schools!

• Bullying, Harassment and Bias Reporting: You can use this link to make a report of bullying, harassment or bias.
• RHS Student Activities 2022-2023: You can use this link to explore student activities and when they meet.
• Community Service Opportunities: Students looking to find Community Service Opportunities should reference this spreadsheet. Community members who have opportunities for service can reach out to any RHS Administrator.