Fairfield school district focusing on college, career readiness

Fairfield Community School District has as its vision, ?Creating tomorrow?s dreamers, thinkers, and leaders.? The school staff understands it has an opportunity and an obligation to prepare students for success after school, and this effort begins as soon as students come through the door for pre-school or kindergarten. At the elementary level standards based reporting (SBR) helps students, staff, and parents hone in on specific skills students need to learn. Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS) help establish expectations for responsible behavior for students. These lessons will serve them well throughout their lives. Response to Intervention (RTI) provides an organized way to evaluate what support individual students need to be successful, using data that is gathered and analyzed. Mentoring and counseling is available to support students who need that guidance and connection, too.

These same basic approaches are in use at Fairfield Middle School. Even though academic content becomes more complex and specialized as students move through school, staff remained concerned with the needs of individual students and work to address individual learning needs. In some cases student challenges become more striking and visible as they age, and middle school students display a wide range of needs and aptitudes. Students are encouraged to participate in a wide variety of clubs and extracurricular activities. Besides the benefits of additional connections to school, this participation teaches students life lessons of commitment, teamwork, competition, and accomplishment. Students may discover a hidden talent or an interest that they carry with them into their high school years and adult lives.

Fairfield High School has a very strong emphasis on college and career readiness. The goal is to have every student graduate and be prepared for success after high school: whether future plans include higher education at a two-year or four-year college or university, service in the armed forces, learning a trade at a trade school, or directly entering the work force, Fairfield High School equips students for future success. Specific career experience can be gained through the School to Work program for seniors and the Work Experience program for qualifying juniors and seniors. Transition planning for students with individual education plans is an important high school program component, and all high school students work with the four-year plans they created in eighth grade.

The high school offers a varied, challenging curriculum. Students have the opportunity to earn college credit in course work offered at the main campus as well as at the career academy in the Lincoln Center. College credit can be earned in English-language arts, business, computers, health occupations, and industrial maintenance. Additionally, the high school?s nationally certified Project Lead the Way program offers valuable curriculum in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) with the support of community partners. AP (advanced placement) course work is also available at Fairfield High School in government, calculus, literature, and computer science. Students who take this rigorous course work have an opportunity to pass an end-of-course exam at a level that results in college credit. The high school offers a wide array of fine arts and career-technical electives within its curriculum as well as a number of clubs, organizations, and extracurricular activities in which students can participate.

At all levels the Fairfield CSD administration and staff are continuously looking at how we can improve instruction, better utilize technology, and strengthen facilities and programs. We want Fairfield CSD to provide a great foundation for future growth for every student in the schools. Parent groups, community partners, and stakeholder advisory groups work closely with the school district, making the Fairfield area a tremendous place to work and learn and live.

Art Sathoff is the superintendent of the Fairfield Community School District.