Academy of the Redwoods increases equity in admissions process
The Academy of the Redwoods (AR) is a Middle College High School located on the College of the Redwoods (CR) Eureka campus and is a part of the Fortuna Union High School District. AR was established as an Early College High School in 2005 with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Jobs For the Future grant, which was focused on establishing such programs in order to increase access to college and career for traditionally underserved, “at-promise” student populations.
Nineteen years later, AR has established a tradition of success, nearly 700 high school students from all corners of Humboldt County have graduated from the program having collectively earned well over 10,000 college units through concurrent enrollment at CR. Along with academic excellence, over time AR has fostered a small tight-knit community that values respect, responsibility, and choice.
Amidst the ever-changing nature of college admissions, the increased adoption of dual and concurrent enrollment opportunities, evolving student needs and rising demand in the workforce for new skills and careers, AR has remained steadfast and committed to its core mission “to inspire and empower a wide spectrum of motivated students.”
Programmatic changes are only considered when such actions would further the effectiveness and achievement of that mission. When the California Department of Education (CDE) released more specific definitions of both Early and Middle College High Schools, the FUHSD Board of Trustees supported AR in changing its designation to that of a Middle College High School in order to emphasize its power of place physically embedded at CR. From the CDE: “MCHS are secondary schools located on a college campus.
These schools offer challenging academic programs designed to serve high-potential, high-risk students. MCHS feature effective support services, small class size, and the opportunity for students to concurrently take some college classes at typically minor cost to the student.” Thanks to generous support from the CR Board of Trustees, AR students can take up to 11 units per semester of CR coursework for free. Textbooks are paid for by FUHSD, and recently most art and lab supplies have been covered by the Arts, Music, and Instructional Materials Block Grant from the state of California.
Last summer, after attending an equity summit for educational leaders, AR developed a plan to decrease barriers of entry to their program, then applied for and received the $250,000 Middle College and Early College Expansion Grant (MCEC) through the CDE. The main utilization of these funds is the implementation of an Algebra Fundamentals class that will serve students who score lower on the AR Math Placement Test and therefore would have previously been ineligible for admission at AR. By providing this additional level of math support, more eighth graders with the desire and motivation to attend AR will have the opportunity to experience the rigor, enrichment and empowerment that comes with early college immersion.
AR math teacher Alison Brewer has been instrumental in articulating the philosophy and design of this new course, emphasizing not just foundational concepts building toward
Algebra 1, but also developing curriculum and experiences that transform how students see themselves as math learners. Students will begin to benefit from the results of this incredible effort in the fall of 2024.
Zoe Guarnieri, a fourth year AR student from Redway, shared her thoughts on this change in the admissions process. “I think having a placement test as an alternative to the math entrance exam would be a great idea. This would give the chance for students whose academic strength may not be in math but are still very capable of achieving success here at AR, an opportunity they might have not had if it depended on mathematical skills. Everyone has something to bring to the table and having a placement test instead I believe will bring many more capable students to our campus.”