Paladin Career and Tech High School

Paladin Academy is designed for non-traditional students who are working towards obtaining their high school diploma. Our school population defies stereotyping. Our students come from various socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, and demonstrate a wide range of academic skills. The staff at Paladin Academy believes that diversity enriches the educational process and staff work with students to develop programming that will support all students with finding success. The cornerstone of Paladin’s instructional philosophy is experiential learning, both inside and outside of the school. Utilizing the greater community is a key practice and includes employment, service learning, filed trips, and extensive study/travel tours to domestic and foreign destinations. Other important factors include interdisciplinary curriculum, creating individualized Personal Learning Plans for each student based on their interests and goals, career focused learning, technology-infused activities, authentic assessments, and self-directed learning where students are accountable for results. We know that people learn better when they are motivated, and they are motivated when they are interested. Consequently, Paladin Academy students are given a large degree of autonomy over their learning and are expected to be productive probably the most important factor for their success. Paladin Academy staff members believe that: Relationships, Relevance, and Rigor are necessary for success with non-traditional students. Alternative programs have long known the value and practiced the concepts of relationships and relevance in successful learning practices. At Paladin this is accomplished by a small, non-traditional facility; where student-staff interactions are promoted and committed staff that make the time to connect with students. Paladin Academy serves the student population through three-hour long, intensive activity shifts where the student/staff ratio is 1:10, as well as through the advisor-advisee program where each student’s learning activities are guided through their Personalized Learning Plan (PLP)