Jump to content

Paradigm High School

Add links
Coordinates: 40°32′28″N 111°58′33″W / 40.5410°N 111.9758°W / 40.5410; -111.9758
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 205.122.213.2 (talk) at 20:09, 14 December 2016 (I am a teacher at Paradigm and made edits to update and explain previous entries.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Paradigm High School
Location
Map
11577 South 3600 West, South Jordan, Utah

United States
Coordinates40°32′28″N 111°58′33″W / 40.5410°N 111.9758°W / 40.5410; -111.9758
Information
TypeCharter school
Motto"A Different Kind Of Think"
Established2006
School districtUtah Charter Schools District
DeanFernando Seminario
PrincipalScott Jones
Grades7-12
Enrollment574
Color(s)Red, white, and blue
AthleticsBasketball, soccer, volleyball, flag football, softball, taekwondo
MascotPatriots
AffiliationUtah State Office of Education
Websitehttp://www.paradigmschools.org

Paradigm High School is a high school in South Jordan, Utah, United States.[1][2] Its main focus is leadership and classical education. Every year it is ranked as one of the worst schools in Utah for academic performance, based on its SAGE test scores.[3] However, it has the highest opt-out rate, 54%, in the state, invalidating the test scores. [4]

History

Paradigm was organized as a charter school under the Utah State Department of Education. It received its charter on July 13, 2005, and opened in September 2006.[5]

The Utah State Board Of Education gave Paradigm High School a 38% F grade for its performance in the 2015-2016 school year. Paradigm High School is outranked by every public high school in the state of Utah. In fact, Paradigm High School is outranked by all schools of any kind in the entire state of Utah except for one other charter school, again based solely on SAGE testing. [6] [7]

Ethnic diversity

As of the 2015-2016 school year, Paradigm High is one of the least diverse schools in Utah. Only one high school out of all 20 public high schools in Salt Lake County (Riverton High) has less ethnic diversity. Riverton High in in the same neighborhood as Paradigm. [8]Paradigm High had 516 white students out of 587 total students enrolled.[9]

Courses

Paradigm offers a variety of unusual courses in addition to standard courses, such as Novel Writing, AP Environmental Science, and taekwondo.[10] Among its wide variety of English courses are one on the writings of C.S. Lewis, and classes about Western and Eastern World, French, Gothic, and British (including Shakespeare) literature. It also offers Latin, ASL, German, Spanish and French.

Leadership

Unique to Paradigm High School is a class called Leadership, which is offered in three levels:[10] Foundations, Transitions, and Scholar. Its focus varies at each level:

  • Foundations is a course rooted in the fundamentals of a Paradigm education: study habits, goal-setting, personal accountability, self-reflection, and the basics of group discussion and shared inquiry, as well as an introduction to great books, people, and ideas. It is for students just starting on their path towards self-education.
  • Transitions is a course that is, indeed, a transition; geared toward students who have started along the scholar path, the goal of this course is to provide practical experience in the Paradigm model, while helping the students to develop a sense of their own individual mission.
  • Scholar is the most advanced Leadership course: a rigorous study of great literature and ideas, as well as their practical application. This is preparatory for the students' continuing education and experiences beyond Paradigm.[11]

This course is now integrated into the Seminar Course, which is a classics-based blend of English, Leadership, History that meets in a double block class. [12]

Extracurricular activities

Paradigm has many extracurricular activities and competitive teams. The Paradigm Chess Team (PCT) took third in the 1A-3A division in the Utah High School Chess Championships two years in a row,[13] and the basketball teams received second place (girls') and first place (boys'). The girls' volleyball team won second place.[citation needed]

Paradigm no longer offers competitive sport teams and encourages students to play for neighboring high schools, while supporting a strong intramural program.[14]

Paradigm also supports an excellent Academic Decathlon team. In March 2011, they beat reigning state champions Park City High in Super Quiz, one of 10 categories, and the most competitive, by 5 points out of a possible 6,000.

New in 2011-2012 was a mock trial team. Their first competition was February 24, 2012 against Mountain View High School.

References

  1. ^ http://www.paradigmhigh.org/Home
  2. ^ http://www.sjc.utah.gov/schools.asp
  3. ^ http://datagateway.schools.utah.gov/Accountability/SchoolGrades/2016?leaNum=9C
  4. ^ interview with faculty
  5. ^ http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/charterschools//directory.htm#P Utah State Charter School Directory
  6. ^ http://datagateway.schools.utah.gov/Accountability/SchoolGrades/2016?leaNum=9C
  7. ^ interview with Paradigm Staff
  8. ^ google maps
  9. ^ http://www.schools.utah.gov/data/Reports/Enrollment-Demographics.aspx
  10. ^ a b http://www.paradigmhigh.org/course-descriptions
  11. ^ "Course Descriptions (Paradigm High School)". Retrieved 2009-12-22.
  12. ^ interview with Paradigm staff
  13. ^ https://secure6.userservices.net/clarkwork.com/utahchess/index.php?showpage=results.php&event=124&result=76
  14. ^ inteview with Paradigm staff
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paradigm_High_School&oldid=754840704"